Participation Membership Proposal
Group polling rosters and procedures
This is a default standard plan for determining membership in a branch for the purposes of polling. This plan need not be the one chosen by a branch or Kingdom, but it is offered as a default plan if no one in the local branch comes up with anything better. Alternate plans will need to be approved by the Kingdom Seneschal and (eventually) by the Society Seneschal.
The Seneschal of each group shall maintain a list of the "members in a group." (He/she need not do this themselves; they can appoint a deputy to handle it.) This list will consist of all those members (new definition) who wish to be on the list and who either have their address within the boundaries of the group as defined by their postal codes, or who are officers of the group, or who are people active in the group whom the officers agree are de-facto members of the group. A copy of the current roster of members in the group will be sent to the next highest level with each quarterly report. (i.e. Cantons will send to Baronies. Baronies, Colleges and Shires will send to Region or Principality or to Kingdom depending upon the organization of the Kingdom in question.)
The list should consist of at least SCA and mundane name and either mail address or email address. (Mail address would need to be verified to check ZIP codes, but need not be included in the list. More information is probably NOT desirable due to privacy concerns, but may be provided by the member if he/she so wishes. Many local groups have such lists (usually called contact lists or membership lists) already.
Note: presence on the list is voluntary on the part of the member. One need not be on such a list to be a "member of the SCA" (new definition).
The presence and importance of such lists shall be publicized on a regular basis via whatever means is normally employed. The Seneschal of a group may not refuse to put a person on the list who is otherwise qualified (i.e. a member and living in the area). It is the responsibility of the people wishing to be on the list to make sure that their data is complete and correct and to keep it updated. It is the responsibility of anyone not living in the group who wishes to be considered as part of the group to convince the group that they belong. No fee, tax, nor any other charge may be levied on an individual to be included in the list.
In the event of a polling, there will be two ways to proceed. First, a customary informal method of polling will be used, such as a moot, Althing or usual business meeting, for those groups who normally do things this way. This will most likely be the method used for selecting a new Seneschal-designate, or other officer. Second, the list of the *previous* quarter will be used to determine those members eligible to be polled and either e-mail or mailed pollings will be sent out, depending on the information in the database. In the case of mailed/emailed ballots, the mailing shall be performed by the next higher level above the branch in question.(I.e. The Kingdom, in the case of Barony/Principality pollings.) The use of the previous quarter's mailing list is intended to make "ballot stacking" and the like less easy. (Nothing can make it impossible.) The use of the next highest administrative level to mail pollings is to prevent "accidental loss" of ballots.
If the matter being tested is the number of members in a branch, the average of the previous two quarters and the current list will be taken. If the count is short, the group will be given two quarters to get their numbers up (or longer in special cases determined by the Kingdom Seneschal). To test for population for the formation of a Principality or Kingdom, the numbers of people in the lists of the various subgroups which make up the proposed Principality or Kingdom will be added together.
I think that covers everything. Comments are always appreciated.
(modified 2 December 2002)