Every vote is important: Your role in constitutional amendments

Annual conference lay and clergy delegates are accustomed to voting on important items each year, such as budgets and strategies. But every four years, voting can take on extra weight. After General Conference gathers, there might be constitutional amendment ballots awaiting annual conference delegates as well.

Constitutional amendment votes are handled differently and require special attention. It is vital that every voting member of annual conferences across the United Methodist connection cast their ballot.

Vital votes

Unlike other annual conference items up for a vote, constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of every individual vote cast across the globe. Each vote contributes to the overall outcome in the aggregate vote count.

Constitutional amendment votes will not stay with an annual conference; achieving a two-thirds majority vote in an annual conference is NOT the goal. Each delegate’s ballot will be tallied by the Council of Bishops while the denomination waits to see if 66.67% of worldwide voters are in favor of a constitutional amendment.

At the top of this page, you will see a hypothetical example that illustrates the importance of every vote. It shows how essential it is for every voting delegate who is in agreement with an amendment to vote YES, even if they feel certain that their annual conference will overwhelmingly approve ratification of the amendment.

Let’s do the math

In the illustration above, there are five hypothetical annual conference vote totals. The first chart shows how an amendment can receive the required two-thirds approval in three of the five conferences, but fails to reach the 66.67% threshold in the aggregate votes, and so it is not adopted.

The second chart shows how just six more YES votes across those five hypothetical conferences would have changed the outcome. If only six more people in favor of the amendment were able to cast their vote, the United Methodist Constitution would have been amended and the trajectory of the entire denomination would have been altered.

Promote the vote

Leaders at all levels of The United Methodist Church should encourage voter presence and participation at annual conference gatherings. Share information with lay and clergy delegates, explain the vitality of their ballot and empower them to research the issues at hand.

Laura Buchanan and Joe Iovino work for United Methodist Communications. This story was published on February 14, 2025. The contact is Laura Buchanan.