Can balloting be done in an emergency meeting?

Balloting for a candidate may take place at an emergent meeting under specific conditions, though standard Masonic practice generally requires balloting to occur at a regular or stated meeting so that every member receives due notice 23.

Under the English Constitution, an emergency meeting may be called to elect a candidate and confer degrees if the Worshipful Master considers the emergency to be real 2. Historical precedents under district authorities show that candidate names not previously proposed in open lodge could still be balloted for at an emergent meeting if all brethren present unanimously agreed 1.

Albert Mackey notes that, in American Masonic jurisprudence, balloting should ordinarily take place at a regular meeting to protect every member's inherent privilege of casting a vote 3. While the Master and Wardens historically held the authority to declare an emergency, modern American practice generally reserves the power to declare a case of emergency or grant the necessary dispensation to the Grand Master 2.