Elections Results

[acco40]

Last evening my son (our troop OA rep - Brotherhood member) helped to proctor an OA election for another troop. Last year I (also a Brotherhood member) accompanied him while he proctored an OA election for a different troop. Last evening his mother provided his transportation and accompaniment (and stayed outside the building) while I attended our troop's PLC meeting. Anyway, immediately after the election (it was successful) he counted the ballots with the Scoutmaster. Now I thought the results should be known by only my son and the SM at this time. However, the SM told my son that he needed to share the results with his troops OA rep. My son, being only 14 and not quite sure, honored that request. While not a big deal in my book I'm not so sure the election information should have been shared with any of the youth membership. Does anyone know the correct policy? Thanks.

[EagleWB]

I'm not sure what the correct policy is but in the Lodge I belong to we conduct a calling out ceremony the night of the election at the Troop meeting. The candidates know who is elected and we hand each one elected the info on all the upcoming Ordeals and get the info the Ordeal Master needs.

[acco40]

In our lodge, election are usually in Jan/Feb and the call-out is not until June/July. As SM, I use to tell the parents of the Scouts elected but to many leaked that info to their son so I do not do that anymore. At the end of our election, the OA rep just tell the unit if the election was successful or not. If successful, an adult may be submitted for possible approval too.

[Proud Eagle]

The election team and SM should know the results. It is up to the SM if the results are to be kept secret until call-out or other notification is given. If the SM wishes it, the candidates can be informed of their election that very night be the election team. This is at the discretion of the SM if he want the results announced or kept under wraps.

 

However, while the SM has the option of announcing the results, I don't know about sharing them with the OA rep. There is no rule against it, but there is no provision for it either (unless the OA rep is helping the election team, which he should probably do, but not to the extent of counting the ballots or anything like that).

 

I think this is a case where the SM should have delivered the info to the OA Troop Rep, if that is what the SM chose to do.

 

In any case, there was no harm done, but I do wonder why the SM wanted the OA rep told? Was he expecting him to make certain the candidates were at the call-out, or received information on the ordeals? I can only speculate. If he needed the information to perform his duties, then fine, if it was just being done as some kind of special privilege, then not so fine.

[blade1158]

"As soon as the election is completed, the unit leader may or may not choose to announce to the entire unit the names of members who have been elected."

 

Guide for Officers and Advisers, p. 23

 

The Guide for Officers and Advisers is silent on the matter of telling the troop rep the results of the election, although the phrase "announce to the entire unit" could be interpreted as the whole unit knows or none of them know.

 

Announcement of results seems to be a function of local lodge tradition, though the Guide gives this authority to the unit leader. In my lodge, a candidate doesn't know if he's been elected until he's pulled out of line at the call out ceremony. That's the way we've done it for over 30 years.

[acco40]

Thanks. For future reference I'm going to advise my son that only he and the Scoutmaster should be aware of the election results immediately after the election. If a SM requests that he share this information with any other youth or adult member of the troop he should defer to the SM and inform the SM that that is his responsiblity and not the responsiblity of the election team (my son).

 

I'm not a Lodge Advisor or officer, but I am a brotherhood member. Is the Guide for Officers and Advisors available to me?

[srisom]

In our Chapter, the election team conducts the election and then notifies the SM of the results. Usually, the OA Rep is on the election team for his unit. The guide says that one member of the election team can be from the unit holding the election. Makes sense to have that be the OA Rep.

 

The Guide for Officers and Advisors is available to any OA member.

[LodgeChief]

In my Lodge, our election forms are carbon copies. The elections chairman and adviser get the top sheet, the election team member gets the second copy and the unit gets the third copy. The Scoutmaster signs this copy along with the election team member and the troop representative. Somebody from every spectrum signed it. The adult, the neutral person, and the youth. This prevents cheating. Also in our lodge, the oa rep and the SM go with the elections team to count the votes. It works very well.