NR - Principality or Not?

[Burke McCrory]

At 10:07 PM 9/7/2000 -0500, Pug wrote:
>margot k-k (catrin at sirinet.net) said something that sounded like:
> > A question was asked of me at Eldern's pop meeting Tues.  If/when it comes
> > to a polling of the Northern populace on the Principality, who gets to 
> vote?
> > Sustaining?  All paid members?  Everybody?  I don't know the answer to give
> > to that question.
>
>There is polling and there is voting. These are two different things as
>I understand it.
>
>Polling is done of everybody.
>Voting is only of the subscribing/sustaning members.

Unfortunately this is not the case when dealing with 
Principalities.  Officially, the only polling/voting that the Board 
recognizes is of subscribing members.  Many people feel that this is unfair 
but it is the current rule (If you feel it should be changed, write the 
Board with your opinion..end of paid political commercial).  Over the years 
in Ansteorra the Crown saw this perceived inequity and started allowing 
non-subscribing members and even non-members a chance to express their 
opinions in Baronial polling for new Baron/ess.  This is the Crowns right 
and is feasible due to the smaller size of the voting body.  A Principality 
vote is governed by rules set up from Corporate and is only to cover 
subscribing members.  It would be a logistical nightmare to include 
non-subscribing members as the registry is not set up to print mailing 
labels for anything other that subscribing members.  Non-members are out of 
the question as we would have no way to determine addresses or be fair in 
deciding a cutoff point as to who we contact and who we don't.  Of course 
anyone who lives in the affected area is free to write a letter, expressing 
their opinion.  The recent polling in Gleann Abhann (Meridies) was handled 
by sending out post cards to all subscribing members and having them sent 
back in with a yea or nea.  One other thing unlike a Baronial Polling for a 
new Baron and Baroness a vote for Principality is not secret.  Just like 
the voting to become a barony the polling to become a Principality must 
include the names of the voters to make sure that a large enough percentage 
of the subscribing members were polled.

>Family members and Associate members don't count in the final population
>numbers and what not. They are taken into account in borderline cases,
>but only as an item of interest to help push a group over the edge.

Again it would be nice if it were true, but it is not.  If a area is so 
close in membership numbers that they need to include non-subscribing 
members their petition should not have gone up in the first place.

During my tenure as Kingdom Seneschal I had numerous discussions with 
Corporate officers, Board Members, and Seneschals from other Kingdoms on 
this topic.  Since it looked like the Southern Region was seriously going 
for principality status, I needed to know what the process was before we 
got there.  I am now glad that I had these conversations so that I can 
answer questions like these.


Burke


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