# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_January 25 26 2013_S25
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

prompted questions regarding how the background check requirement was to be satisfied in their regard.
The Commission on Handbook proposes the following bylaw changes to the 2013 convention to resolve
the matter.
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.12.4.2 The President shall determine and announce a period of time during the convention for the
election of the members of all elective boards and commissions.
(a) After the election of the President, the First Vice-President, and the other vicepresidents in that order, the election by ballot of the Secretary shall next be conducted.
(b) The election by ballot of the members of the Board of Directors shall next follow. Each
category (ordained, commissioned, and lay) shall be elected separately, the order of the
elections to be rotated to allow each category to be the first elected at every third
convention, as monitored by the Secretary of the Synod.
(c) The election by ballot of the members of all elective boards and commissions shall
follow next.
(d) A majority of all votes shall be required for election to all elective offices and elective
board positions. Candidates receiving a majority on the first ballot shall be declared elected.
(e) Persons elected to positions requiring a background check shall not assume office until
an appropriate background check has been completed. If a person is elected and
subsequently fails to pass a required background check, the position will be deemed vacant
and will be filled according to Bylaw 3.2.5.
(fe) Except in the elections of president and vice-presidents, when a second or succeeding
ballot is required for a majority, the candidate receiving the fewest votes and all candidates
receiving less than 15 percent of the votes cast shall be dropped from the ballot, unless few
than two candidates receive 15 percent or more of the votes cast, in which case the three
highest candidates shall constitute the ballot.
(gf) The tally of the votes cast for each candidate shall be announced after each ballot in all
elections.
Commission on Handbook

65. Overture to the 2013 LCMS Convention (Remaining Restructuring Issues)
Overture to 2013 Convention
To Resolve Bylaw Issues Remaining from 2010 Convention Restructuring Decisions
Background
Following the 2010 LCMS convention, it was recognized that restructuring decisions had resulted in lack
of clarity and even contradictions in the Handbook of the Synod that would require additional attention by
the 2013 convention. These concerns were discussed during a day-long November 2, 2012 joint meeting
of the Commission on Constitutional Matters, Commission on Handbook, the Chief Mission Officer, the
Chief Administrative Officer, and a member of the president’s office staff. The commission offers the
following proposed amendments to satisfy a number of these concerns in the 2010 Handbook of the
Synod.
(A) Board for National Mission
Page 52 – 01.25 to 01.26.13 – COH Minutes