In a political system that prides itself on the privacy of the vote, such as ours in the United States, it might seem unethical to assign your vote to another person because you can’t be present to cast it yourself. However, when the U.S. was little more than a collection of colonies with sparsely populated settlements, this process was tolerated – and sometimes encouraged – purely out of necessity.
Think about the last time you participated in an off-year election for your state or local municipality (let’s hope it was the last time one was held).
Discussions about voting don’t seem like they’d often turn toward houses of worship. But just like any large organization that depends on the governance of its members to run, religious organizations are faced with several the same challenges.
From the outside looking in, churches might not seem to be the sorts of places where the process of voting regularly comes into play.
But anyone who has worked within a religious organization understands that along with matters of the soul, houses of worship regularly deal with more earthly challenges that involve the approval of church leadership, the setting and passing of budgets, and the care of a physical plant in the form of the house of worship and its accessory buildings.
When it comes to voting and accuracy, smaller associations and governing bodies have a decided advantage. Whether voting by voice, ballot or show of hands, it’s unlikely that anyone’s vote will get overlooked or improperly counted.
The nominating process for political office is, in many places, mired in traditions that don’t lend themselves to efficient and accurate voting.
As we gradually learn more and more about the extent to which foreign governments might have tampered with the 2016 election in the United States, governments and organizations that depend on voting are understandably concerned about how they’ll be affected by ongoing security issues.
Because the American system of government is one that relies on democratic principles, the system of governing by majority rule has naturally carried over into the non-governmental realm of our boards and associations.
The acceptance of electronics in the modern classroom is one that has proven a boon to students, who can more easily transcribe notes and access Internet-based source material being used in a lecture. Inversely, they have also become easy distractions from ongoing lectures. Random web searches, gaming or consumption of unrelated media could be taking place if they aren’t properly engaged.
One of the signs of a civilized society is the establishment of governing bodies to set and enforce rules for communities.
A modern version of this is the neighborhood homeowners’ association, which has emerged from the suburban expansion of housing developments and condominiums during the late 20th century.
