Amends the election procedures to use ranked-choice voting
instead of plurality voting. The rationale is that plurality voting for
single-positions with more than two candidates or choices creates
vote-splitting and can result in the lesser-preferred candidate or choice being
selected. This is particularly true when voters have very little information
about how others intend to vote. Ranked-choice voting is resistant to tactical
voting and is a much more robust system for determining the will of the voting
population. We already use it for the topic vote. This language mirrors those
voting procedures.

Current Constitution:

Article V. Section 3. No later than 30 following the closure
of nominations (either 30 days following the business meeting or following a
Presidential extension outlined in Section 2), the Executive Secretary shall
submit to the membership by mail or email a ballot containing the names of all
nominees. Members will vote for national officers and the representative of
their particular region. Ballots may be returned to the Executive Secretary by
mail, email, or fax. Phone balloting will not be accepted. Balloting shall
cease at midnight 14 days after submission of the ballot. A plurality of
ballots returned will elect. In the event of a tie between the two leading
contenders for an office, their names shall be resubmitted to the membership.
The Executive Secretary shall, upon receipt of a personnel ballot, provide
acknowledgement of its receipt via email to the sender. The notification shall
not disclose the particular vote, but is merely intended to inform the sender
their ballot has been received and will be tabulated. The Executive Secretary
shall inform any member of problems with their ballot at this time (e.g.
improperly completed ballot). When announcing election results, the Executive
Secretary shall report the total number of ballots received.

Proposed Amendment:

Section 3. No later than 30 following the closure of
nominations (either 30 days following the business meeting or following a
Presidential extension outlined in Section 2), the Executive Secretary shall submit
to the membership by mail or email a ballot containing the names of all
nominees. Members will vote for national officers and the representative of
their particular region. Ballots may be returned to the Executive Secretary by
mail, email, or fax. Phone balloting will not be accepted. Balloting shall
cease at midnight 14 days after submission of the ballot. Elections will be
determined through a proportional voting system. Voters will be required to
rank as many choices as they wish, consecutively, with one being the first
rank. All first place votes will be counted. If one choice receives a majority,
it wins. If not, the choice with the LEAST first place votes will be thrown
out, and ballots that had the discarded choice as first will be counted using their
second place votes. This process will be repeated until one choice attains a
majority. If two or more of the choices to be eliminated have equal numbers of
first place votes, they will be eliminated together, with second place votes
for both added to the respective first place totals on the same round. If a
choice is eliminated and its second choice is already eliminated, that ballot’s
third choice will count as a first choice, and so forth. In the event of a tie,
the nominee with the highest number of initial first-place votes will win. If
still tied, the nominee with the highest number of second-place votes will win,
and so forth. The Executive Secretary shall, upon receipt of a personnel
ballot, provide acknowledgement of its receipt via email to the sender. The
notification shall not disclose the particular vote, but is merely intended to
inform the sender their ballot has been received and will be tabulated. The
Executive Secretary shall inform any member of problems with their ballot at
this time (e.g. improperly completed ballot). When announcing election results,
the Executive Secretary shall report the total number of ballots received.