Guest Mark Webb Posted January 4, 2017 at 11:52 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 at 11:52 PM I belong to a local social club that was established about 6 years ago. This club in not incorporated. The board has made a recommendation to its membership to modify the name of the club. A written notice of a pending motion to vote to amend the by laws and modify the name of the club. The written notice was mailed to all club members within the time frame (10 days) of the meeting for a vote to amend the by laws with the name change. The notice stated the bylaws as they stand today (CLUB NAME: Valley Club), and the proposed by laws change (CLUB NAME: Big Valley Club) . My questions are directed towards the correct procedures related to: Amend the by laws and its procedure and the verbiage related to the ballot. 1)before the vote, a motion is made to amend the by laws and modify the club name. After the motion is made, does it need a second? 2)Once the motion is made, does it open up to membership for discussion? 3)How is it sent for a vote? does it need a motion for a vote? and does it need a second? and does the membership vote to send it to a vote? 4)by Ballot Vote, How should the ballot be written so the members understand what they are voting on? 6)Do they mark the ballot with an "X" For or Against? Approve or Not Approve? Yes or No???? 7)For verification for members only to vote, should they print and sign their name on the ballot? or not sign the Ballot? The vote to amend the by laws requires a 2/3 vote of the membership present and voting. Also, the by laws refers to the name of the club in a different article and section of the by laws. My question is 1) is there a way to include this change of the club name in the other parts of the by laws in this vote 2) Does it require another notice to amend the by laws to change the club name as stated in the other sections of the by laws 3) Could the changes be automatic to keep the bylaws germane and consistent? I would like to assure that the vote proceeds fairly with due process. thank you for your help and guidance Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:48 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:48 AM 56 minutes ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 1)before the vote, a motion is made to amend the by laws and modify the club name. After the motion is made, does it need a second? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:49 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:49 AM 57 minutes ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 2)Once the motion is made, does it open up to membership for discussion? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:50 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:50 AM 57 minutes ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 3)How is it sent for a vote? does it need a motion for a vote? and does it need a second? and does the membership vote to send it to a vote? After debate has closed, the chair puts the motion to a vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:55 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:55 AM 59 minutes ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 4)by Ballot Vote, How should the ballot be written so the members understand what they are voting on? Describe exactly what is being amended. For example, "Insert 'Big' before 'Valley Club'". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:56 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:56 AM Was there a Question 5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:57 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:57 AM 1 hour ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 6)Do they mark the ballot with an "X" For or Against? Approve or Not Approve? Yes or No???? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:59 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 12:59 AM 1 hour ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 7)For verification for members only to vote, should they print and sign their name on the ballot? or not sign the Ballot? No, signing the ballots would defeat the purpose of having a secret ballot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:02 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:02 AM 1 hour ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 1) is there a way to include this change of the club name in the other parts of the by laws in this vote Yes. For example, "Insert 'Big' before 'Valley Club' wherever it appears". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:04 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:04 AM 1 hour ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 2) Does it require another notice to amend the by laws to change the club name as stated in the other sections of the by laws No, it could be included in the same notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:05 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:05 AM 1 hour ago, Guest Mark Webb said: 3) Could the changes be automatic to keep the bylaws germane and consistent? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meed Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:25 AM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 01:25 AM It became a sort of a game among Washington hostesses to see who would be the first to make [then Vice-President Calvin] Coolidge indulge in conversation. One night his partner at dinner, a woman known the country over, said: “Mr. Coolidge, I’ve made a bet—quite a large one—that I can make you say three words.” “You lose,” answered the then vice president. http://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/01/10/few-words/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted January 5, 2017 at 11:09 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 11:09 PM 21 hours ago, Guest Meed said: It became a sort of a game among Washington hostesses to see who would be the first to make [then Vice-President Calvin] Coolidge indulge in conversation. One night his partner at dinner, a woman known the country over, said: “Mr. Coolidge, I’ve made a bet—quite a large one—that I can make you say three words.” “You lose,” answered the then vice president. http://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/01/10/few-words/ I am struggling to find the relevance of this anecdote to this topic. Please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meed Posted January 5, 2017 at 11:47 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 at 11:47 PM 28 minutes ago, Shmuel Gerber said: I am struggling to find the relevance of this anecdote to this topic. Please help. Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6383/pg6383-images.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted January 6, 2017 at 02:40 AM Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 at 02:40 AM 2 hours ago, Guest Meed said: Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6383/pg6383-images.html I am struggling to find the help (or the conveyance of any idea at all) in this "help". Please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mark Webb Posted January 6, 2017 at 05:19 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 at 05:19 PM On 1/4/2017 at 3:52 PM, Guest Mark Webb said: 4)by Ballot Vote, How should the ballot be written so the members understand what they are voting on? Describe exactly what is being amended. For example, "Insert 'Big' before 'Valley Club'". Hieu, If i understand you correctly, the verbage on the ballot would be written as: -------------------- By Laws Amendment Article One, Section One The name of the club shall be: insert Big Valley Club Does the member Aprove____ Not Aprove____ (Mark an "X" next to your choice) ...to amend the By Laws. --------------------- Is this correct? i feel like the ballot is missing something . Help Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mark Webb Posted January 6, 2017 at 05:26 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 at 05:26 PM How would you suggest verification on who would recieve a ballot at an annual meeting of the general membership? ant verification pitfall should we be aware of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Lages Posted January 6, 2017 at 06:13 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 at 06:13 PM Guest Mark - Your sample ballot would be workable if Article 1, Section 1 was the only place where the name had to be changed. However, you also indicated that the club name appears elsewhere in the bylaws, and your proposed ballot would not put your new club name into those other section of the bylaws. You should follow Mr. Huynh's suggestion above for the wording on your ballot: In all places where it appears, insert "Big" before "Valley Club". As for verification of members receiving ballots, one method that I have used is for the secretary to have a current membership list and call out member's names. As each member responds, hand him a ballot, and check off the name. This will only work, of course, if your membership is a manageable number, and if you have an accurate and up-to-date membership list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted January 6, 2017 at 06:47 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 at 06:47 PM Rather than attempting to control the distribution of the ballots, I believe the most reliable method is to establish a polling location with a ballot box, and as each member approaches the polling place, their name is checked off against the membership list, their ballot is verified as having been folded twice, and is then placed in the ballot box. I would suggest that an accurate and up-to-date membership list is absolutely essential to any properly conducted ballot vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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