P RO P O S E D BY L AW
AMENDMENTS
Overview, Explanations and Arguments
Proposed Bylaw Amendments
OVERVIEW
The Global Council is seeking your approval to amend URI’s Bylaws. According to the bylaws,
the following amendments to the bylaws must be approved by a majority of the voting members
as of December 30, 2011.
Global Council Continuity Bylaw Amendments
•
Extend the standard trustee term from three to four years and reduce the maximum
number of consecutive terms from three to two.
•
Create staggered terms so that one half of the elected GC trustees (four regions) is
elected every two years.
•
Eliminate right of outgoing GC to appoint three trustees to new GC.
Cumulative Voting Bylaw Amendment
•
Replace cumulative voting with a one-vote-per-candidate voting.
The intended impact of approving the Global Council Continuity bylaw amendments is to create a
level of continuity of Global Council practice and function needed to provide effective
governance for URI’s increasingly complex global organization. The intended impact of
approving the Cumulative Voting bylaw amendment is to help create a sense of the wholeness of
each region and provide diversity of representation. Further explanation of these proposed
amendments and the components of the changes are provided briefly below.
Pursuant to the URI’s Bylaws, any amendment of the Bylaws to Members’ voting rights must be
approved by a majority of the total number of votes held by all Voting Members as of December
30, 2011, calculated in accordance with Section 6.6(A) of the Bylaws.
VISIT WWW.URI.ORG/BYLAWAMENDMENTS TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THIS GUIDE AND THE BALLOT.
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Overview, Explanations and Arguments
EXPLANATION: GLOBAL COUNCIL CONTINUITY BYLAW AMENDMENTS
Extend the standard trustee term from three to four years and reduce the maximum number of
consecutive terms from three to two.
•
Current bylaw: Trustees may serve a maximum of three consecutive three-year terms, for
a total maximum of nine consecutive years on the GC.
•
Reason for proposed change: To create a balanced and efficient way to hold GC
elections that support staggered terms that create greater continuity on the GC.
•
Proposed bylaw amendment: If you vote “Yes”, Section 4.4 shall be amended to extend
the standard trustee term from three to four years and reduce the maximum number of
consecutive terms from three to two. The full text of these Bylaw amendments is available
upon request.
Create staggered terms so that one half of the elected GC trustees (four regions) is elected
every two years.
• Current bylaw: The entire Global Council is elected at the same time and the terms of its
members end at the same time.
• Reason for proposed change: The current system requires that the entire GC be
recreated every three years. This makes continuity of GC practice and work on key issues
extremely difficult. The proposed bylaw amendment would ensure that only half of the
GC would be replaced at one time, creating much needed continuity in the GC’s work.
Each region would still have regular elections only once every four years.
• Proposed bylaw amendment: If you vote “Yes”, Section 4.4 shall be amended to create
staggered terms so that one half of the elected GC trustees (four regions) is elected every
two years. The full text of these Bylaw amendments is available upon request.
Eliminate right of outgoing GC to appoint three trustees to new GC.
• Current bylaw: The outgoing GC may appoint up to three of its members to the new GC
to help ensure continuity.
• Reason for proposed change: Staggered terms create GC continuity in a way that
eliminates the need for this practice.
• Proposed new bylaw: If you vote “Yes”, Section 4.2.B shall be amended to eliminate the
right of the outgoing Global Council to appoint up to three of its members to the new
GC. The full text of these Bylaw amendments is available upon request.
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Proposed Bylaw Amendments
EXPLANATION: CUMULATIVE VOTING BYLAW AMENDMENT
Replace cumulative voting with a one-vote-per-candidate voting.
• Current bylaw: Each CC has the right to cast all three of its votes for one candidate, to
cast two votes for one candidate and one for another candidate, or to cast one vote for
each of three different candidates.
• Reason for proposed change: Cumulative voting often leads CCs to cast all three votes
for their favored candidate rather than asking who they believe would be the best three
trustees to appropriately reflect the region’s diversity. The bylaw amendment is intended
to create a greater sense of wholeness in each region and will require voter education to
help ensure that a diverse slate of trustees, including minority voices, is elected in each
region.
• Proposed bylaw amendment: If you vote “Yes”, Section 4.6 shall be amended to replace
cumulative voting with a standard one vote per candidate voting. The full text of these
Bylaw amendments is available upon request.
• Reason to oppose proposed change: Currently, URI’s Bylaws say that "Cumulative voting
is a method of voting which favors smaller constituencies by allowing a CC to aggregate
all its votes and cast them for a single nominee increasing the chances that its nominee
will be elected." A minority of current Trustees opposes the Global Council’s
recommended bylaw amendment to replace cumulative voting, believing cumulative
voting is essential to ensuring that minority voices be represented on the Global Council.
We encourage you to read and discuss the fuller statements supporting and opposing
this proposed bylaw amendment that are included in this packet.
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Overview, Explanations and Arguments
ARGUMENT FOR THE PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENT
This is the argument supporting the proposed bylaw amendment to replace cumulative voting
with one vote per candidate voting:
Principle 19 of URI’s Charter states: “We are committed to organizational learning and
adaptation.”
In the spirit of Principle 19 and reflecting on the experience of three Global Council elections, a
substantial majority of the current Global Council asks for CC approval of an amendment to URI’s
Bylaws to replace the system of cumulative voting with a system where CCs will cast one vote for
each of three candidates.
Based on past experience, the majority of Trustees believe a one-vote-per-candidate voting system
will create a greater sense of unity in each region because CCs will be asked to consider which
three candidates they feel best reflect the diversity of the region – traditions, countries, gender,
age, experience and expertise – and are best able to fulfill the responsibilities of a Trustee.
Also based on past experience, it seems that a regional commitment to diversity is at least as
effective as cumulative voting in ensuring that a diversity of voices, including voices not often
heard, represents each region on the Global Council.
The Bylaws indicate that the purpose of cumulative voting is “to favor smaller constituencies.”
However, based on an analysis of past voting patterns within URI, there is no clear evidence that
cumulative voting accomplishes this goal any more than the proposed change would. It is clear
that cumulative voting creates voting blocks within a region that have the potential to be divisive.
Principle 15 of URI’s Charter states: “Our deliberations and decisions shall be made at every level
by bodies and methods that fairly represent the diversity of affected interests and are not
dominated by any.”
In this spirit and in compliance with URI’s Bylaws, the Global Council recommends adoption by
URI’s voting members, our Cooperation Circles, of this amendment to replace the system of
cumulative voting with a system where CCs will cast one vote for each of three candidates. The
Global Council trusts your deliberation and welcomes your decision as expressed in the votes you
cast.
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Proposed Bylaw Amendments
ARGUMENT AGAINST THE PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENT
This is the argument AGAINST the proposed bylaws change and IN FAVOR of retaining
cumulative voting:
We are roughly one-quarter of the Trustees on the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative
and we oppose the proposed Bylaws change that would eliminate cumulative voting.
When the URI was created, we consulted Dee Hock about organizational design. He came up
with the Cooperation Circle system that is now the heart of the URI. He also recommended that
we elect our Trustees using cumulative voting.
Cumulative voting is not a strange or unusual form of voting. As our Bylaws say in the introduction
to Section 4.6:
"Cumulative voting is a method of voting which favors smaller constituencies by allowing a
CC to aggregate all its votes and cast them for a single candidate increasing the chances
that its candidate will be elected."
This is now being presented in the voting materials you are receiving from the Hub as a problem
with cumulative voting, but it is the very reason that we adopted it in the first place!
The Wikipedia entry for "Cumulative Voting" opens with:
"Cumulative voting (also accumulation voting, weighted voting or multi-voting) is a
multiple-winner voting system intended to promote more proportional representation than
winner-take-all elections."
Winner-take-all elections is what countries do. The URI is trying another way. We are trying to
hear the voices of the majority and the minority. We are trying to be proportional in our
representation on the Global Council. That's what cumulative voting does.
Any reading of our Bylaws (especially the introduction to Section 4.6, on electing our Trustees)
shows how important cumulative voting was believed to be when this organization was founded,
to ensure that minority voices would be heard and included in the global discussion. Eliminating it
would be a profound, structural, and historic change in our organization - a change that should
be thoroughly discussed by the CCs before being voted upon.
The voting materials you are receiving from the Hub suggest that to vote against cumulative voting
and in favor of the proposed change is to move to a more "standard" way of voting. This is not
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Overview, Explanations and Arguments
correct. Cumulative voting is very common in the election of corporate boards and is, in fact,
mandated by the state of California for non-publicly traded corporations.
There are currently Regions in the URI where we have minority voices among the Trustees only
because of cumulative voting – Regions where the dominant culture / religion / ethnic group /
faction would otherwise have held all the Trustee positions.
If you want to contact Don at [email protected] for details, he can explain the numbers of how
different voting methods changes the outcome of elections, but we are aware of at least two
regions where we know that cumulative voting allowed minority voices to be represented on the
Global Council – voices that would not have been included if we had been using the system
being proposed in the Bylaws change.
On the other hand, if there are Regions where cumulative voting is not working out then there are
remedies in our current Bylaws that can change the voting system in such Regions (Section
4.6.A.). It can be done locally, following our existing Bylaws and living up to our Preamble,
Purpose, and Principles:
"Our deliberations and decisions shall be made at every level by bodies and methods
that fairly represent the diversity of affected interests and are not dominated by any." (Principle 15)
If the requirement of having "unanimous consent" to change the voting process is felt to be too
difficult to meet, then let's look at changing that requirement to make it easier for Regions to make
their own choices regarding their voting method. Keep the decision-making local.
Part of the beauty and strength of the URI over the years is that we have always sought ways to
hear both the loud voices of the bigger groups and the small voices of the smaller groups.
Cumulative voting was an essential part of this. We don't want to lose this precious heritage.
In a global organization that tries to listen to the voices coming from many different Regions,
religions, spiritual expressions, indigenous traditions, and cultures, we should expect that what
works in one part of the world might not work in another. Our current Bylaws already allow the
CCs in a Region to change the way they elect Trustees in their own Region. If you like cumulative
voting in your Region and feel that it works for you, do you want URI members in other Regions
telling you how to conduct elections in your Region? Shouldn't we work through local methods of
change before enforcing sweeping change from the top down? This goes against both the letter
and the spirit of Principle 15.
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Proposed Bylaw Amendments
Those of us who support cumulative voting feel that it best allows us to select "the best three
trustees to appropriately reflect the region's diversity."
Again, a vote of NO to the proposed Bylaws change is a vote in favor of keeping the cumulative
voting that we currently enjoy – and for keeping the current, locally based ways of changing
cumulative voting in your Region, if you so desire.
Thank you for reading our argument in favor of keeping cumulative voting as the integral part of
the URI that it was meant to be. Please vote "NO" on the proposed Bylaw change on cumulative
voting.
Please discuss this with your CC members and with other CCs before making your decision.
With all best wishes and blessings…
Trustees
• Anas Al-Abbadi, Middle East & North Africa
• Linda Bennett Elder, Multiregion
• Don Frew, Multiregion
• PK McCary, Continuing Trustee
• Anne Roth, North America
• Adelia Sandoval, North America
United Religions Initiative
PO Box 29242
San Francisco, CA USA
1 (415) 561-2300 phone
1 (415) 561-23134 fax
[email protected]
www.uri.org
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