Proposed 2021 State Convention Principles of Engagement

Nothing in these rules of engagement is intended to change Article IV, Section 2 of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia’s (NFBV) constitution. The Convention remains “the supreme authority of the NFBV. It is the legislature of the NFBV . As such, it has final authority with respect to all issues of policy. Chapter board delegates and members in attendance may participate in all convention discussions as a matter of right. Any member of the NFBV may make or second motions [and] propose nominations.” These procedures simply implement the method for following the constitution in a hybrid or electronic convention.

The below principles and procedures are intended to provide clarity and advanced notice on how the convention will be managed in 2021.

This document will be read at the NFBV board meeting on Saturday, August 7 and then a second time on Saturday, October 30 during the General Session. The intention is for it to be voted on the morning of October 30. Those eligible to vote on this proposal will be any enrolled voters present and voting at the session on October 30 as described below.

A subcommittee of the Board of Directors comprising those who are not standing for election this year shall deal with questions and issues of credentials for voting. The subcommittee will include: Patrick Johnson of the At-Large Chapter and Mausam Mehta, Recording Secretary, from the Virginia Association of Blind Students.

Voting

1. Every member in good standing who registered for the convention by Friday, October 8, 2021 by 11:59 PM, will be offered an opportunity to enroll in the NFBV21 voting system by providing a voting phone number in their registration. All voters must be enrolled by Friday, October 8, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
2. All individuals who are paid members, are registered for the convention, and who opt into the voter enrollment system by the specified time, will constitute the pool of convention voters.
3. All voting will be done electronically. A system will be identified that is as inclusive as possible for all members. The exact procedure will be published no later than Friday, October 1.
4. Any matter must receive 51 percent support of the votes cast by the convention voters present and voting in order to be affirmed.
5. Present and voting will mean the subset of convention voters who actually cast a vote on a given question. Thus, voters who are indifferent to a matter cannot block its consideration by the Convention by choosing not to cast a vote.
6. All votes will be allocated two minutes for vote time.
7. After two minutes, if the outcome to the question under consideration is unclear, the chair will poll the chapter board delegates by voice vote for a definitive outcome.
8. If voting indicates 75 percent support for or against a question prior to the two-minute period elapsing, the chair may elect to move to the next order of business.
9. An opportunity to practice voting will be offered in the convention on a question that has no impact on the policy of the organization.

Motions and Nominations from the Floor

1. Only National Federation of the Blind of Virginia board delegates will be able to make motions, second motions, and nominate candidates from the floor during the convention.

2. Should a member of a delegation wish to make a motion or nominate a member for election by the Convention, their board delegate must bring it forward on their behalf.

3. A member may petition another chapter board delegate to support their motion, especially if the delegate from their own chapter will not support the motion.

Resolutions

1. Resolutions to be presented to the Convention must proceed through the resolutions committee process as usual.

2. Resolutions being recommended to the Convention by the committee will be posted to the web at

http://www.nfbv.org/resolutions

by 8:00 p.m. EDT or three hours after the committee meeting (whichever is later) on Friday, October 29, 2021.

3. Those wishing to speak for or against a resolution on the floor of the Convention must submit their interest in doing so by sending an email to resolutions@nfbv.org by 5:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 30. The email must contain the individual’s full name, chapter name, the number of the resolution they wish to discuss, whether they are for or against the resolution, and a phone number where they can best be reached in case there is an issue with the Zoom platform.

4. Reminders will be given at each of the general sessions prior to the deadline regarding the above process.

5. In determining the amount of debate a resolution requires, the chair may use the Zoom polling option to get a sense of the crowd, ask the chapter board delegates for their feeling on cutting off the debate, or engage some other strategy outside of the voting system to gauge the sense of the Convention.