In accordance with the YUFA Constitution, YUFA conducted an electronic vote from March 23 to 30, 2017 on a proposed constitutional amendment. The motion to amend the Constitution was moved and approved at a Stewards' Council meeting on March 3, 2017. Moved by Justin Podur and seconded by Roberto Quinlan, the motion proposed to amend Articles 3.5 (c) and 10.1 as follows (changes indicated in blue bold):
Article 3.5 Annual General Meeting
c. Subject to Article 10 below the annual budget and fee structure shall be prepared by the Executive Committee and presented to the general membership at the Annual Meeting. Assent shall be given by a simple majority decision of those members voting electronically subsequent to the meeting. Accommodations will be made for those who do not have access to the Internet and who request such accommodation. No proxy voting is permitted.
Article 10. Dues
10.1 Amount
The annual membership dues rate of the Association shall be approved as per procedures in Article 3.5 (c) above. The annual dues shall be expressed as a fixed percentage of each individual member's annual base salary rate and remain unchanged until a higher or lower percentage is approved. From this amount, all obligations of the Association shall be paid, including but not limited to: operating expenses; CAUT Defence Fund contributions; membership fees paid to the CAUT; membership fees paid to the OCUFA; contributions to the YUFA Defence Fund; contributions to the YUFA Arbitration Fund.
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The results of the vote are as follows:
Are you in favour of amending Articles 3.5 (c) and 10.1 of the YUFA Constitution?
Yes: 482 (73.3%) CARRIED *
No: 176 (26.7%)
Abstain: 42 **
Total voters: 658
Total eligible voters: 1,549
Turnout: 42.5%
* According to Article 11 (Amendments) of the YUFA Constitution, "[a]ssent of two-thirds of those members who vote shall carry amendments."
** According to Bourinot's Rules of Order, an abstention is "the refusal to vote either for or against a motion." Abstentions are not counted as votes and therefore are not included in the total percentage of ballots cast.