During the 2023 legislative year, APA’s Council of Representatives voted to approve sending two proposed Bylaws amendments to the Membership for a vote and to include statements in favor of and against adopting the amendments. The first amendment would require a minimum number of three rather than five candidates on the President-Elect Election ballot, ordinarily with a minimum number of thirty nominations each. The second amendment would require that a formal consultation and discussion with the Council of Representatives occur prior to the Policy and Planning Board sending Bylaw amendments to the Membership.
In accordance with APA’s Association Rules, 1) a maximum of three authors were selected by the Council Leadership Team to prepare each of the statements below and 2) the names of the authors are not identified on the statements but will be provided upon request after the vote.
Proposed Amendment to Require a Minimum Number of Three Rather Than Five Candidates on the President-Elect Ballot, Ordinarily with a Minimum Number of Thirty Nominations Each
The Council of Representatives voted 138 in favor of and 11 against in approving of sending the Bylaws amendment to the Membership for a vote.
Explanation of Proposed Bylaws Change
The proposed amendments would do the following:
- Change the minimum number of required Members on the President-Elect Election ballot from five to three candidates.
- Require that 1) up to five Members be included on the President-Elect Election ballot if each of these Members receive a minimum of thirty nominating votes; and 2) if there are not three Members that have thirty or more nominating votes, the three Members having the largest number of nominating votes will be included on the ballot.
- Update the language to align with the requirement included in Article VIII, Section 3, of the APA Bylaws that the “President-Elect shall be a Member of the Association.”
Statement in Favor of Adopting
The Election Committee recommended the amendments due to the trend in recent years of having difficulty finding a fourth and fifth candidate who are willing to run and serve, if elected, as President-Elect. For example, there were only four eligible candidates willing to run in 2022 and 2023, and it took the Election Committee Chair several weeks to find a fourth candidate in each of those years. If the amendments are approved, the Bylaws would require that at least three candidates be included on the President-Elect Election ballot and up to two additional candidates be included if they have thirty or more nominating votes. Members who submitted a brief statement with the President-Elect Nomination ballot in the past received more than thirty nominating votes, so the changes will not prevent up to five Members who express interest in running from being included on the President-Elect ballot.
Statement Against Adopting
Council voted to include statements in favor of and against adopting this amendment. Following the Council meeting, no Council members responded to the requests to write a statement against adopting this amendment.
Full Text of the Bylaws Amendment
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Article X. Nominations and Elections
1. The Election Committee shall issue annually a call to all voting members of the Association for nominations for the office of President-elect. The nomination ballots shall provide spaces for nomination of at least three names of Members to be listed in order of preference. Forty-five days after sending the nomination ballots, the Election Committee shall close nominations and shall make a preferential count of nominees for President-elect. The Election Committee shall then prepare for the final election ballot a slate including the names of [the] up to five [persons] Members of the Association who receive the largest numbers of nominating votes provided those Members also have a minimum of thirty nominating votes. If there are not three Members who receive thirty or more nominating votes, the Election Committee shall slate the three Members who receive the largest number of nominating votes.
Proposed Amendment to Require a Formal Consultation and Discussion with Council to Occur Prior to the Policy and Planning Board sending Bylaw Amendments to the Membership
The Council of Representatives voted 120 in favor of and 36 against in approving of sending the Bylaws amendment to the Membership for a vote.
Explanation of Proposed Bylaws Change
Currently APA Bylaws Article XXI allow for amendments to the Bylaws to be changed by one of the following four methods: Amendments may be proposed (a) by Council, (b) by the Policy and Planning Board, (c) by the Board of Directors when approved by Council by a majority vote, or (d) by petition signed by four percent or more of the Members of the Association.
This current proposed Bylaws change would require the Policy and Planning Board to formally bring any proposed Bylaws amendments to Council for discussion and input before bringing it to the Membership for a vote.
Statement in Favor of Adopting
All proposed Bylaws changes should be vetted by APA’s diverse Council of Representatives. Voting Yes for this Bylaws amendment would ensure that any Bylaws changes brought to Membership would have been reviewed by the diverse constituencies that are represented on Council.
Without this modification, a mere 5-person majority of the 9-person Policy and Planning Board could bring a Bylaws change to the Membership. Just last year, the Policy and Planning Board proposed a radical reduction in the size of Council, eliminating all the Division, State, Provincial and Territorial seats on Council. Under the current Bylaws, they did not have to bring this change to Council.
Voting Yes ensures Council review for any future Policy and Planning Board proposed Bylaws changes. Every other APA board and committee, including the Board of Directors, has to bring a proposed Bylaws change to Council for its approval. The Policy and Planning Board should have to do the same. The process of going through Council is the best way to ensure checks and balances in APA governance.
Statement Against Adopting
A vote for this Bylaws change will weaken the Association in the eyes of the public.
Since its inception the Policy and Planning Board (P&P) has considered a range of active interests within the Association including current and long-range policies. It is charged with reviewing the structure and function of APA every five years and it is to make recommendations by written report to Council and by publication to the Association members.
The APA Bylaws provide P&P the authority to send Bylaw amendments directly to the Membership. This is a provision separate from Council’s authority to send Bylaws changes to the Membership. Requiring that P&P consult with Council on Bylaw amendments changes the intent of P&P having the authority to send Bylaw amendments directly to the Membership.
P&P carefully and in consultation with groups across APA is responsive to various tensions. P&P is an APA board elected by Council.
There is no clear rationale for the change proposed. Adding a consultation process to the Bylaws that lacks definition or clarity would only create an opportunity for confusion.
Voting No on this Bylaws change avoids potential conflict arising from such confusion and is in the best interest of Association.
Full Text of Bylaws Amendment
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Article XXI. Amendments
2. Amendments may be proposed (a) by Council, (b) by the Policy and Planning Board following formal consultation and discussion with Council, (c) by the Board of Directors when approved by Council by a majority vote, or (d) by petition signed by four percent or more of the Members of the Association. A copy of each amendment proposed, with space appropriate for voting and such explanations of the amendments are as deemed necessary, shall be sent to the last recorded address of each Fellow, Member, voting Associate member, and voting Graduate Student member. Pro and con statements shall accompany amendments unless two thirds of the representatives present and voting consider such statements to be unnecessary. Forty-five days after the date of sending, the poll shall be closed and the votes counted by the Election Committee, which shall certify the result to Council at its next meeting, at which time the amendment, if passed by two thirds of all the Members voting, shall take effect.