THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

qualification. In other words, we may say, that _the motion for
reconsideration is the great antagonist of the purity and security of
the
ballot box_. The importance, then, of the position which it thus
assumes,
demands a brief discussion of the time and mode in which a ballot may
be
reconsidered.
In the beginning of the discussion, it may be asserted, that it is
competent for any brother to move a reconsideration of a ballot, or for
a
lodge to vote on such a motion. The ballot is a part of the work of
initiating a candidate. It is the preparatory step, and is just as
necessary to his legal making as the obligation or the investiture. As
such, then, it is clearly entirely under the control of the Master. The
Constitutions of Masonry and the Rules and Regulations of every Grand
and
Subordinate lodge prescribe the mode in which the ballot shall be
conducted, so that the sense of the members may be taken. The Grand
Lodge
also requires that the Master of the lodge shall see that that exact
mode
of ballot shall be pursued and no other, and it will hold him
responsible
that there shall be no violation of the rule. If, then, the Master is
satisfied that the ballot has been regularly and correctly conducted,
and
that no possible good, but some probable evil, would arise from its
reconsideration, it is not only competent for him, but it is his solemn
duty to refuse to permit any such reconsideration. A motion to that
effect, it may be observed, will always be out of order, although any
Brother may respectfully request the Worshipful Master to order such a
reconsideration, or suggest to him its propriety or expediency.
If, however, the Master is not satisfied that the ballot is a true
indication of the sense of the lodge, he may, in his own discretion,
order
a reconsideration. Thus there may be but one black ball;--now a single
black ball may sometimes be inadvertently cast--the member voting it
may
have been favorably disposed towards the candidate, and yet, from the
hurry and confusion of voting, or from the dimness of the light or the
infirmity of his own eyes, or from some other equally natural cause, he
may have selected a black ball, when he intended to have taken a white
one. It is, therefore, a matter of prudence and necessary caution,
that,
when only one black ball appears, the Master should order a new ballot.
On
this second ballot, it is to be presumed that more care and vigilance
will
be used, and the reappearance of the black ball will then show that it
was
deposited designedly.
But where two or three or more black balls appear on the first ballot,