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Investigation Committee

Plustax

Registered User
Being charged but not convicted of a felony is 2 completly different things. However, even that depends on the Lodge being solicited as some still go by "local" rules of preference.
 

jfree7997

Registered User
So I turned in my petition in December. Found out a week ago one of my signers was no good. So I redid my petition and the lodge Secretary said they would take care of my signatures that night. Am I thinking too much to think that they would have voted that night and that if not accepted I would have gotten a call by now.

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jmiluso

Registered User
Free your application has to first be approved by the grand lodge then it's voted on in a stated meeting.


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dfreybur

Premium Member
Am I thinking too much to think that they would have voted that night and that if not accepted I would have gotten a call by now.

The first month the petition is accepted and an investigation committee appointed. If the petition was not accepted you would be notified at that point. Whatever happened with the signatures you would know today.

There is no ballot for at least one month maybe two. The committee needs to meet you, make sure your wife is okay with it, do reference checks and so on. The GL does not need to approve as such in most jurisdictions. All they check to make sure you have not petitioned other lodges, but more and more jurisdictions are doing the criminal background check part of the investigation.
 

jfree7997

Registered User
Oh ok so it's at least a month before I should expect to hear from an investigation committee?

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crono782

Premium Member
Possibly. I tell guys that the process from petition to vote can be up to two months, typically with the investigation in the middle.
 

Radical540

Registered User
Speaking of acceptance, I'd be curious to know what the "ratio" was of petitioners that get turned away. I get the impression that membership is SO low, that most petitioners get "rubber-stamp" approval.Can anyone share any experiences where someone got turned away, and why?
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
Can anyone share any experiences where someone got turned away, and why?

It is a landmark that the secrecy of the ballot is sacrosanct. Our votes can not be discussed and none may ask how we vote. When it happens that a petitioner gets rejected those who know why are forbidden from saying and those who don't know why are forbidden from discussing. So why is a speculation generally not discussed by those present.

What I have seen is rejections are very rare but I have no idea how much that is selection of lodges on my part nor how much of that is careful screening by top line signers.
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
As most of our rejections occurred prior to going to vote, I see no problem paraphrasing the reasons... I've seen negative investigations for crimes, for patterns of recklessness, and for flat-out mercenary motives.
 

Radical540

Registered User
It is a landmark that the secrecy of the ballot is sacrosanct. Our votes can not be discussed and none may ask how we vote. When it happens that a petitioner gets rejected those who know why are forbidden from saying and those who don't know why are forbidden from discussing. So why is a speculation generally not discussed by those present.

What I have seen is rejections are very rare but I have no idea how much that is selection of lodges on my part nor how much of that is careful screening by top line signers.

Thanks. Actually, I was asking in terms of thread topic the Investigative Committee. That being said, I was curious to how many never even make it to a "vote" and why. But since you brought up the topic, when I had my IC I actually asked, what happens if someone get "black balled" and was told by the WM (who was part of my IC) that the WM would address the group and say "someone has voted unmasonically" and would possibly need a re-vote.

I only ask this, because there are members amongst my lodge that I can't help but scratch my head and think "how in the world did you make it past an IC, much less past a vote??" Not exactly the most savory characters.
 

jfree7997

Registered User
I talked to the Secretary of the lodge today and he said that my petition is going up for vote on the 20th of this month. I have not been contacted by the ic yet is that nofmal?

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Radical540

Registered User
Sounds about right. My lodge only has 2 meetings per month, and one of them is usually always cancelled. So everything moves at a snails pace.....
 

jfree7997

Registered User
Would a vote still happen even if the ic does not meet with me

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Radical540

Registered User
I would think not. The purpose of the meeting is to get to know you, your family, etc. BEFORE the lodge votes.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
I talked to the Secretary of the lodge today and he said that my petition is going up for vote on the 20th of this month. I have not been contacted by the ic yet is that nofmal?

There is a "vote" to receive a petition into the lodge records. It should happen the stated meeting after you submit the form. Submit the form the day after a stated meeting and that's a month later. Submit the form the day before a stated meeting and that's a day later. The investigation committee is assigned after the petition form is received. No investigation committee exists before then. Some lodges have a standing committee, not quite the same thing.

There is a "ballot" to accept a candidate to receive the degrees. It should happen one or two months after the petition is received to give the investigating committee time. To come to ballot you had to already meet with the committee.

As today is the 4th it's possible they are taking it on faith that the committee does it work in the next two weeks. For many lodges it's plenty of time.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
Thanks. Actually, I was asking in terms of thread topic the Investigative Committee. That being said, I was curious to how many never even make it to a "vote" and why. But since you brought up the topic, when I had my IC I actually asked, what happens if someone get "black balled" and was told by the WM (who was part of my IC) that the WM would address the group and say "someone has voted unmasonically" and would possibly need a re-vote.

So far I have learned two rituals on the topic and followed the ballot process in a third.

In California we once voted on 3 candidates together (standard practice there). There was a cube. Maybe someone did not like balloting together. The ritual in California only allows the ballot to be re-done that evening and there is a specific provision that any multiple ballot on a first try be split into individual ballots on the second try. That evening we all went through the ballot process 4 times for 3 candidates. Reading twice to make sure I didn't mention the actual outcome, check.

One of the stated meetings during one of my years in the east in Illinois I was once handed a ballot box with the door jammed. I think one of the balls went underneath and kept it from sliding open. The force it took to open sprayed the balls and cubes from both chambers all over the place. I was very apologetic that we had to redo the ballot. Not a ritual situation but these things can happen when a new SD has never carried a ballot box before.

In Illinois when there are more than one candidates there are more than one boxes on the altar so there is never a need to convert from together to individual. Some candidates do run in parallel but they are not merged. The WM reports on all approved candidates. In Illinois if there is a dark ballot the WM has the option of an immediate re-ballot or doing the ballot again the next month. Once that rule was read in open stated meeting at a lodge in my district that I was visiting. Let's just say I recommend that any WM take the option of balloting again the next month if they are ever given that option.

Investigating - Once we were at the house of a petitioner. We asked his wife if she was okay with him becoming a Mason. It turned out her minister disapproved. He said they were going to switch to the church down the street (to me this was a natural response that I would do in that situation). She glared at him with dagger eyes. Suddenly all three of us felt the need to go out in their yard and admire their bushes and flowers. When they asked us back in he was apologetic that he had petitioned. We arranged to return his petition and check to him. I think technically we were supposed to make a negative report to the lodge but it worked for us to report the petition had been withdrawn.

Thinking if I recall negative recommendations by committees I was not on. Something I would deliberately want to blank out of my memory. Tabla rasa.
 
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