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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 117

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

SYNODICAL REPORTS 117

3.973 Candidates

The persons receiving the greatest number of nominations shall
be the candidates in the election for the other Vice-Presidents, the
number of candidates to be three times the number of offices to be
filled.

3.975 Balloting and Election

a. If any person or persons receive as many nominations as
equal or exceed 75 percent of the delegates making nominations,
he or they shall be declared elected. Whenever more than one
Vice-President is elected in this manner, the order of their election
shall be determined by the number of nominations each received,
priority being given in each case to the candidates receiving the
greatest number of nominations. No more candidates shall be
elected in this manner than there are offices to be filled.

b. In the election for the other Vice-Presidents each voting del-
egate shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are
offices to be filled. A candidate whose total vote equals or exceeds
a majority of the number of delegates voting shall be declared
elected. If more candidates receive a majority than there are of-
fices to be filled, those receiving the greatest number of votes shall
be declared elected. If not all offices are filled in such voting, the
candidate or candidates receiving the least number of votes shall be
eliminated so that two candidates remain for each office to be
filled. Another vote shall then be taken. This procedure shall be
followed until all the offices have been filled.

3.977 Ranking

The rank of Vice-Presidents shall be determined by the order
of their election, or if more than one is elected in the same voting,
by the number of votes received by each.

Northwest

Pacific Southwest
Rocky Mountain
Wyoming

In all matters related to the selection of area Vice-Presidents,
congregations belonging to the English and SELC Districts shall
participate in that area which includes the geographical District in
which such congregation is located.

j. A candidate for Second through Fifth Vice-President shall re-
side im the area for which he is nominated and elected. If during
his term one of these Area Vice-Presidents moves from an area, he
shall thereby relinquish his position as a Vice-President. The re-
sulting vice-presidential vacancy shall be filled by the candidate
who received the next highest number of votes for that position at
the previous election. The appointed successor shall fulfill all the
duties of a Vice-President of the Synod with the exception of stand-
ing in the line of succession to the presidency of the Synod.

k. After the results of the election of the First Vice-President
have been announced, the convention shall vote for the Area Vice-
Presidents. The slates for Area Vice-President are not subject to al-
teration by amendment on the convention floor. Each delegate shall
be entitled to vote for one candidate for each area. If no candidate
receives a majority of the votes cast for an area, the candidate re-
ceiving the least number of votes shall be eliminated. Subsequent
votes in the same fashion shall be taken until a candidate receives a
majority of the votes cast and shall be declared elected as the Area
Vice-President.

1. After the four Area Vice-Presidents have been elected, a sep-
arate vote shall be taken to determine their ranking as Second
through Fifth Vice-Presidents of the Synod.

Council of Presidents (COP)

The first page of the Council of Presidents Policy Manual states:

The Council of Presidents in the LCMS dates its origin to 1854, when it was known as the “*Praesidium.” In the course of time, the synodi-
cal President, together with the vice-presidents, was referred to as the “Praeses Kollegium.” Just when the two terms shifted in meaning is diffi-
cult to say. {t is, however, noticeable that by 1917 the term “Praesidium™ referred to the synodical President and the synodical vice-presidents,
while the Council of Presidents was identified as the “Kollegium der Distrikis Praesides” from which emerged the English “College of Presi-
dents,” which was renamed in 1965 by official synodical resolution as the “Council of Presidents.”

Current synodica] Bylaw 3.51 defines a “council” as “‘an officially established group elected or appointed as an advisory body.” (In its pre-
liminary report, the TF had suggested removing this definition from the Bylaws, but it has reconsidered and now recommends retaining it.)
Bylaw 3.930 sets forth the following functions of the COP, which, one might note, are mostly advisory and/or consultative in nature:

a. to enable the [synodical] President to advise and counsel his representatives in the Districts;
b. to enable the District Presidents in turn to give counsel to the President;
c. to counsel with one another on matters regarding the doctrine and administration of the Synod and its Districts;

2001 Convention Workbook