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Ask the Chairman - Elections: Withdrawing a Candidate

        Ask the Chairman

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Q. Mr. Capp,
I am having a meeting tonight with a Troop that is having a problem with one of the Scouts that has been elected to become an Order of the Arrow candidate. He has not been called out yet. The Troop wants to withdraw/cancelled his nomination. Here are my questions:

  1. Can that been done?
  2. Can the Troop pull his nomination?
  3. If the Troop cannot is there someone who can?

Thank you,
William

A. William:
Thanks for your note. Certainly a concerning situation.

The Scoutmaster of the Troop, if the proper election process was followed, approved this young man to be considered for election. This is the role of the Scoutmaster in the election process. No scout can be considered for election without the Scoutmaster putting the candidate's name on the ballot.

If the young man was then duly elected, no one can remove him from being inducted, except himself. The Troop approved him to be on the ballot, the Lodge has to accept the election, and the National Council does not meddle in lodge/council decisions.

A counseling session may be appropriate. Sometimes in this situation, a boy chooses to 'wait a year' and work on improving his Scout Spirit.

Your email is silent on "what the young man did", but if his failings or infractions rise to a level that the Scout Executive might consider removing him from Scouting and revoking his membership, then, obviously he would not be inducted by the lodge, because each candidate must first be a member of good standing as a registered BSA participant.

Ray