LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 370

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370

STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION

the requirement of 3.12.1 (b) that all nominating ballots be
signed by the president and secretary of the nominating
congregation, replacing it instead with a provision directing the
Secretary of the Synod to provide “a secure and verifiable
method that will offer opportunity to every congregation of the
Synod to submit nominations.” This change was not, however,
incorporated into the 2010 Handbook with regard to the
nomination of regional vice-presidents.
…
Since the procedure for nomination by the congregations today
applies only to the offices of President of the Synod, First VicePresident, and the five regional vice-presidents [and no longer to
regional Board of Directors or mission board offices, which used
a parallel paper process in the 2013 and 2016 conventions], it is
the opinion of the commission that Resolution 4-07, adopted by
the 2010 convention, can be followed in its original intention to
allow the Secretary of the Synod to provide “a secure and
verifiable method that will offer opportunity to every
congregation of the Synod to submit nominations,” not only for
the President of the Synod and the First Vice-President, but also
for the five regional vice-presidents as well, without requiring
the signature of the president and secretary of nominating
congregations.
In its Item 19-014B, the Commission on Handbook has proposed
“finishing the work” of 2010 Res. 4-07 and amending the language
of Bylaw 3.12.2.7 to allow explicitly for the use of a “secure and
verifiable” (possibly electronic) method for the election of the
regional vice-presidents, to parallel exactly the language used for
President and First Vice-President. While it found the change would
only make explicit the sense of Bylaw 3.12.3.7 already determined
by the CCM, it found the change important enough to be presented
to the convention for adoption.
Therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 3.12.2.7 be amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Nominations and Elections of Regional Vice-Presidents
3.12.2.7
After the results of the first-vice-presidential election have
been announced, the convention shall elect five regional vicepresidents according to the following nominations and elections
process.
(a) Each member congregation of a region (including any nongeographic-district congregations in that region) shall have been
given opportunity, through a secure and verifiable method
provided by the Secretary of the Synod, to nominate two
ministers of religion—ordained from the clergy roster of the
Synod with residence in its designated region as candidates for
regional vice-president.
(b) The Secretary of the Synod shall receive such nominations
(signed by the president and secretary of the nominating
congregation).
(cb) The names of the five ministers of religion—ordained
residing within the boundaries of each geographic region who
receive the most nominating votes shall form the slate from which
the Synod convention shall select by majority vote each regional
vice-president.
…

H. ELECTION OF DISTRICT PRESIDENT
AND VICE-PRESIDENTS

2023 Convention Workbook

Rationale
In Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) Opinion 22-2987,
a review of district bylaws, the commission noted that Bylaw 4.7.3
specifies a procedure for successive balloting for offices of the
districts other than president and the vice-presidents. It is
customarily understood that the proper procedure for president and
vice-presidents is, should a ballot not produce a majority election,
to produce a successive ballot by removing the candidate who
received the fewest votes, repeating until an election occurs (cf.
Bylaw 3.12.2.6 [b] but ctr. Bylaws 3.12.2.4 and 3.12.2.7 [e–f]). The
variety of approaches available for President and regional vicepresidents of the Synod—both of which, to be sure, have unique
election mechanisms not likely to be reproduced exactly on the
district level—leads to a question, especially given Bylaw 4.7.1,
which allows for district election regulations, provided that “these
do not conflict with the Bylaws of the Synod,” of what is the proper
procedure for use by the districts (Const. Art. XII 5).
In its Item 19-024, COH proposed that the common understanding
be implemented clearly and explicitly in the Bylaws.
Therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 4.7.3 be amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
4.7 District Nominations, Elections, and Appointments
4.7.1
Each district may adopt regulations for the nomination and
election of its president; the nomination, selection, election, ranking,
and succession in case of vacancies of its vice-presidents; and the
nomination or selection of any regional officers or regional board of
directors members, as long as these provisions do not conflict with
the Bylaws of the Synod.
A nominating committee of each district shall be elected
4.7.2
by the district convention. Nominating committees may not be
employed in the election of the president and vice-presidents.
A majority of all votes cast by a district convention shall
4.7.3
be required in every election to all elective offices and elective board
positions. Except in the election of the president and the vicepresidents, the The following regulations shall apply:
(a) Candidates receiving a majority on the first ballot shall be
declared elected.
(b) In the election of the president and the vice-presidents, when
a second or succeeding ballot is required for a majority, the
candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the
ballot.
(bc) In other elections, when 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 fewer than two
candidates receive 15 percent or more of the votes cast, in which
case the three highest candidates shall constitute the ballot.
(cd) In every election balloting shall continue until every
position has been filled by majority vote.

I. SUGGESTION OF NOMINEES FOR CIRCUIT VISITOR
Rationale
When the 2010 convention amended the process for election of a
circuit visitor, an amendment made in the course of the convention
adopted, instead of the initially proposed language (that
“nominations for circuit [visitor] may be submitted by a voting
congregation of the circuit and by the district president, in
consultation with the praesidium of the district”) the practice that
“the district president be provided opportunity to [instead of