Amendment A to the Synod’s Constitution has failed to receive the two-thirds affirmative vote of congregations necessary to make it effective, while Amendment B has been affirmed.
Amendment A would have changed the wording of Constitution Article XI F 2, dealing with duties of the Synod’s Board of Directors. Amendment B adds directors of family-life ministry to those listed in Article V who have membership in the Synod as commissioned “ministers of religion.”
Both amendments were adopted by last year’s Synod convention, but the Constitution requires that constitutional amendments also be affirmed by two-thirds of congregations voting within the six-month period after they receive the ballots.
Those ballots were mailed Aug. 16. Ballots had to be returned to the secretary of the Synod and postmarked by Feb. 16 to be counted.
Secretary Raymond Hartwig said Feb. 24 that the tally of eligible ballots counted by his office gave Amendment A 1,799 affirmative votes and 1,653 negative votes.
Also by that date, Amendment B received 2,792 affirmative votes — 531 more than the required two-thirds — and 601 negative.
Hartwig said the final vote results by district will be in an “Official Notice” in the April Reporter and The Lutheran Witness.
Posted Feb. 25, 2005
