Hurt feelings after troop election

[VigilNavyCPO]

It's at least 50% of registered Scouts under the age of 21 present at the meeting to be able to hold an election.

 

It's at least 50% of those Scouts present who can vote to be elected.

 

If your Troop carries a lot of gray area leaders (ages 18 to 21) on the charter because they are in college, this could prevent you from having a legal election.

 

I understand why you would want to prevent Scouts with less then 6 months from voting, but by National OA rules they are allowed to. And it should make it that much harder for other Scouts to get elected, because it's at least 50% of the Scouts present who are allowed to vote, not 50% of those Scouts voting.

 

I have found that most Lodges I have been in do not know our own rules, or follow them.

[nolesrule]

Your first point is almost correct. An ACTIVE registered youth (21 and under) must be counted. The OA's definition of "active" is not the same as the recent definitions published by national for rank advancement. Active is defined as someone who participates (even occasionally) in unit activities. Inactive is someone who does not participate, having moved away or dropped out. So if someone goes off to college but is registered as an ASM, they are counted if they participate when they come home. Just being an ASM on paper will not count toward total active registered youth.

 

As for vote totals, it's 50% of total ballots turned in (I assume that includes ballots with no votes for anyone), not scouts present. While the youth would be required to be present to count toward the 50% active registered quota, not turning in a ballot does not count toward determining the total vote count needed.

 

It's right there under the election procedures step 9, which explains how to calculate the number of votes required for a youth to be elected based on the number of ballots turned in.

 

(This message has been edited by nolesrule)

[VigilNavyCPO]

nolesrule is right on both counts. I guess I am just as guilty as not knowing the rules. LOL

 

And I thinking it over some, as guess I have to agree on encouraging the new crossover Scouts not to vote.

 

 

From the Advisor Guide

The election team leader explains the following to the

unit leader:

This is the current method of election approved by

the national OA committee in use by the lodge.

All eligible youths who receive votes from at least 50

percent of those who turn in ballots are elected. If

no one is elected a second vote may be held immediately,

and the result of this vote will be final.

[sandspur]

To clarify, we ask new scouts not to vote because they dont know the older scouts well enough to cast a thoughtful vote. However, if they feel they can do so, we dont prevent them from voting. Most agree with our thought and do not vote until their second year.

[Crew21_Adv]

Fellow Scouters and Arrowmen,

 

Greetings!

 

 

In addition to many good points brought up during this discussion.

 

It sounds (just from reading this forum topic) that nearly half of the units conduct their own election and submit their results to the Lodge, vice having a Chapter Election Team visit.

 

We all should encourage our Arrowmen in our troops to be active in the Chapter and Lodge (not just a sash and dash). And beyond being active in the Chapter, attend their annual Lodge Leadership Development. Lodge Leadership Development Seminar offers many sessions, but one specifically is for Chapter Election Team (and procedures).

 

Of course there is the Guide for OA Officers and Advisors (manual), that a Scoutmaster could flip thru before an election. But most of our elections should be conducted by a team of Arrowmen youth, explaining the proper procedures to the Scoutmaster and troops.

 

Oddly enough, we still have Scouts throughout the local council that dont understand what is going on; after watching a video, listening to the procedures, listening to the procedures explained, a strong Scoutmaster endorsement, handed printed ballots with pencils, and confirming that there are no remaining questions. The election results are sometimes still surprising.

 

Good Luck!

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv

 

[BDPT00]

"But most of our elections should be conducted by a team of Arrowmen youth"

 

I would amend that to say "ALL," not 'most.'

In our lodge, it's also "MUST," not 'should,' and that team is from outside the unit.

BDPT00

 

 

[Stosh]

Our elections are always hosted by Arrowmen.

 

All scouts vote. It's a "civic" duty and being knowledgeable is not required. It's up to them to learn the candidates, just like any other election. I would never suggest the boys not vote.

 

Stosh