The UMCA instituted a last-minute rule that requires all voting members to sign a waiver promising not to sue the UMCA. Starting in April, a month before the election started, all members who join the UMCA must sign a waiver not to sue, so these members were required to provide their signature, birth date, and addresses to the UMCA prior to a certain date for their vote to count. Any life members who joined prior to this waiver rule were not allowed to vote unless they submitted a waiver not to sue. For some of them it meant losing their legal rights protected by their life memberships before the rule was in place. Nothing in the Bylaws state members must agree to sign a legal waiver in order to cast a vote. The UMCA reportedly has a dismal history of obtaining votes from members for BoD elections.
Data:
2003 2004 2005 2006
1,240 1,354 1,258 1,658
The UMCA has held three elections.
First got 150 votes, second got 100 votes, and third 250 votes (third election was the one involving the Mitchell letter and the formal protest).
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2 comments:
Now it's starting to make sense. Having been a life member for several decades, UMCA shouldn't need me to verify my membership status, but ok I went online to 'check' if I was properly listed. The UMCA website didn't recognize me (yet I've been getting the ULTRA-CYCLING magazine)so they have my record/address. I E-mailed John Hughes and he just told me to go back on line (I did with the same results). Would it be reasonable to give LIFE MEMBERS the right to vote? Why not suspend EVERYONE'S voting rights? Then "the board" could continue to do as they wish openly.
According to the UMCA Bylaws (before the amendments in October 2007,) all UMCA members--life and annual paying ones--were supposed to be able to vote. Now, UMCA will only allow the members who signed the wavier to not sue to vote. Hundreds of life members couldn't vote in the last election for this short notice reason.
This wavier didn't come until a few years ago. Thus, the life members now have to update their files. Then UMCA can say these life members shouldn't be suing UMCA too. (According to an attroney I talked with, this wavier however legally won't be able to protect UMCA. It is more like a state of mind.)
The database had been a little flawed for me too, but it is working great tonight. I see that there are six Michael life members and only one is registered to vote.
Mavis
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