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2020 Convention Rules

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN/OKLAHOMA
PROPOSED 2020 VIRTUAL CONVENTION RULES

The purpose of the convention rules are to expedite convention business in a clear and orderly fashion, to give all voting members a chance to be heard, and to protect the rights of the minority. A two-thirds vote is required to amend or rescind a convention rule.

1. REPRESENTATION– The voting body of any meeting of the state shall be composed of, as defined in AAUW/OK Bylaws Article XVIII, Section 2, Representation, a., c., and d.:
a. Voting Body – Each Oklahoma AAUW member in good standing at the time of the meeting notice of the biennial convention year shall be entitled to one vote on the slate of officers, bylaw amendments, and any board approved resolutions that are submitted to the membership for vote 30 days prior to the convention. There shall be no proxy voting. Votes can be submitted either in the mailed ballot OR by an electronic voting process developed by AAUW/OK. Each Oklahoma AAUW member in good standing on February 1 of non-convention years shall be entitled to one vote on any matters approved by the board for submission to a membership vote at times other than convention. At least 30 days notice shall be provided for any such vote.

b. [This section refers to meetings other than the biennial convention –therefore, it is not relevant and removed from the Proposed 2020 Convention Rules]

c. Quorum. A quorum shall be 15% of AAUW OK members who are eligible to vote by electronic vote or by mailed ballot.

d. Voting. Ballots equal in number to at least 15% of the votes entitled to be cast must be cast for a vote to be counted. The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for the adoption of noticed business, except that a two-thirds vote shall be required to adopt amendments to these Bylaws.

2. CREDENTIALS- Any AAUW/OK member who is eligible to vote must have their AAUW Member ID number available.

a. In order to vote, or to obtain ballots, a voting member must present their AAUW Member ID number.

b. The Credentials Report to be made at the business meeting shall be compiled from the current data prior to the start of each business meeting.
c. Attendees of each business meeting who are not AAUW OK members in good standing may not vote.

3. VOTING– These procedures govern electronic votes, counted standing votes, ballot votes, and card count vote.
a. Electronic votes: Votes may be submitted electronically prior to the biennial convention business meeting by AAUW OK members who are eligible to vote up until the official deadline set by AAUW OK.
AAUW OK members who are eligible to vote at the state convention business meeting and have not previously voted may submit one vote by selected virtual polling method. The following rules will apply:
1. Eligible voters will sign into the webinar software to access all controls needed for debate and voting and maintain Internet access throughout the plenary when present; voters must sign out upon any departure prior to adjournment.
2. Each member is responsible for their connection to the Internet. The loss of, or poor quality of, a member’s individual connection preventing participation in the plenary shall not impact the consideration of an issue or outcome of an action.
3. Eligible voters must be recognized by the chair before speaking. Each speaker shall announce name, branch, and AAUW member ID number when addressing the Convention. Instructions in how to participate in the proceeding will be provided by AAUW OK.
4. Microphones should remain on mute unless a member is recognized to speak. The chair may cause or direct the muting or disconnection of a member’s connection if it is causing undue interference with the plenary.
5. In the event of a major technical interruption in the plenary that affects quorum, the chair will have the option to recess, or to fix the time to adjourn and for members to again login to reconvene the plenary.
6. The presence of a quorum shall be established by the online list of participating voting members. The list will be copied for the minutes.
7. The chair shall announce the method of voting. Voice votes shall be taken by means of the “raise hand” icon. In the event of electronic voting, the chair’s announcement of the result shall include the number of members voting.
b Counted standing votes: Each voter present who has not previously voted electronically or by paper ballot shall have one vote and shall so indicate by standing and being counted by the row-teller.
c. Ballot votes: This balloting is not the same as an election ballot; it is the secret vote version of the counted standing vote that is used on the convention floor.
d. Card count vote: Each voter present shall cast one vote by raising the delegate card.

4. PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR– Only State representatives and duly recognized voting members shall be entitled to offer motions and resolutions, to debate, and to vote. Individuals registered, but not recognized as voting members, may neither vote nor present motions and resolutions; the privilege of debate may be extended to them by a two-thirds vote of the recognized voting members.
Any voting member desiring to speak to the question under discussion shall first address the chair. When recognized, the person shall give name and convention status before starting business.
No person shall speak or debate more than once on the same question longer than two minutes without permission of the convention granted by two-thirds vote without debate. This rule does not apply to the chair of a committee making a report or to a speaker presenting a subject.
Time for discussion, including debate, clarification, procedural inquiries, and amendments, on a motion shall be limited to 10 minutes. The decision of the timekeeper is final. Time for discussion may be extended by a motion passed by two-thirds vote.

5. As defined in AAUW/OK Bylaws, Article XVIII. Meetings of the AAUW/Oklahoma, Section 1, Time, Place, and Notification, f. If circumstances prevent the holding of a usual state meeting, the board of directors shall provide for the conduct of necessary business.

6. NOMINATIONS
a. Officer position: There are no nominations offered for officer positions at the biennial convention. The selection process for officer positions was coordinated through the Nominating Committee. The ballot for election of officers was submitted to the voting members prior to the start of the convention. The results of the one-member one-vote ballot submitted to the voting members in Oklahoma will be reported at the biennial convention.
b. Nominating Committee membership: In the selection of Nominating Committee, voting members may make nominations from the floor within their districts provided the consent of the nominee has been obtained. To conserve time, there shall be no nominating or seconding speeches for any nominee. All nominations for the Nominating Committee will be completed before any voting takes place.
c. If there is more than one nominee for a district Nominating Committee position, each nominee shall have two minutes in which to address their district voting members. There shall be no disruptive campaigning.
d. If a secret ballot election is necessary, balloting will take place as designated by the chair. Each voting member will be allowed only one vote by election officials for each contested position. Tellers will count the votes and the chair will announce the results.

7. MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS– All resolutions, motions, or amendments shall be made to the chair. The convention status of the member making the resolution or motion and the member seconding the motion or resolution must be presented.
Discussion of a resolution proposed by a state committee chair on behalf of a committee shall be allowed upon proposal.
A resolution to be presented from the floor by a voting member other than a committee chair may be proposed for discussion upon two-thirds of votes cast.
Bylaw amendments must conform with Article XXI. Amendments to the Bylaws of the AAUW/OK Bylaws.
AAUW-mandated amendments shall be adopted by the Affiliate’s Board of Directors without a vote of the Affiliate’s membership. Provisions of the Affiliate’s bylaws not mandated by AAUW may be amended by a two-thirds (unless otherwise stipulated by state law) vote of members voting after a quorum is attained. Proposed bylaws amendments shall be sent to the state bylaws chair on or before January 15 prior to the state convention so proposed amendments can be published in the AAUW/Oklahoma publication and mailed; or, if previous notice has not been given, by unanimous vote of the convention any ratification of three-fourths vote of the branches.
Bylaws may be amended at any state convention by a three fourths vote of those present and voting at any regular meeting of the branch, provided notice of the proposed amendment shall have been sent to the state bylaws chair on or before January 15 prior to the state convention so it can be published in the AAUW/Oklahoma publication and mailed; or, if previous notice has not been given, by unanimous vote of the convention any ratification of three-fourths vote of the branches. Any amendment to the bylaws of the state shall become effective and binding on all branches within the state. Changes required to bring the state bylaws into conformity with the bylaws of AAUW shall be made without the necessity of a vote of the state. An electronic copy of updated bylaws must be submitted to AAUW.
Unless otherwise stated, a majority of the votes are required for the adoption of a motion or resolution.

8. RULES OF ORDER– The rules contained in ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER, NEWLY REVISED, shall govern the procedures of AAUW/OKLAHOMA in all instances in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws.

9. ADOPTION– These rules shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote. They may be suspended, rescinded or amended after their adoption by a two-thirds vote without debate.
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