State |
Can Past Masters Vote in
Grand Lodge? |
| Alabama |
|
No |
| Alaska |
Masonic Code, Section 2.01 Constitution / Officers and Members:
Members of this Grand Lodge are: ...
2. Each Past Master of a Chartered Lodge of this jurisdiction while he is a member of a Lodge of this
Jurisdiction.
3. Each Past Master of a Lodge of another Jurisdiction which is recognized by this Jurisdiction
while he is a member of a Lodge of this Jurisdiction.
|
|
| Arizona |
In Arizona, all Past Masters of Arizona Lodges have an
individual vote at Grand Lodge. However, they must be
present to exercise it -- no proxies. |
|
| Arkansas |
In Arkansas only the Junior Past Master has a vote. With
the 3 principal officers, this gives each lodge the same number of votes. |
|
| California |
Collective vote |
|
| Colorado |
|
No |
| Connecticut |
|
No |
| Delaware |
|
|
| District of Columbia |
Most votes are informal, saying "aye", raising
hands, or standing up, in which case everyone attending can vote. On roll call votes, to
elect Officers or when requested by 2 or more lodges, all PM's from each Lodge have 1
collective vote. |
|
| Florida |
|
|
| Georgia |
Yes |
|
| Hawaii |
|
|
| Idaho |
Those eligible to vote are the Master and Wardens of each
lodge (may be by proxy) or a Certified Past Master of an Idaho Lodge. To become a voting
member of Grand Lodge as a Past Master, must give all 3 lectures |
|
| Illinois |
Yes |
|
| Indiana |
|
No |
| Iowa |
|
No |
| Kansas |
Yes |
|
| Kentucky |
|
|
| Louisiana |
|
No |
| Maine |
|
|
| Maryland |
PM's of each lodge have 1 collective vote |
|
| Massachusetts |
|
No |
| Michigan |
|
No |
| Minnesota |
|
No |
| Mississippi |
|
|
| Missouri |
Yes |
|
| Montana |
Yes |
|
| Nebraska |
|
|
| Nevada |
Nevada has one collective Past Master Vote per lodge at Grand Lodge. |
|
| New Hampshire |
|
No |
| New Jersey |
Yes. PM's have the right to vote on anything, including
elections.
From an email: Sitting
master and wardens each have one vote by virtue of their offices, which are
cast individually. Each Past Master
having completed his full one year term
of office has one vote.
On issues requiring a hand vote only, the voter
must be present. On issues requiring a written ballot
(principally electing Grand Lodge officers and
Trustees) the votes for absent Masters and
Wardens are cast by the senior of the three present. If all three are
absent, the lodge’s elected proxy votes all three. Each Past Master has one
vote, which may be in addition to his vote as an elected Master (second term
or greater) or warden. One vote for a
Past Master is not affected by multiple terms as Master, nor by
having served
as Master in multiple lodges. Thus a Past
Master sitting as Master or Warden or elected proxy, in the absence of the
other elected officers, can cast as many as four ballots. |
|
| New Mexico |
|
No |
| New York |
|
No |
| North Carolina |
|
No. Defeated a proposal to give all PMs a
vote in Grand Lodge in 2001. |
| North Dakota |
|
|
| Ohio |
|
|
| Oklahoma |
|
|
| Oregon |
|
|
| Pennsylvania |
Yes, by one year's service (?) |
|
| Rhode Island |
Yes |
|
| South Carolina |
|
|
| South Dakota |
|
|
| Tennessee |
Yes |
|
| Texas |
Yes |
|
| Utah |
|
|
| Vermont |
|
|
| Virginia |
All PM's from all Lodges (hundreds of them,
acting together) have a total of 1 collective vote in Grand Lodge. This is
not very significant, compared with the votes (1 each) of each of the 350
or so Lodges, plus PGM's and GLO's who have individual votes. |
|
| Washington |
Yes |
|
| West Virginia |
PMs have a 1/4 vote. In 1997 a motion to give a full vote to
PMs was laid over and was
defeated. |
|
| Wisconsin |
|
No |
| Wyoming |
Yes |
|
| TOTALS |
18 |
13 |
