Electronic Musings

Recently, my mind started wandering to what the future will hold for this October’s National Council Session and G.I.R.L. 2020.  It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but GSUSA did state that at this time, it does plan on moving forward, but that there would be a reevaluation in the late spring/early summer.  Fingers crossed!

But I did start to think about what would happen to the National Council Session if G.I.R.L. 2020 was canceled.  It’s mandated in our Constitution that we have a triennial meeting (see Article V/Sessions of the National Council Session/§ 1), so it can’t be canceled.  What would the alternatives be?  I wondered if electronic meetings could be a possibility.  Our Constitution doesn’t say anything about them.  So I did some research and went to both Robert’s Rules and Washington D.C.’s nonprofit corporation act.  From my interpretation, our Constitution is specific about having to vote “in person,” and therefore, votes taken electronically wouldn’t be valid (emphasis added): 

ARTICLE V/SESSIONS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL/4. QUORUM

Two hundred members of the National Council present in person shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at sessions of the National Council, provided, however, that delegates are present from one or more local councils in a majority of the geographical areas of the country as defined in the Bylaws. In the absence of a quorum, a majority of those present at the time and place set for a session may take an adjournment from time to time until a quorum shall be present.”

ARTICLE V/SESSIONS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL/5. VOTING

Each member present in person at the National Council shall be entitled to one (1) vote. Decision on membership dues shall require a majority of votes cast. All matters shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present and voting, unless otherwise provided by this Constitution.

Additionally, two councils submitted separate proposals for consideration for the 2020 NCS agenda to allow for special meetings of the NCS to be held virtually or electronically (here’s one of them), but the National Board didn’t select either one.  A memo came out at the same time as the Early Alert that detailed why certain proposals weren’t selected, and the National Board had this to say about electronic meetings after consulting with not just one, but two parliamentarians:

Given the role that technology has played in streamlining how we communicate, the proposals seemed intuitively appealing; however, after further research, it became clear that an electronic special session would not work at this time, given the technology required, the cost, and the size of the delegate body. Importantly, an electronic session would not create the same experience for dialogue and communication, which is fundamental to the deliberations of the National Council body and the democratic process of Girl Scouts. Delegates continue to comment on the importance of hearing and interacting with other Girl Scouts as being extremely important and rewarding in shaping their perspectives on national governance matters.

Both parliamentarians expressed that it is not currently possible to hold an electronic meeting for a body of this size that would be compliant with Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RONR) and the fundamental character of a deliberative assembly. Their full opinions are available on the Delegate Website.

They found that electronic meetings work best for smaller deliberative bodies. GSUSA’s delegate body may be up to 1,500 individuals. Managing electronic debate and decision making under RONR for a group of this size would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. RONR allows for electronic meetings when they, at a minimum, provide the opportunity for “simultaneous aural communication among all participating members equivalent to those of meetings held in one room or area.” In addition, the technology must be able to:

• Verify delegate identity, both initially and ongoing
• Confirm a quorum
• Ensure that only properly credentialed delegates vote
• Protect the sanctity of the vote, including maintaining the secrecy of a ballot
• Have a method for seeking recognition during debate and for obtaining priority among different types of motions and points of order (e.g., ensuring that a point of order takes precedence over a request to speak in opposition)
• Have functionality to make amendments to motions and to take a vote on main motions and subsidiary motions

Both parliamentarians have advised that they are unaware of any technology that could satisfy these requirements and do not know of any meetings of this size that are conducted electronically or virtually.

The costs of the technology to ensure verification of delegates and the security of the votes, which one parliamentarian shared would likely require biometric authentication technology, was significant. There would also be additional costs to councils, and potentially for delegates, for technology adaptations on their end as well as potential accommodations for those with visual or hearing impairments.

GSUSA will continue to seek additional ways for delegate engagement and input, but the core elements of the Girl Scout democratic process—which include an active and robust National Council body—cannot, at this time, be satisfactorily maintained with an electronic special session.

So there ya go!  It’s my opinion that especially for this National Council Session, it’s important that it be held in person.  So if it looks like it’s not going to happen in October, then postponing is our only option.  Due to the nature of some of the proposals (which involves everybody’s favorite subject – membership dues!), there will have to be a substantial discussion that takes place.  I know I have a lot to say about it here on the GSWAC (Not a Council) blog, but I’m waiting until later to publish my views.

Here’s hoping things go as planned in October!

Addendum 6/7/20:  I still stand by this opinion that per the GSUSA Constitution and D.C. law, we are not authorized to have a virtual NCS.   Just sayin’.