Bishop Election Process

Report of the Select Committee on Synod Assembly Duration

Synod Council
Bishop Election Process (by +Riegel)
8 March 2025 (rev. 3 April 2025)

The rules relevant to the election of a bishop.

S9.04. The bishop shall be elected by the Synod Assembly by ecclesiastical ballot. Three-fourths of the legal votes cast shall be necessary
for election on the first ballot. If no one is elected, the first ballot shall be considered the nominating ballot. Three-fourths of the legal
votes cast on the second ballot shall be necessary for election. The third ballot shall be limited to the seven persons (plus ties) who
received the greatest number of legal votes on the second ballot, and two-thirds of the legal votes cast shall be necessary for election. The
fourth ballot shall be limited to the three persons (plus ties) who receive the greatest number of legal votes on the third ballot, and 60% of
the legal votes cast shall be necessary for election. On subsequent ballots a majority of the legal votes cast shall be necessary for election.
These ballots shall be limited to the two persons (plus ties) who receive the greatest number of legal votes on the previous ballot.

CR1.01. When the election of the Synodical Bishop occurs during a regular synod assembly, the agenda shall include the following: (a)
distribution of biographical information for each candidate prior to the third ballot; (b) questioning of each candidate prior to the third
ballot, the questions being generated by the conferences and vetted by the synod council; and © a teaching period by each candidate prior
to the fourth ballot.

Narrative breakdown

Step	Description	Timing
First Ballot	In an ecclesiastical ballot, each voting member is given a blank ballot upon member is given a blank ballot upon which the voting member may write the name of any ELCA pastor or bishop.	Usually one of the earliest actions of the assembly after it convenes. If the assembly convenes prior to lunch, often taken just before the lunch adjournment. 10 minutes.
Counting of the First Ballot	This can be an exceptionally time-consuming process. Each name is recorded. As voting members may not render the names in the same way (e.g., Ralph Dunkin, Bishop Dunkin, Dunkin, Duncan, Dunking, Ralph, etc.), the election officials must make a determination whether different votes are really for the same person. In the event that there is any name that the Elections Committee knows is not of an ELCA pastor, that is counted as an illegal vote. In cases in which the Elections Committee does not know, the Elections Committee checks the ELCA’s database of Ministers of Word and Sacrament. The number of ballots received is typically between 120 and 140.	Time-consuming. 60-90 minutes.
Reporting of the First Ballot	The names are reported to the assembly, listing from highest vote getter to lowest and then alphabetically by last name for ties. If any one name receives 75% of the vote, an election is declared. If not, the withdrawal phase begins.	Takes place as soon as the elections committee has its report ready.
Withdrawal Phase	Every pastor receiving a vote has the option to withdraw his/her name from further consideration. Those present in the assembly hall do this by completing a form and submitting it to the Secretary. Those not present must be contacted by the Elections Committee. This can involve contacting the Churchwide HQ in order to secure contact information for pastors who are outside the synod.	Time is reserved for this process. Usually it is a few hours but ending with sufficient time for the Elections Committee to prepare the Second Ballot. Requires no fewer than three hours.
Preparation of the Second Ballot	After withdrawals have been recorded, the Elections Committee prepares the Second Ballot.	30 minutes
Second Ballot	On the Second Ballot, only those names remaining after withdrawals are included. Write-ins are not allowed.	Usually this is a special order. Up to 15 minutes.
Counting of the Second Ballot	Standard counting procedure. As there can still be a lot of names, this can take a while.	Immediate. Up to 30 minutes.
Report of the Second Ballot	The names are reported to the assembly, listing from highest vote getter to lowest and then alphabetically by last name for ties. If any one name receives 75% of the vote, an election is declared. If not, the Elections Committee proceeds to the preparation of/for the Third Ballot	Immediate. 5 minutes.
Preparation of/for the Third Ballot	This includes not only the preparation of the Third Ballot itself but also several other steps. Here’s the breakdown: The Third Ballot is prepared with the top seven vote recipients plus ties being included on the ballot. Those on the ballot need to be contacted by the Elections Committee and invited to be present and participate in the Q&A phase, to submit a bio/CV for distribution to the assembly, indicating the deadline for submission, (optional) to submit answers to written questions for distribution to the assembly, indicating the deadline for submission. Receive, [copy], and publish bios/CVs to the assembly. (Optional) receive, [copy], and publish to the assembly answers to written questions. Contact the ELCA Office of General Council and check for disciplinary red flags, advising any candidate with a red flag that self-disclosure is advised and, if not done, disclosure will be made by the election officials. Notify those not surviving the Second Ballot who are not in attendance that they are no longer candidates. Development of questions for Q&A if not already done. N.B., if the assembly is two consecutive days, the questions must be developed in advance. If the assembly is not in two consecutive days, the questions can be developed in the interim. Q&A can be done in a different fashion than has been done in the past.	Overnight process. Several hours. It can take a long time for the candidates to prepare and submit bios/CVs. The reproduction of the submitted bios/CVs is itself time consuming, demanding assistance from the Clerk of the Assembly. If there is an office equipment failure, this can add significant time to the process. It has been argued that this can be done electronically. This was attempted in 2015 with disastrous results. It should also be noted that doing so requires people with the requisite tech skills to format and mount the information. This too can be time-consuming.
Distribution of Materials	The Elections Committee distributes copies of bios/CVs and any written answers.	10 minutes
Study of Distributed Materials	The assembly has to be given time to read distributed materials.	30-45 minutes
Question & Answer	The candidates on the Third Ballot submit to Q&A on the floor of the assembly	1.5-3 hours depending upon the number of candidates, the number of questions asked, and the amount of time accorded to the candidates to answer.
Third Ballot	The Elections Committee distributes the Third Ballot	Usually set as a special order. Often some time is allowed after the Q&A and distribution of materials to allow voting members to think about what they have heard and read. Given that some will not have read the handouts when first distributed, one may want to allow up to 20 minutes.
Counting of the Third Ballot	Standard counting procedure.	Up to 30 minutes.
Report of the Third Ballot	Standard reporting procedure. If any candidate receives 60% of the vote, an election is declared. If not, the process continues as follows.	5 minutes
Teaching Time	Each of the top three candidates plus ties is given a fixed amount of time to teach the assembly on a topic of his/her choice.	30-60 minutes depending upon the number of candidates and the amount of time given to each candidate.
Preparation of the Fourth Ballot	The Fourth Ballot is prepared with the top three candidates plus ties.	This may take place during the Teaching Time.
Distribution of the Fourth Ballot	The Fourth Ballot is distributed.	Usually set as a special order. Up to 10 minutes. It may be advisable to give the assembly time before distribution of the Fourth Ballot to think over what they heard during the Teaching Time.
Counting of the Fourth Ballot	Standard counting procedure.	Up to 20 minutes.
Report of the Fourth Ballot	Standard reporting procedure. If any candidate receives a majority, an election is declared. If not, the process continues as follows.	5 minutes.
Preparation of the Fifth Ballot	The Fifth Ballot is prepared with the top two candidates plus ties.	Up to 20 minutes.
Distribution of the Fifth Ballot	The Fifth Ballot is distributed	Usually a special order. Up to 10 minutes. It may be advisable to give the assembly time before distribution of the Fifth Ballot to think.
Counting of the Fifth Ballot	Standard counting procedure.	Up to 15 minutes.
Report of the Fifth Ballot	Standard reporting procedure. If any candidate receives a majority, an election is declared. If not, the process repeats until a candidate receives a majority.	5 minutes.

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