AKWESASNE FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION LAW SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING VOTING PROCESS

Special General Meeting vote scheduled for July 27, 2019 at 10:00am

 

TERRITORY OF AKWESASNE – A Special General Meeting will be held to hold a secret ballot vote on the following question:

 

“Do you approve the Akwesasne Financial Administration Law?”

 

The Special General Meeting will be held on:

 

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Starting at 10:00 a.m.

A’nowara’ko:wa Arena Turtle Room

 

To start the meeting at 10:00am a quorum of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (e.g. minimum of 7 Council members) and an addition of at least twenty-five (25) Eligible Voters are needed to be present. If there is not twenty-five (25) Eligible Voters present in addition to Council quorum within fifteen (15) minutes of the scheduled start time, the meeting will be rescheduled to another day. If at a second Special General Meeting the attendance threshold is still not met, the Akwesasne Financial Administration Law will be considered rejected.

 

If by 10:15am on Saturday, July 27, 2019 there is at least twenty-five (25) Eligible Voters present in addition to Council quorum, the meeting will begin. A summary of the Akwesasne Financial Administration Law will be read, followed by a motion from Council calling for the vote to take place. The secret ballot vote will be conducted by Chief Electoral Officer Leona Benedict and her Deputy Electoral Officers.

 

Eligible Voters interested in voting may enter the meeting any time after the start of the meeting to vote. Council quorum must be maintained for the duration of the meeting.

 

During the voting process, Eligible Voters will be asked to provide government issued identification to verify they are listed on the Voters List. Eligible Voters will be asked to sign-in and receive a ballot with the specified ballot question. They may then proceed to a voting compartment to complete their ballot in private, depositing their marked ballots into a secured ballot box once finished. At 12:00pm the voting period will end and a second motion will be passed closing the voting process after all Eligible Voters in the room have voted.

 

After the motion to close the voting process is passed, the Chief Electoral Officer and Deputy Electoral Officers will begin counting the ballots. Once they have completed counting all ballots they will immediately announce the results, which will be recorded in the minutes. If the voting results indicate the Akwesasne Financial Administration Law is approved by the community, Council will pass a Mohawk Council Resolution approving the law. If the voting results indicate the Akwesasne Financial Administration Law is rejected by the community, Council will pass a Mohawk Council Resolution rejecting the law.

 

Eligible Voters are determined by the Akwesasne Election Law (2005), which includes a person at the time of voting who:

 

• has attained eighteen (18) years of age;
• is a resident in a district;
• is a member of the Mohawks of Akwesasne;
• is Onkwehonwe.

Contact the Chief Electoral Officer Leona Benedict to verify that you are on the voters list at 613-575-2250 ext. 2406 before the Special General Meeting.

 

This voting process described in this release is determined following the:

 

• Akwesasne Legislative Enactment Regulation (2015) subsections 7.6-7.18 Enactment by secret ballot vote at a Special General Meeting
• Akwesasne Election Law (2005) section 7.0 Eligibility of Voters; and
• Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Procedure Regulation (2013) section 6.0 Quorum and section 10.0 Taking Care of Business

 

For more information on the proposed Akwesasne Financial Administration Law, please contact:

Kyrie Ransom, Justice Coordinator

Akwesasne Justice Department

613-575-2250 ext. 2403

15 Akwesasne Street

Akwesasne, Quebec

H0M 1A0

 

The draft Akwesasne Financial Administration Law (June 7, 2019) is available online at www.akwesasne.ca/justice/legislative-development/akwesasne-financial-administration-law/.