APA Voting Rights for States Depends on You
Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D.
This November, APA members will have a powerful opportunity to extend the voting rights in APA 's governing body to approximately twenty states that are currently disenfranchised.
This opportunity will come in the form of a bylaws amendment that you will receive in the mail, along with the annual "Apportionment Ballot". If you believe in state's rights, please do not throw this ballot away. Your vote can make the difference.
In case you think this is hyperbole, please read on. The history of this reasonable proposal underscores the need for your participation in APA's electoral process.
The Story Behind the Story
The balance of power in APA's Council of Representatives is determined by the annual apportionment ballot. This is the ballot which asks APA members to allocate ten votes for the division(s) or state psychological association(s) of their choice. In order to be entitled to vote on the floor of Council, a division or state association must receive a minimum number of votes (one-half of one percent).
Under this apportionment system, twenty-nine state and provincial associations have not had any vote. Along with several smaller divisions, these associations have had a nonvoting "liaison" status only to APA's governing body.
The irony of this arrangement is evident. Even though the smallest state has voting representatives in the United States Congress, many do not have his right in the APA Council Representatives.
Reform Almost Achieved in 1995
In 1995 APA members narrowly failed to pass a sweeping bylaw amendment based on the "one organization, one vote" principle. The so-called "CORE" proposal was advocated by a group of APA leaders calling themselves the Committee on Representational Equity (CORE), including Drs. Ron Levant, Mark Peterson, Bill Foote, Lynn Pantano, and Ron Wynne. These leaders led an arduous process of gaining approval from the Council of Representatives for this bylaw amendment. The amendment was accompanied by a pro-con statement which historically is associated with subsequent defeat of bylaw changes. And so it was narrowly defeated.
Compromise Agreed Upon
Recognizing that almost sixty percent of APA voting members supported a more democratic governing body, leaders of APA subsequently crafted a compromise proposal. This proposal will be coming to you as the bylaw change. It would increase the net size of the Council of Representatives by 24 people and preserve the current balance of power between divisions and state associations. Most important, all remaining divisions and 18 state psychological associations will be gaining a vote on the floor of APA's Council of Representatives. This would enfranchise all but the eleven smallest state, provincial, and territorial psychological associations.
State leaders believe this is an important step in the right direction. They urge you to cast your ballot and approve the bylaw proposal. There will be no pro-con statement this time around, hopefully increasing the chance of passage.
Your Vote Counts!
This bylaw proposal is an historic opportunity for states to democratize APA. While it does not give states everything they want, it gives them far more than they currently have. The proposal has the full support of all APA constituencies, including the academic/scientific community that had opposed the CORE amendment.
However, unless enough members vote, passage is not guaranteed. Please be sure to vote in this election even if you have never voted in an APA election before. Your vote counts!
Editor's Note: For more information on this bylaws amendment, see the Sep/Oct 1997 edition of The APA/Division Dialogue.