The Electoral College

The Electoral College of the O.T.O. in the United States is composed of eleven persons who are charged with the sacred duty of deliberating on the business of the Man of Earth Triad. 

In the United States, the eleven electors meet in person three times annually, near the equinoxes and summer solstice at various local bodies throughout the kingdom. We meet through an online medium every Winter and did so throughout the COVID-19 quarantine. We may be reached via email at any time and are open to communication throughout the year (see contacts).

We deliberate on matters such as applications for camp, oasis, and lodge charters; matters of policy for local bodies or local body masters (where appropriate and warranted); and the approval or denial of applications to the Vth degree. We are always seeking information in order to make the most informed decisions that we can. You may send letters of support or points of information regarding all candidates for consideration to the Electoral College secretary.

Duties of the College

The Electoral College’s duties are limited and specific, but in general it may be said that we are charged with the pleasant duty of supporting the stability of the base of that pyramid of initiates that comprises the strength and structure of our Order. We have full charge of the affairs of the Men of Earth, and all requests for advancement to the Fifth Degree must receive our sanction. In the pursuit of efficient fulfillment of these duties we have developed protocols, policies, and programs.

If you need assistance with any aspect of O.T.O. leadership that falls within our purview, you are welcome to contact any Elector at any time. We review everything that is sent to us. If it is sent to us individually, and the item in question may be addressed through standard E.C. practices, we will address it. If not, we can assist by directing you to the most appropriate office or person.

Electors

Electors are appointed by the Supreme and Holy King. They must volunteer for office following their Vth Degree Initiation. Potential volunteers (of the Vth or K.R.E. Degree) interested in more details about the duties and responsibilities of service on the E.C. may contact the E.C. President. The president will forward requests from those who signify their intention to volunteer for the College to the Supreme and Holy King, who will review each petition.


9. The next grade, that which lies between the Fifth and Sixth Degrees, is called the Senate. This is the first of the governing bodies, and it is here that we begin to insist upon renunciation. For within this body lies the Electoral College of the O.T.O.

10. The principle of popular election is a fatal folly; its results are visible within every so-called democracy. The elected man is always the mediocrity; he is the safe man, the sound man, the man who displeases the majority less than any other; and therefore never the genius, the man of progress and illumination.

11. This electoral college consists of Eleven Persons in each country. It has full control over the affairs of the Men of Earth, appointing Lodge Masters at will. It has however no authority over the Chapters of Rose Croix.

12. Persons who wish to be appointed to this College by the Supreme and Holy King must volunteer for the office. The appointment is for Eleven Years. Volunteers must renounce for that period all further progress in the Order. They must give evidence of first-rate ability in

(i) some branch of athletics.
(ii) some branch of learning.

13. They must also possess a profound general knowledge of history and the art of government, with some attention to philosophy in general.

14. They must each live in solitude, without more than the necessary speech even to casual neighbors, serving themselves in all respects, for three months continuously, once at least in every two years. The President will summon them at the four seasons of the year, and if necessary at other times, when they will deliberate upon the affairs placed in their charge. All applications to pass to the Fifth Degree must receive their sanction. Appeal from their decisions may however be made to the Supreme Council.

-Liber 194, An Intimation with Reference to the Constitution of the Order