Voting Threshold Discussion
The Bylaws of the GPCA describe how proposals are decided by the General Assembly. The decision-making process follows a "consensus-seeking" model where in the absence of consensus, one of the closing options available is a fall-back voting option. The bylaws indicate that a 2/3 vote is required for approval of a "business item" or resolution of a procedural question and an 80& vote (4/5) is required for approval of a "policy item" or a bylaw amendment. If uncertain, the higher threshold is required (Note: The terms "business item" and "policy item" are not explicitly defined in the bylaws).The question has been raised about whether these voting thresholds, 2/3 and 4/5, should be lowered. The Bylaws Committee is currently evaluating this issue. To help in this evaluation, the Bylaws Committee is sponsoring a pro/con presentation to the General Assembly followed by [an advisory preference vote] / [a poll] on various threshold options.
The Bylaw Committee is also soliciting additional input and will be maintaining an archive of position statements, arguments, and other documents related to this issue on its web site, http://www.greens.org/cal/bylaws/
Everyone is invited to submit relevant input to the Committee by email to gpca-bylawswg@greens.org. Please include your name, county, and contact info.
To participate in the Committee discussions, subscribe to the Committee's email list -- Instructions are on the web site.
Ricardo Newbery
newbery@greens.org
Coordinator, Bylaws Committee
Sample Ballots
- Sample ballot: advisory preference vote
Opinions
- No Definition of Business vs. Policy Items [R. Newbery, 1/15/01]
- Weaknesses of the Abstention Threshold [R. Newbery, 1/15/01]
Related Links
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