Proposed Action by Referendum Vote
To Defer the 58th General Assembly to 2021
The Grand High Zeta is submitting this referendum for the vote of chapters and colonies to defer the 58th General Assembly to 2021 for health and safety reasons.
Background
Twice before in the history of our Fraternity we have cancelled or deferred one or more General Assemblies. There was no General Assembly during the World War I years, skipping from December 1916 to December 1919. There was also no General Assembly during the World War II years, skipping from August 1941 to August 1946.
While the concerns arising out of the current global pandemic are in no way comparable to those in either of the World Wars, the health, safety, and well-being of our members is and will always remain the primary concern of the General Fraternity. We anticipate that the federal, state, provincial, and local social distancing requirements in both the United States and Canada will still be in effect in some measure on the proposed dates of our 58th General Assembly. In addition, regardless of such legal restrictions, we anticipate that many of our members will be reluctant to attend such a large in-person gathering, and that the families of our members will share similar concerns.
For these reasons, we are asking our Chapters and Colonies to defer the previously scheduled meeting of the 58th General Assembly to an appropriate date in 2021.
THE APPLICABLE LAW
Section 2-1 of the Statutory Code provides:
A meeting of the General Assembly may be waived, omitted, or deferred if authorized by the favorable referendum vote of two-thirds of the Chapters.
At its meeting on April 25, 2020, the Grand High Zeta endorsed the recommendation that the 58th General Assembly be deferred to the summer of 2021 and that the issue of deferral be submitted to the Chapters by referendum vote. This document constitutes notice of that referendum vote.
PROCESS
Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution of Lambda Chi Alpha provides a process for referendum vote by the Chapters, the Grand High Zeta and the Student Advisory Committee. But that section only applies to those matters that require action by a General Assembly, and it is not applicable to the referendum called for in Code 2-1, which specifically requires a two-thirds vote only of the Chapters. The Grand High Zeta having already voted in favor of this proposal, the vote of the Chapters and Colonies is now being solicited.
Each Chapter and Colony is asked to respond to this referendum by completing the form above or returning the attached Ballot by email to referendum@lambdachi.org.
This Action by Referendum is submitted on May 4th, 2020. The Grand High Zeta has ordered that all ballots must be received by the close of business on May 15th, 2020 in order to be counted.
The required vote for adoption will be 124 Chapters and Colonies, that being two-thirds of the Chapters and Colonies, regardless of the number of Chapters or Colonies voting or with the right to vote at a General Assembly. It is critical that each Chapter and Colony communicate its vote as promptly as possible so our members can undertake appropriate planning. The vote can be of the Chapter Executive Committee and need not be a vote of the full Chapter. As soon as the number of favorable votes meets or exceeds 124, the General Fraternity will advise the Chapters and Colonies that the referendum has been approved and the 58th General Assembly will be rescheduled for an appropriate date in the summer of 2021. The final results of the referendum vote will be announced after all votes have been counted.
