ABA Members Vote to Pass Bylaws Changes, Ratify Board Election

Nearly 300 member booksellers of the American Booksellers Association visited BookWeb.org to vote on four items proposed by the ABA Board of Directors. All four motions passed.

The results of the vote are as follows:

Item 1: Bylaws Change: To further diversity, equity, and inclusion and to establish a more representative Board of Directors, the American Booksellers Association will increase the number of Board members from 11 members to 13 members, in which case the quorum would increase accordingly from six to eight. 

Item 2: Bylaws Change: The ABA Board will include at least four booksellers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, at least two of whom are Black. 

Item 3: Bylaws Change: In an effort to resolve any future votes that result in a tie, the following change to the bylaws has been approved by the board and requires a member vote: A majority vote of Directors at a meeting at which a quorum is present is necessary to take action. If the vote on the matter is tied, the President may cast a second vote to form a majority vote.

Item 4: Election Ratification: In June, ABA members voted to approve a bylaw change related to the last election. Since that bylaws change passed, members are now being asked to ratify the results of that election, which included the election of Kenny Brechner (Devaney, Doak and Garrett Booksellers in Farmington, Maine), Christine Onorati (WORD in Brooklyn, New York, and Jersey City, New Jersey), and Tegan Tigani (Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Washington) to the board.

Questions about the items on the ballot can be directed to [email protected].