Nerd Alert! A Virtual Parliamentary Procedure Reality?
National Governance, Opinions 12 Comments 
2017 NCS, 2020 NCS, democratic process, governance, gsusa, national board, national convention, national council, national delegate, roberts rules, samona
It’s the summer, and I get bored. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop and all that. So I thought, what’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now? I’ve been considering becoming a certified parliamentarian for the past few years. Samona says I’d be good at it. At least I think she said that. But who knows – it could lead to some sort of side job! Last year, I did look into how to become certified and even took a practice test, but maybe this is a good time to revisit it.
So while I was gathering up study materials, I thought back to the reasoning given by the National Board denying two potential proposals allowing for electronic NCS meetings submitted by councils for the 2020 NCS. The rationale was based on the opinions of two parliamentarians that GSUSA hired and can be found in a National Board memo released at the same time as the Early Alert back in February. You can read the board’s response in this previous blog post where I thought the NCS would be postponed.
I’m not sure what made the National Board do a 180 and decide it’s now possible to have the NCS virtually, but the questions it raised in its denial still have to be answered. I still wonder about the legality of the decision, but that’s another discussion entirely. Regardless, I would really like to know how parliamentary procedure will be pulled off in a fair and correct manner. The whole point of parliamentary procedure is:
- To ensure the right of the MAJORITY to DECIDE
- To ensure the right of the MINORITY to be HEARD
- To ensure FULL and FAIR debate for ALL MEMBERS
Without proper parliamentary procedure, the democratic process isn’t fulfilled, and it’s critical – as the National Board stated in its memo – that “the core elements of the Girl Scout democratic process – which include an active and robust National Council body” HAVE to be present. We’re putting our organization at risk on multiple levels without it.
Back in February, a platform was not available that could handle what’s needed technology-wise. Has one come along now? Or are we building one? If so, what kind of money are we looking at? The National Board stated there would be costs to councils and potentially to delegates. How much are we talking about?
Here are some other questions I have when it comes to parliamentary procedure:
- What if a delegate doesn’t have the necessary technology in order to participate fully and fairly?
- How will delegates with special needs such as the hearing impaired be accommodated? An ASL interpreter is provided by GSUSA if one is requested at an NCS.
- How will we ensure and OFFICIALLY validate that only properly credentialed delegates are “present” and voting throughout the session? Someone else could sit in their place, and nobody would know it with 1500+ in attendance. Someone could also cut off their video, and you wouldn’t be able to verify who is there either. A bunch of people can’t crowd into a room at a council office and someone claim, “Yeah, so and so is here. Girl Scout’s honor.” This is something that can’t be taken lightly, because it affects the legality of the voting results.
- Robert’s Rules (11th Edition, pg. 99) states that there should be rules relating to quorums. What method will be used to determine the presence of a quorum initially and from that point on? How can a member raise a point of order doubting the presence of a quorum?
- How will credentials be swapped out if an alternate has to take over mid-session? I was personally bumped up during the 2017 NCS to a delegate status, so it happens.
- How will we keep the sanctity of the vote? Again, you can’t just email a link to a voting website even if the link is individualized to that email address. Emails can be forwarded and the link shared with someone who is not a delegate. This is also a legal matter. To be recognized by the law, a vote has to be credentialed just like election results.
- How will we guard the secrecy of a ballot? National Delegates should be able to vote however they so choose without the risk of facing consequences for not voting for “the party line.” I’m sorry to that say that, but it’s true in some councils.
- What if someone has connection issues during the session and this prevents them from participating and voting? Technically, this would be a Point of Privilege. But you can’t make that point if you can’t connect in the first place!
- How will debate be handled during the session? These proposals will involve a LOT of discussion. You’re supposed to alternate between those in favor of a motion and those opposed. How will this be differentiated?
- Certain motions have precedence over others. For example, a Point of Order can interrupt a speaker and should be acknowledged immediately. How will this be handled? What about a Parliamentary Inquiry?
- How will the order of speakers be determined? How will this be controlled? At an in-person NCS, there are microphone monitors who review motions on a written piece of paper before the delegate is allowed to speak, and there’s a lot of coordination involved.
- How will delegates be able to make amendments to motions and vote on subsidiary motions? This is not about just voting for a predetermined question like we see during election-time at our local precincts. Amendments can be made to motions. What’s being voted on is constantly in flux.
- When no motions are on the floor (aka no debate is taking place), how can someone make a Motion That Brings a Question Again Before the Assembly like a Motion to Reconsider? There are many motions that can take place outside of the usual proposal discussion.
- What happens if the voting results are disputed?
- While this might be uncomfortable to think about, how will we ensure that the ones controlling the meeting and technology are unbiased? And how can we prove it? Whether it was the case or not, some delegates had the impression that manipulation went on during the 2017 NCS due to the way they felt the session was handled. I personally witnessed a lot of frustration during the 2017 NCS, and our organization cannot have that happen again if we’re all going to be moving in the same direction.
A lot of councils have employed electronic meetings for their recent annual meetings, but what we’re looking at for a NCS is extremely different. The National Council is comprised of almost 1500 people – and a NCS should allow non-delegates to witness the proceedings, so add even more people to the mix. There’s more to this than just jumping on a Zoom meeting or attending a GoTo webinar or sending out a SurveyMonkey poll. And parliamentary procedure will be much more involved than just un-muting someone who raises their hand or saying “all in favor say aye” or going to a website to vote. The above questions must be answered (and proven) in a satisfactory way, and failure to do so will mean the results could be disputed in court. I’m sure there are more questions I’ve missed. Also, we don’t want to start this thing up only to realize halfway through that it’s not going to work. All of this is a huge concern especially considering the magnitude of the proposals.
Even though I’m not a National Delegate, I would still like to know the answers to these questions as both a member of this organization and for reference as a (hopefully!) future certified parliamentarian. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering about these things, and there are other nerdy governance people out there like me! Right? Say right to make me feel better. 😉
Addendum 6/14/20: I heard there is a National Delegate webinar for parliamentary procedure sometime this week. If you attend, please ask these questions! Thanks!
Right
Thank you Cheryl. 😀
As a fellow “amateur” parliamentarian and delegate trainer for my council, I would also like to have answers to these questions. Thank you. f
On a recent conference call with Juliette Low Society members and Sylvia Acevedo, I asked if non-delegates would be able to “attend” the meeting. She hesitated just a moment, then said something about “some councils are arranging for people to watch together.” That doesn’t sound like the platform will allow anyone other than voters. There’s another conference call coming up soon with Lifetime Members. I intend to ask more specific questions then.
I still don’t understand the rush to get this pushed through and why we can’t postpone it. I won’t beat around the bush – does GSUSA plan on raising membership dues sooner than later after they hope to (legally) gain control of membership dues?
Addendum: I submitted the same question for the lifetime member phone call, but all the NCS questions were lumped together and this was not answered.
I have one more point of consideration. The benefit of sending a delegation is that they can assist each other during the session. New delegates can be confused or just want some support to speak at a microphone. Fellow delegates can help them choose proper wording or the correct motion. I know everyone is worried about large gatherings, but could councils secure a location for their delegates to “attend” participate together. Each person could use their own laptop or link for voting, but having your fellow delegates present might be beneficial. I am a firm believer that delegates go informed and not instructed. Voting must remain individualized so you can vote your conscience. Having delegate sites may eliminate the tech issue for individuals and if entire delegations lose connections you could call in a point of privilege quickly to a support number. You may also be able to have volunteers serve as support staff, checking microphone statements scanning them to a directed location for posting, listing red or green, a separate person to check parliamentary issues and sending them to NCS designated parliamentarians. They could be outside of the delegate room or in a separate room to avoid any conflict. Once National has a plan perhaps councils could check with local businesses or companies to donate space or equipment or national sponsors could get local affiliates to assist councils. The best part of the NCS is the camaraderie you have with fellow delegates. My two cents.
Very good points, Sandra, and you are absolutely correct to point out that delegations normally are seated together and have at least some opportunity for more experienced delegates to assist less experienced delegates maneuver the oft-technical sides of some of the debates. And I agree with all the questions Amy has raised. I’m pretty confident there are already developed platforms out there that address at least some of the issues, but it sure will be interesting to see how all this sorts out.
I too want to know these answers, and hope that GSUSA doesn’t just sweep these concerns away. I truly wish they would be transparent and forthcoming, but I doubt it will happen.
One of your points confused me—
“ How will we guard the secrecy of a ballot? National Delegates should be able to vote however they so choose without the risk of facing consequences for not voting for “the party line.” I’m sorry to that say that, but it’s true in some councils.”
Are NCS votes normally secret? Normally when someone is called a “delegate” she is acting as a representative for others, and a fundamental part of that is that the people whom she represents know how she voted. Sure there’s lots of voice votes to keep debate moving, but controversial votes will go by roll call. Is that not how the NCS usually operates?
I’ve only attended one NCS, so someone else may be able to speak better than me, but at least for 2017, the only voice vote I remember was to adopt the agenda. Everything else used electronic devices that recorded votes, and then they displayed the results on the screen. The devices aren’t tied to people’s names or councils so someone couldn’t come back and asked how so-and-so voted.
I’ve attended several conventions. While voting is by electronic means, it wouldn’t be too hard to guess how someone voted by watching her/his hand position unless the voter is careful. Unfortunately, some councils use coercion to encourage delegates to vote a certain way. Delegates should be informed but not instructed. Delegates in our council are encouraged to know how our members feel about issues but are also encouraged to listen to debate on the floor and vote their conscience.