Eligibility Determination of Meeting Delegates

The 2023 LifeRing Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 3rd | The 2023 LifeRing Congress will be held om Sunday, June 4th

 

Do you want to be a 2023 LifeRing Annual Congress Meeting Delegate online Sunday, June 4th? Ask your convenor during your next meeting!

Delegates represent LifeRing meetings and vote on the absentee ballot. 

Prior to the Annual Congress, the Service Center will notify LifeRing Convenors that registration for Annual Congress Delegates is formally open. Convenors will then work with their meeting members to democratically select an eligible Delegate to represent their meeting during the Annual Congress. If there is no member preference, the convener may serve as the Delegate. The convenor will provide the delegate’s name, contact information, and basis of eligibility for serving as a Delegate by email to the Service Center service@lifering.org no later than the posted registration deadline.

This is a great opportunity to truly impact the direction of LifeRing moving forward.

Delegates from each active LifeRing Secular Recovery meeting will represent their meeting members during the Annual Congress and will be offered an opportunity to bring forward to Congress any ideas or concerns identified by members of their meeting. These items will be reviewed and addressed by the appropriate committee and/or the Board within two months following the Annual Congress.

Delegates will also participate in the Board of Directors election and any proposed Bylaw changes.

On the morning of the Annual Meeting, Congress will meet to decide on a final list of candidates for the LifeRing Board of Directors and any proposed bylaws changes. Ballots will then be emailed to all delegates within ten days after the end of Congress. Absentee voting will begin once you receive your ballot and will last 30 days. Delegates can return completed ballots by email to the LifeRing Registrar of Voters registrar@lifering.org any time during these 30 days. The voting guidelines are posted here.

For a delegate to be eligible to vote in the LifeRing absentee election, they must be registered with the Registrar of Voters registrar@lifering.org. Please register early to avoid any complications.

Eligibility Determination for Delegates

  • The delegate needs to be a member of a LifeRing meeting (see definition of a LifeRing Meeting below*)
  • The Delegate should have at least 6 months of continuous sobriety.
  • The Delegate is ideally selected democratically by the people who attend the meeting or appointed by the convenor, but if there is no preference or election, the convener may serve as the Delegate.
  • In order to vote in the Absentee Election, the Delegate must provide his or her full name, an email address where the eBallot is to be sent, and the basis for eligibility (which meeting are you representing) to the Registrar of Voter, registrar@lifering.org. You can also mail this information to the LifeRing Service Center, service@lifering.org.
  • Delegate registration must be submitted no less than 10 days prior to Congress.
  • Once the Delegate has been credentialed (verified that you are representing a valid LifeRing meeting), the Delegate will receive an email from the Registrar of Voters indicating they are eligible to vote.

*Article 6.6 of the LifeRing Bylaws: A meeting is public for the purposes of these Bylaws if it convenes in a location accessible to the public and if its location, day, and time are posted in a manner likely to give a public notice. The term “location” shall also include an Internet address.

*Article 6.5 of the LifeRing Bylaws: In order to be eligible to designate a delegate to represent the meeting at an Annual Congress and/or vote on behalf of the meeting, the meeting shall be listed with the Service Center forty-five (45) days prior to the Congress.

For any questions, please email the LifeRing Registrar of Voters at registrar@lifering.org.