Association members who hold membership in two Affiliate Societies would be able to vote for representative councilors from only one, under a proposal made to the Executive Council in December. The recommendation came from the Ad Hoc Committee on Multiple Voting, chaired by Dr. Eli Marcovitz; the committee also recommended that the number of Councilors-at-Large in the Executive Council be increased from four to eight.
With new Affiliate Societies tending to spring up in areas geographically contiguous to existing Societies, a growing number of members have come to hold membership in two Societies, with the right to vote for representative councilors from both. The potential inequity of this situation led to the appointment of Dr. Marcovitz's committee. In its report, the committee noted that 170 members, or 14% of the Association, are active in two Societies, a proportion which the committee felt large enough to warrant a reconsideration of the existing practice.
Specifically, the recommendation was that a new By-Law be adopted providing that each member of the Association who is a member of more than one Affiliate Society must designate, to the Secretaries of the Association and of the Societies of which he is a member, that Society in which he will vote for representative councilor.
The proposal to increase the number of Councilors-at-Large arose from a concern as to whether the Council, as presently constituted, is adequately representative.
The two recommendations of Dr. Marcovitz's committee were received by Council, and, as is customary, were put over for discussion at the next meeting of Council, in May.