Amnesty International USA

WHEREAS AIUSA is a grassroots organization in which work is shaped by input from the membership in such forms as the resolutions process;

WHEREAS attendance at regional conferences and the AGM are the only ways for members and groups to participate in shaping and deciding on resolutions that directly and indirectly influence the movement's work;

WHEREAS AIUSA works to make all decision-making processes as democratic and inclusive as possible;

WHEREAS since only 0.28 percent of the membership attends an AGM, the vast majority of AIUSA members are unable to partake in this crucial decision-making process;

WHEREAS AIUSA has never seriously explored the potential for an alternative form of voting that would make the process fairer and more inclusive;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AIUSA Board of Directors will undertake extensive research to explore alternative and more participatory voting methods for the resolutions process that occurs at the AGM, requiring that any recommended methods of voting conform to Robert's Rules of Order latest edition, and report their findings and recommendations to the membership by AGM 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board consider weighted voting for chartered/registered groups and volunteer membership structures.