7. Decision Making
Motions
Only representatives, International Board members and Working Group representatives are allowed to put forward motions during EUROAVIA Congress Meetings. A person bringing forward a motion has to formulate the exact wording of the motion.
Legal Value of Congress Motions
Motions that refer to a general matter or a general decision concerning the regulations and governance of our association must be implemented in the Bylaws by the Statues and Bylaws Working Group within three (3) years after the motion has been approved. A clear reference has to be formulated in the wording of the motion itself stating that the motion must be included in the Bylaws afterwards. Motions that are not implemented in the Bylaws within three (3) years after being approved lose their validity.
The votes
Each Affiliated Society has 2 votes.
Each Affiliated Society has 1 or 2 delegates.
Each delegate has 1 vote from its own Affiliated Society.
Each delegate can have one extra delegated vote, either from its own or from another Affiliated Society.
Thus, a single delegate that handed in both the authorisation and delegation letter has two (2) votes. A maximum of two (2) members can represent their Affiliated Society and another Affiliated Society for a total of 4 votes.
A Prospective Affiliated Society shall not have any voting rights through a delegated vote from an Affiliated Society.
Quorum
Voting is only valid if the following conditions are met:
At least 1/4th of the members (Affiliated Societies) must be present.
At least 1/3rd of the countries represented in EUROAVIA must be present.
Hand-raising or ballot vote
Two (2) voting methods are considered, hand-raising and ballot vote. The first one is auto descriptive, being considered as the act of raising one (1) hand per vote. The latter can be either a hand-written or an electronic ballot vote.
Each Affiliated Society can put forward a motion. Normally a motion will be done by simple hand-raising vote unless:
It's a vote about a person or persons.
One (1) or more members request for a ballot vote.
A hand-raising vote will consist of:
Counting the number of voters, votes, Affiliated Societies and countries present (which is normally done at the reopening of the business meeting).
Counting the number of votes "in favour".
Counting the number of votes "not in favour".
Counting the number of votes "abstention".
A ballot vote will consist of:
Counting the number of voters, votes, Affiliated Societies and countries present (which is normally done at the reopening of the business meeting).
Hand-out of the votes by the vote counters.
Filling-in the votes with:
in favour;
not in favour;
abstention;
null vote;
Collecting the votes by the vote counters.
Counting the votes by the vote counters (and eventually the secretary).
Read-out of the number of votes for each category.
All “abstention” votes are counted as and noted, neither as “in favour”, nor “not in favour”. If the total number of “abstention” votes exceeds one third (1/3) the number of total votes the hand-raising or ballot vote result cannot be approved, and the motion will be repeated.
All votes that don’t fall in the three (3) categories are null votes and counted as “not in favour”. When using the electronic ballot vote, it is considered null when missing votes for the third time and for the same proposal and after eight (8) minutes since the beginning of the voting.
Majorities for specific voting
For the deprivation of a DIB membership:
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes if at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members are present.
To suspend, dismiss or exonerate an IB (member):
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes.
To change the Statutes or Bylaws:
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes.
Acceptance as Prospective Affiliated Society, acceptance as Affiliated Society and postponement of acceptance as Affiliated Society:
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes.
For specific situations the International Board or at least five (5) Affiliated Societies in writing can propose exceptions (e.g. lack of DIB candidates). To approve an exception:
at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes.
For all other voting a simple majority (fifty percent (50%) of the votes plus one (1)) is sufficient.
Voting outside of a General Meeting
On the absence of a General Meeting and in a case of proved urgency such as financial decisions and strategic partnership alliances that requires the approval of the Congress, the International Board shall be authorised to pass a motion for considerations to all the Affiliated Societies. Before the start of the voting for the motion, seven (7) days shall be accounted for possible discussions and modifications to the motion itself. Online tools, e.g., SharePoint, shall be used for such discussion. To be accepted, the motion shall comply with section 7.4, otherwise, the motion process shall be repeated. In case the ballot votes are not signed properly or not delivered, these votes will not count as representative votes, and will not be considered in the motion results. After the discussion is closed, the voting shall take place within a timeframe of fourteen (14) days, during which the signatures of approval from the Presidents of each AS shall be accounted to gain a majority (as defined in section 7.6) to pass/reject the motion.
The results of the voting and the minutes of the discussion shall be presented during the next General Meeting.
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