Proposed 2022 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 an in-person convention with a virtual convention experience.

The below principles and procedures are intended to provide clarity and advanced notice on how the convention will be managed in 2022.

This document will be read and voted on during the morning general session of October 28. Those eligible to vote on this proposal will be any enrolled voters present and voting at the session on October 28 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.

Voting

1. Every member in good standing who registered for the convention (either in-person or virtual experience) by Sunday, October 23, 2022, by 11:59 PM, will be automatically enrolled in the NFBV22 voting system using the voting phone number provided in their convention registration.
Members must self-certify that they have paid dues in 2022 to an NFBV Chapter or division. The convention registration team along with the sub-committee of the board of directors will validate this information before providing phone numbers to the voting system provider. These individuals will constitute the pool of convention voters.
3. Voting for elections and resolutions will be done electronically. A system will be identified that is as inclusive as possible for all members. The exact procedure will be provided to all registered voters via email on Monday, October 24, 2022.
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 for elections and resolutions 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 members will be able to make motions, second motions, and nominate candidates from the floor during the convention. These activities will be conducted in-person using voice votes and will not use the voting system.
2. Acceptance of reports such as from the recording secretary, Treasurer, Audit Committee or nominating committee will be address via voice vote and will not use the voting system.

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 28, 2022.

3. Those wishing to speak for or against a resolution on the floor of the Convention must be in person. If a virtual convention experience participant who is a paid, voting member wishes to contribute to the discussion of a resolution, find someone who will be in person to represent your perspective during the Sunday, October 30 General Session. Alternatively, a virtual experience voting member can submit remarks in support or opposition to a resolution by sending an email to resolutions@nfbv.org by 5:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 29. 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.

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 poll the in-person audience 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.