Eligibility For Candidacy

The amendment adds a new line to Article VI (4): (added text in bold):

(4) Between February 1st and February 10th of election years, the Election Committee shall review the nominations. In order to be validly nominated, candidates must have renewed their membership by the last business day of January for the year in which the election falls, and must be a member in good standing for at least six months prior to February 1st preceding the election. For offices for which there is only one valid nomination, the Election Committee shall declare the nominee elected. All other valid nominations shall be placed on the ballot.

The explanation given in the motion differs from that of the Pro Statement. In the motion, the explanation is that to qualify to be a candidate, a member should have "a current understanding of Mensa". In the Pro Statement, the explanation is that this corrects a misinterpretation of the word renewal in this section of the Bylaws. The supposed misinterpretation appears somewhat stretched, but, in any event, adding this sentence does not remove this word or simplify the text, despite what is claimed. It doesn't correct any supposed confusion the use of renewal may cause.

It isn't clear when this amendment would be needed or who (present or past) it might apply to. Perhaps this change would affect only candidates who join Mensa after August 1 of the year preceding an election. It might also exclude members whose membership lapsed and later renewed after August 1, no matter how many years of membership and or how well they understand Mensa. In this respect, the amendment adds more ambiguity rather than removing it.

As mentioned in the Con Statement, what American Mensa needs is a Candidate Search Committee to encourage well qualified members to run for national office. This change to the Bylaws does nothing to address that need.