In a special meeting this Sunday, the Dartmouth Alumni Association will vote on an amendment that would allow absentee balloting in its elections and reduce the fraction of votes required to pass an amendment from three-quarters to two-thirds.
Although the amendment could substantially affect the direction of the Association, most alumni did not seem to know or care about the situation, according to Stan Colla '66, secretary-treasurer of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. As proof of this, Colla pointed to a weblog directed at promoting dialogue on the issue that had generated little interest.
"Only six alumni not affiliated with the Executive Committee contributed to the blog out of 65,000, which shows that most folks have other things on their mind," Colla said.
Presently, alumni can only vote in Association elections if they return to Hanover.
Many feel that the contingent of alumni able to make it back to Hanover for elections is not representative of the Association.
Colla said that the enactment of an absentee ballot was long overdue.
"The intention here was to respond to a demand we heard at the annual alumni meeting in the fall to make the change," he said.
The secretary-treasurer defended combining two issues in Sunday's vote, contending that absentee balloting would make the decreased vote requirements necessary.
"Since we're moving from in person voting to alumni voting, a three-quarters majority was just too much to ask for to get anything done or to get a consensus," he said.
Student Body President Noah Riner '06 warned that while the amendment may seem innocent, it could be part of a larger plan for the Alumni Association to enact a new constitution, which has already been proposed and could more easily be enacted under the new amendment.
"When you change the constitution, you change the rules by which the trustees are elected," Riner said.
The amendment could have larger implications for the viability of petition candidates in trustee elections. Petition candidates currently file petitions to run for the Board of Trustees after the Association's Nominating Committee names its candidates. The new constitution, which would have a greater chance of passage with this amendment's approval, would require petition candidates to announce their candidacy before the nominations, giving the committee 45 days to choose candidates to run against them.
"With the new constitution, the system knows who the rogue candidates are going to be," Riner said. "This new system also offers the option of making the petition candidate a nominated candidate, and this narrows the field and gives official candidates a better shot. This might all be about the trustees."
Patricia Fisher-Harris '81, Director of Alumni Leadership on campus, said that the connection between the new amendment and the proposed constitution is no secret.
"This is a very public process," Fisher-Harris said. "And ultimately the proposed changes in the new constitution are not that different from what we have presently."
Fisher-Harris said that if the amendment passes Sunday, more than 60,000 alumni can vote on whether to enact the new constitution.
"This new amendment will allow all alumni wherever they live, to participate in the decision," Fisher-Harris said. "The process will ultimately be more democratic and transparent."
Correction Appended
For the Record: An article on Thursday ("Alumni to decide on new voting measures", Feb. 9), incorrectly stated that alumni must be in Hanover to "vote in Association elections, which include trustee nominations." Trustee nominations are carried out through all-media voting.
