"Our fellowship is stronger with the growing number of diverse voices."
Fellowship Group Voting
Concept II (Two)
What are groups voting on?
Whether to approve the proposed changes to the current Concept II (Two):
Current Concept II (Two):“ Authority for the active maintenance of our world services is hereby delegated to the actual voice, the effective conscience for our whole fellowship.”
To:
New Concept II (Two): “ACA groups delegate to the World Service Conference the authority to act as their effective voice and conscience, and to represent the fellowship in world service matters”
How long is voting open?
August 3, 2026 – December 3, 2026
Who is eligible to vote?
Every group (meeting, intergroup, and region) registered on the WSO website has one vote. New groups must be registered on the website by November 3, 2026 to be eligible.
What are groups being asked to do?
Hold a group conscience to determine the will of the group.
Determine who from the group will use the unique voting link below to submit the vote
Groups may update/change their vote until the close of voting.
How to vote and when does my group get their voting link?
- The voting link is unique for each group. They are emailed to all of the group’s registered contacts at the beginning of each month during the voting period (August, September, October, November, December)
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What will be on the voting page?
Sample Voting Packet (coming soon)
The Concept II (Two) change
Your group’s reasoning as to why they chose to vote this way (optional)
If your group conscience was not unanimous, what was the reasoning of the minority – or the “minority opinion” (optional)
How do I update our group's contacts?
Locate your group on the appropriate list and click the update button. This will send an email to existing group contacts with an update link
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What if none of the existing contacts still attend the group?
Email [email protected]
Be sure to include your WSO Number
What if my group has updated its contacts and does not want to wait until the next month to get the unique voting link?
Email [email protected]
Voting Resources
- The Sample Voting Packet (coming soon)
- A list of the questions on the voting page
- How to Conduct a Group Conscience with FAQs
- Space to take notes and tally your group conscience votes
- How to Conduct a Group Conscience Web Page for FGV (includes video)
| Fellowship | Concept II | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous | The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole society in its world affairs. | A.A. Concepts |
| Narcotics Anonymous | The groups have final responsibility for and authority over the service structure they have created. By fulfilling their responsibility to provide their service structure with the conscience, ideas, people, and money it needs, the groups also exercise their authority. Conversely, the service structure must always look to the groups for support and direction. | NA Concepts |
| Al-Anon Family Groups | The Al-Anon Family Groups have delegated complete administrative and operational authority to their Conference and its service arms. | Al-Anon Concepts |
| Overeaters Anonymous | The OA groups have delegated to World Service Business Conference the active maintenance of our world services; thus, World Service Business Conference is the voice, authority and effective conscience of OA as a whole. | OA Concepts |
| Debtors Anonymous | The D.A. groups have delegated complete administrative and operational authority to the General Service Board. The groups have made the Conference the voice and conscience for the whole Fellowship, excepting for any change in the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and in Article 10, the General Warranties, of the Conference Charter. | D.A. Concepts |
| Marijuana Anonymous | The ultimate authority and responsibility for service in Marijuana Anonymous is the collective conscience of the groups. | MA Concepts |
ABC_2025_05: Revised Concept 2 Motion: That the Conference grant final approval of the following Concept 2 to replace the current Concept 2: “ACA groups delegate to the World Service Conference the authority to act as their effective voice and conscience, and to represent the fellowship in world service matters”. (Kelle J., Concepts Study ad hoc committee)
Decision: Motion passed with 62 in favor; 15 opposed; 5 abstentions
ABC_2024_03: Proposed New Wording of Concept II Motion:
that, to support an Informed Group Conscience process, the following language be approved by the conference today for subsequent group consideration and a final vote at the 2025 ABC as a replacement for the current Concept II: “ACA groups delegate to the World Service Conference the authority to act as their effective voice and conscience, and to represent the fellowship in world service matters.”
Passed on May 19, 2024, with 65 in favor; 8 opposed and 7 abstentions.
ABC_2024_04: Proposed a 2-3 year extension of the time, and an expansion of its scope, of the Concepts Study Group.
Passed on May 19, 2024 with 73 in favor, 4 opposed, and 3 abstentions.
ABC_2023_02: Extension of Concepts 2 & 6 Study Motion:
To request a six month extension, with a detailed update at the next Quarterly Business Meeting, to complete proposed revisions to Concepts 2 & 6, but to affirm that concept 2 will define the conference as the voice and conscience of the ACA fellowship.
Passed on May 7, 2023 with 64 in favor, 3 opposed, and 6 abstentions.
ABC_2022_02: Create ad hoc Committee to Study Concepts II and VI
Proposal 4 Motion:
To create an ad-hoc committee that will study Concepts II and VI and report to the 2023 ABC on possible revisions. Delegates and the fellowship will be notified of the study and invited to join the ad-hoc committee.
Passed on May 7, 2022 with 68 votes in favor, 11 votes opposed, and 8 abstentions.
Town Halls/Forum
Purpose
- To explain the Fellowship Group Voting process
- To provide support for conducting an effective group conscience
- To explain the WSO voting system for this Fellowship Group Vote
There will be five Town Halls, each one to be held twice, in separate time-zones:
July 18, 2026: 11:00 am ET, 9:00 pm ET
August 15, 2026: 11:00 am ET, 9:00 pm ET
September 19, 2026: 11:00 am ET, 9:00 pm ET
October 17, 2026: 11:00 am ET, 9:00pm ET
November 21, 2026: 11:00 am ET, 9:00pm ET
Zoom link for the Town Halls
Meeting ID: 914 7666 4800
Passcode: 789982
What is Fellowship Group Voting?
A fellowship group vote happens after the delegates at the Conference (ABC) have approved a motion to be voted on by all registered groups.
The next step is to implement the Fellowship Group Voting process, marking its first use in ACA which will provide a learning experience and an opportunity for fellowship and delegate engagement. This foundational implementation will allow for assessment, discussion, and potential refinement of the process. Any proposed substantive changes will be reviewed and approved by Conference delegates.
Why is this Important?
A Fellowship Group vote may happen when the delegates at the conference believe the change being considered is significant enough to require all registered groups to participate. This is in line with Tradition 2 and Concepts I and IV, especially as only 5% of all registered groups are currently represented by delegates at the Conference (ABC).
Questions on Fellowship Group Voting?
Voting Process – [email protected]
Technical questions – [email protected]
Concept II (two) – [email protected]
| Voting Process Timeline | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | Start Dates | End Dates |
| Voting Period | August 3, 2026 | December 3, 2026 |
| Last day for new groups to register to be eligible to vote | November 3, 2026 | |
| Post the voting results | Dec 18, 2026 | Dec 18, 2026 |
| Results presented to delegates at the 2027 ABC | May 15, 2027 | May 16, 2027 |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why is this new language being proposed?
After nearly a year of study and comparison of ACA’s Concept 2 to Concept 2 in other 12 step programs, the committee came to the following conclusion, first presented in the Committee Report to the 2023 ABC (see p 69-70 of the 2023 ABC Binder):
ACA’s Concept 2 is fundamentally flawed…it does not state who is the actual voice and effective conscience of ACA`s fellowship. The committee will seek to assign these roles to the Conference, in line with Concept 2 in several other 12 step programs.
What was the challenge with the current language?
In seeking to come up with particular revised language, the committee thought that a well-structured Concept 2 should answer these 3 critical questions:
– Who speaks for the Fellowship?
– Who grants that Authority?
– What is the scope of that Authority?
ACA’s current Concept 2 answers none of these.
What is the benefit to this proposed change?
| Current Concept 2 | Proposed New Concept 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who speaks for the Fellowship? | SILENT | The World Service Conference |
| Who grants that Authority? | SILENT | ACA groups |
| What is the scope of that Authority? | UNCLEAR | Represent the ACA Fellowship in world service matters |
What is group conscience and how does it work?
Group decisions that follow the Traditions and intent have a signature that we learn to recognize as a group conscience (BRB pg 490), The group members trust the collective decision-making process known as group conscience (BRB pg 492)
For more information on how to obtain a group conscience, see Group Voting and Substantial Unanimity- Twelfth Concept
What would happen if the motion to change Concept II (two) passes?
The voting results will be reported on the adultchildren.org website within two weeks after the close of voting. Discussion of the Fellowship Group Voting results and next steps will be requested to be added to the agenda for the 2027 Annual Business Conference. (ABC)
What is the impact to the fellowship?
If the vote passes, there will be no financial impact as it will be implemented along wtih the name change.
What would happen if motion fails?
The voting results and next steps will be added to the 2027 ABC agenda.
The voting results will be reported on the adultchildren.org website within two weeks after the close of voting. Discussion of the Fellowship Group Voting results will be requested to be added to the agenda for the 2027 Annual Business Conference. (ABC)
How is fellowship Group Voting different from the ballot proposal voting?
A Fellowship Group vote happens when the delegates at the conference believe the change being considered is significant enough to require all registered groups to vote directly. The ballot proposal voting allows the fellowship to determine whether a proposal is added to the Annual Business Conference (ABC) agenda for discussion and voting by the delegates.
Who manages the Fellowship Group Voting Results process?
The Data Analysis Committee in conjunction with IT Committee provides the results and posts the reports.
