Chapter 10-I-h
One Person One Vote


We think that it is very important that measures are provided to ensure that every citizen-member of the organization have equal representation at all levels of the structural hierarchy. A ‘one person one vote’ system is absolutely essential to the functioning of a True Democracy.

Earlier we used a hypothetical Local Group with 345 citizen-members as an example. According to the prototype representation formula we used in that discussion, which provided for one representative to the District Congress for every 25 dues-paid members of a Local Group, our hypothetical group of 345 would have 13 representatives. 345/25=13, with a remainder of 20. That remainder represents 20 citizen-members who are essentially unrepresented at the higher level. This group of 345 has the same representation as a group of 325. (325/25=13).

This is bad enough when 20 out of 345 citizen-members, 6% of the total group membership, are unrepresented. In smaller Groups, this gap in representation will potentially comprise a much greater percentage of the Group. A Local Group that has 45 citizen-members would have only 1 representative to the District Congress, (assuming a representation formula of 1 representative per 25 dues paid members). This Group would not have 2 representatives until they gained 5 more citizen-members, (for a total of 50). Until then, fully 44% of the Group, 20 members, are effectively unrepresented. In a Group of 87 members, 14% (12 members) would be unrepresented, (and so on).

The organization’s operational software can easily provide a solution that will deliver an exactly accurate ‘one person one vote’ system that can be adapted to every level and scale of representation.

When a Local Group’s representative(s) register their credentials to participate at the District Congress, the organization’s database will already know every Local Group’s current dues-paid population. A delegation of representatives from any Local Group whose dues-paid membership is not exactly divisible by 25, (in other words, any Groups that would have unrepresented members if a solution were not affected), would be assigned a proportional vote to each representative by the District Congresses' (or State or National Congresses’) operational software. This could be done automatically by the software, and whenever the representatives from such a delegation vote, their votes will be automatically recorded by the software according to their proper proportional value. This sounds much more complicated than it is. The best way to explain it is by example.

Consider that hypothetical Local Group of 45 members. According to our prototype representational formula, (one rep per 25 dues-paid members), this Group is only entitled to 1 representative, which leaves 20 citizen-members unrepresented. But when that representative registers her or his credentials with the District Congress, the organization’s database will read her or his Local Group’s membership population of 45, and will assign that representative 1.8 votes. She or he has one vote for the 25 members that qualify the Group for a representative, and .8 votes for those 20 members who would otherwise be unrepresented. (20 members is 20/25ths of a vote, which is .8). When that representative votes on any matters before the congress, her or his vote will count as 1.8 votes.

The lone representative for a Group of 37 citizen-members would be assigned 1.48 votes. She or he would have 1 vote for the qualifying 25, and .48 for the 12 members, who comprise 12/25ths of a vote. (12/25 = .48). When that representative votes, her or his vote will count as 1.48 votes.

A Local Group that had 87 citizen-members would have 3 representatives to the District Congress, whose votes would each count as 1.16 votes, for a total vote for that Group’s delegation of 3.48. That is 3 votes for the first 75 members, plus .48 votes for the additional 12 that do not qualify the Group for a representative. 87 / 25 = 3, with a remainder of 12. Or…87 / 25 = 3.48. The extra .48 fraction of a vote is divided equally among the delegation’s representatives.

Our hypothetical Group of 345 would have 13 representatives, each of whose votes would count as 1.06 votes. 345 / 25 = 13.8. Then, (follow the math), .8 / 13 = .06 (rounded). 1.06 x 13 = 13.8 (rounded).

In smaller Local Groups with memberships less than 25, the same math would apply. A representative of a Local Group with only 17 dues-paid citizen-members would be assigned .68 votes. (17/ 25ths equals .68). A representative of a Group with 23 members would be assigned .92 votes. And so on.

Such a system is easily scalable to any size Local Group or Congress. This is another example of how digital technology makes something easily possible that would be nearly impossible, due to the inherently burdensome record keeping, and updating, that would be required without it. The software will constantly keep track of the dues-paid population of every Local Group, and the proportional vote assigned to each representative can be automatically updated every time dues-paid rolls are updated. Should a Group’s dues-paid rolls fall to a level that allows for a smaller number of representatives in its delegation, then the representative that received the fewest number of votes when the delegation was elected, (which the software database would know), would have her or his credentials automatically revoked, and the proportional votes of the remaining delegates would be automatically updated. The same would occur, (though obviously in the opposite direction), when a Group acquires additional members to qualify for additional representatives. The Group would be immediately authorized to elect, or otherwise select, the additional representative(s), and until that were accomplished, the proportional value of the votes of the existing representatives would be adjusted appropriately.

When a representative enters a vote on any issue, the software will record and count that vote according to the proportional value that it is automatically assigned.


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