Res. 9-15 — To Increase Congregation Participation in Election of Synod President

WHEREAS, The 2010 Synod convention changed the longstanding practice of electing the Synod President at the convention and conferred that right to congregations using electronic voting (2010 Res. 8- 17, “To Elect the Synod President,” [Proceedings, 167]); and

WHEREAS, The move to direct representation has seen decreased participation in every election since this process was adopted, to wit:

• The 2013 presidential election saw 8,201 registered electors and 6,432 votes cast, representing 78.43 percent voted; (2013 Today’s Business, 2:221)

• The 2016 presidential election saw 7,348 registered electors and 6,157 votes cast, representing 83.79 percent voted; (2016 Today’s Business, 2:334)

• The 2019 presidential election saw 6,449 registered electors and 5,823 votes cast, representing 90.29 percent voted; (2019 Today’s Business, 2B:239)

• The 2023 presidential election saw 6,053 registered electors and 5,000 votes cast, representing 82.60 percent voted; (2023 Today’s Business, 2B:286); and

WHEREAS, “The end-to-end participation rate of votes cast per theoretically registerable elector has declined gradually through the decade from an initial high of 62.16 percent in 2013 to a new low of 53.78 percent in 2023, with a greater decline in this election, particularly among lay electors” (2023 TB 2B:287); and

WHEREAS, 2019 Resolution 9-16 amended Bylaw 3.12.2.3 by allowing the district president to know the registration status of his congregations for the sole purpose of encouraging their participation ( Proc., 327–28); and

WHEREAS, Congregations with updated contact information (in particular, email addresses) on file in the Synod database (LCMS Information Support Network [LISN]) have greater rates of participation; therefore be it

Resolved, That congregations be encouraged to complete their Congregation Profile in LISN, including current email contact information for their lay leadership, and update it annually during their statistical reports (Bylaw 1.3.4.3); and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention direct all district presidents to encourage participation in the Synod President election by educating all congregations and their pastors in their d istricts of their right to vote and the process by which they can exercise their right to vote (Bylaw 4.4.8); and be it further

Resolved, That the d istricts in c onvention allot time to educate their respective d istricts about the process for the election of the Synod President; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council of Presidents utilize the information from the Secretary of the Synod about the registration process at their November and February meetings in the twelve months prior to the Synod convention; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod in convention direct all circuit visitors to work with the vacant congregations in their circuits to help them register to vote and to understand the process by which they can exercise their right to vote (Bylaw 5.2.3.[h]).