LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 13, 2016, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
February 13, 2016 Decision by Email
With all members of the Commission on Constitutional Matters participating in discussion via email, the
commission responded to an urgent February 11, 2016 question submitted by the Secretary of the Synod
as the results of the regional ballot nominations process were being tabulated, the question pertaining to
his contacting nominees for regional positions to learn of their willingness to allow their name to remain
on the ballot for possible election. By February 13, 2016, all members of the commission had expressed
their agreement with the following opinion.
148. Manner and Extent that Nominees Should Be Contacted to Determine Slates of Candidates for
Regional Positions (16-2785)
The Secretary of Synod posed this urgent question to the commission on February 11, 2016 immediately
upon early tallying of results of the nominating process for regional mission board and regional board of
directors positions.
Question: This request for a CCM opinion pertaining to Bylaw 3.12.2.7 is prompted by early tabulations
of nominating ballots for regional positions on the Board of Directors and the two mission
boards in preparation for the 2016 convention elections. In the case of some of these regional
positions, the ballot results make it necessary to turn to nominees who have received a single
nominating vote in order to meet the bylaw requirement of five candidates for each position
(Bylaw 3.12.2.7 [c]). Given the large numbers of these single-vote nominees, it becomes
problematic, even impossible, to contact all of them, to grant them time to give consideration
to allowing their names to stand for election, and to obtain their signed consent to serve,
biographical, and other information required for the Convention Workbook—all within the
short period of time established by bylaw.
I therefore ask the following question of the commission: “When there are more nominees
with the same vote count than are needed to finalize the slate of five candidates for a regional
position, will it be permissible to use a blind draw to determine the order in which nominees
will be contacted, continuing to do so only until the bylaw requirement of five candidates has
been met?”
Opinion: In response, the Commission notes that Bylaw 3.12.2.7 specifies the process for nomination and
election of regional vice presidents and applies the same process also to “all other regional elections.”
In the specified process, regional member congregations can each nominate two individuals for each
regional position. When nominations are closed, the five nominees who received the most nominating
votes (and are willing to serve) form the slate of candidates “from which the Synod convention shall
select by majority vote” the regional board member. Historically, in the case of a tie for the fifth slot
among regional vice president or board of directors nominees, the Secretary has, for lack of any Bylawsanctioned procedure to select only a sufficient number of these nominees to fill the slate to five, applied
the principle of Bylaw 3.12.2.1(b) to include all names involved in the tie. This forms the slate. No
additional floor nominations are permitted (Bylaw 3.12.2.7[d]).
The 2016 convention marks the first broad application of this procedure to regional board positions. Early
tabulations show a marked decrease in congregational participation with regard to nominations for these
positions. The distribution of nominations among nominees is generally such that reasonably complying
with the bylaw in the most obvious way (that is, selecting the five or a few more, in case of a tie for “last
place,” nominees with the most nominations) is impossible. After tabulations of the results of the