Answered about numbers electors

General Assembly 2023 Questions & Answers
1

This number looks so low because only 2700 some are actually participating at GA

Elections: first ballot 2464 (51.7%) of 4765 electors voted in this ballot
Rules of procedures 702 (14.9%) of 4721 electors voted in this ballot.
AIW selection 967 (20.4%) of 4738 electors voted in this ballot.
Mini assembly proposed amendments 616 (13.0%) of 4735 electors voted in this ballot.
General session i: 1216 (25.5%) of 4761 electors voted in this ballot.
General session ii: 1538 (32.3%) of 4763 electors voted in this ballot.
General session iii: 1992 (41.8%) of 4765 electors voted in this ballot.
General session iv: 2109 (44.3%) of 4765 electors voted in this ballot.

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2

I can provide some insight. Please note that the numbers below are not exact and just estimates.

To ensure credentialed delegates can vote in a timely manner ALL possible delegate credentials are pre-loaded into the election system. For 2023, that number is ~4,750. This number fluctuates as errors with Religious Professional records are corrected which can result in the addition of or removal of credentials.

The ~2,700 credentialed delegates are delegates that have checked-in onsite or are registered as full online or business only participants. In total ~3,000 delegate credentials were distributed or claimed by religious professionals.

We have not had a chance to crunch the numbers but participation in 2023 is up significantly. In 2022 the most votes we had in a single session was 1,000–compare that to the 2,109 that voted in the General Session IV Ballot. Participation has more than doubled from last year and we’re seeing about 70-80% of credentialed delegates vote.

I should also add that delegates do not need to be registered for General Assembly to vote in the Election.

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3

Larry, thanks for this information. But it also raises another question. How many delegate credentials were issued to lay members selected by their congregation and how many delegate credentials were issued to ministers and religious educators?

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4

I feel like with something as important as A2 I really need to be able to explain this to my congregation. Thank you for your reply. This info is super important please feel free to urge someone to write this up and email it to all the delegates I saw lots of confusion in places I was participating in about these numbers and percentages in chat.

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5

Thanks for this and other information provided during GA.
I have a question about your last sentence. Don’t delegates have to be at least registered as a business only participant in order to vote? I thought this option has been provided the past couple years to allow congregations’ delegates the opportunity to participate and vote who otherwise would not be able to due to cost.

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6

This is new information to me. Can you link to where this information is publicly available on a UUA site? Thank you.

7

How many delegate credentials were issued to lay members selected by their congregation and how many delegate credentials were issued to ministers and religious educators? Can someone provide the answer to this question?

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8

For the election of the president and possibly other officers, no they do not.
For other ballot items, yes, absolutely.

9

You do not need to register for GA to cast a vote in the election. Delegates who are not attending GA may cast a ballot. However, there is no absentee voting/proxy voting on GA business items. Delegates need to be registered and present to vote on business items.

Source: Unitarian Universalist Association Elections.

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10

Thanks, @UUA-Larry. So just to be sure I understand this correctly as to “ballots” and “business,” non-registered delegates could have voted for the President, members of the Nominating Committee, or any of the unopposed elections. However, they could not have voted on the Amendments to Article II, passage of Article II, the AIWs, Business Resolution, and of the amendments to Rules of Procedure or the Biz Resolution, is that right? Thank you.

11

The breakdown of delegates for 2023 is as follows:

Full Online Business-Only Combined
Member 939 674 347 1960
Ministers or Emeritus/a 299 110 75 484
Religious Educators or Emeritus/a 80 43 25 148
Associate Member Organizations 1 1
Total Delegates 1319 827 447 2593

Associate Member Organizations are named in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) bylaws, and are limited to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation, two organizations with historic connections to the UUA.

Learn more about how delegates are determined: How A Congregation’s Delegates are Determined | General Assembly | UUA.org

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12

Correct, however with the addition of the business only registration, all delegates are encouraged to register and receive the same information sent to those who are registered.