As announced in earlier communications from the Presiding Officers, the General Convention Office (GCO) is preparing to conduct the election of members to the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. This election would typically be conducted in-person at General Convention, but because of the time this committee’s work will take, we will conduct this election electronically in June, 2021. Please find an outline of the process and timeline below. This process is for this election only.
Process:
- The first ballot will take place on Tuesday, June 8. Balloting will begin at 8:00 AM EDT and be open for a period of 24 hours. Bishops and deputies will receive an email from the GCO when ballots open, which will include more explicit instructions. This will be immediately followed by an email from our election software vendor, ElectionBuddy. The email from ElectionBuddy will have a unique link for the intended recipient. Recipients will click on that link and make their selections within the designated timeframe. All votes will be by secret ballot. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of votes cast.
- After balloting has closed, the results will be announced by email to bishops and deputies.
- If there are still vacancies, another ballot will be conducted the following Tuesday in the same format outlined above in #1. This process will continue each Tuesday until all seats on the committee are filled.
- After the third ballot, the nominees will be reduced to four more than the number of vacancies to be filled in the election; and after the fifth ballot, the nominees will be reduced to one more nominee than the number of vacancies to be filled.
- If on the final ballot for deputies, all clergy elected are priests, the priest with the lowest number of majority votes cast in that ballot will not be elected. Instead, there will be a special deacon-only election. The first ballot for this special election would occur the following Tuesday in the same manner as previous ballots.
Bishop election:
The House of Bishops will elect 5 Bishops. Each Tuesday, bishops will be asked to vote for 5 bishops on the slate of candidates. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of votes cast.
Deputy election:
The House of Deputies will elect 5 lay persons and 5 clergy, one of whom must be a deacon. Deputies will cast two ballots each Tuesday. On one, each deputy will vote for five lay candidates on the slate, and on the other, each deputy will vote for five clergy on the slate.
Candidates:
For information on the slate of candidates that have been submitted by the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations click on the link below.
Nominations from the Floor:
If a bishop wishes to nominate an additional bishop, they may do so by submitting a nomination form. Click Here to access that form.
If a deputy wishes to nominate an additional candidate, they may do so by submitting a nomination form. Please note that any nomination of a lay person, priest, or deacon needs to have the support of two deputies. Click Here to access that form.
Next Steps:
Additional instructions and resources for voting, including an instructional video and an optional online Q&A session, will be available soon. Bishops and deputies will also receive an email on June 5 with detailed instructions regarding the voting process.
Although this process may seem complicated, it was adopted to accommodate the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves. Bishops and deputies are spread across multiple time zones, and have varying access to the internet. This process is intended to promote fair access to voting for everyone, and to maximize participation. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
Faithfully,
