diff --git a/decision_making.md b/decision_making.md
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--- a/decision_making.md
+++ b/decision_making.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Depending on the governing body, decisions may be proposed by members of the dec
 
 **Calling a vote.** When the discussion matures during the consensus-seeking phase, any member of the decision-making body can call the matter to a vote. When that member (the sponsor) calls the vote, they shall summarize the proposal in its current form for the entire decision-making body. After the proposal is seconded by another member of the decision-making body, members have seven days to vote. The governing body may consider longer voting periods as necessary for special circumstances, or _shorter periods only if all voting members are present_. The decision will be determined by a simple majority of non-blank votes for binary decisions (i.e., approving a proposal) and ranked choice for multi-class decisions (one among many, or several among many). The sponsor may update the proposal at any point during the voting period, in which case the voting period will be reset.
 
-**Voter participation and quorum.** All members of a decision-making body are required to participate in at least 2/3 of formal votes of that decision-making body per calendar year (teams can decide how to account for the specifics of this in low-activity projects, etc.). Members who miss 1/3 of the votes will be asked if they would like to continue to serve the following year. If the individual chooses to step down, the individual remains eligible to rejoin the decision-making body in the future. The quorum for all formal votes will be 50% and a "blank" option will always be included, with the "blank" option counting towards the quorum but not included in totals for calculating results.
+**Voter participation and quorum.** All members of a decision-making body are encouraged to participate in at least 2/3 of formal votes of that decision-making body per calendar year (teams can decide how to account for the specifics of this in low-activity projects, etc.). Members who miss 1/3 of the votes will be asked if they would like to continue to serve the following year. If the individual chooses to step down, the individual remains eligible to rejoin the decision-making body in the future. The quorum for all formal votes will be 50% and a "blank" option will always be included, with the "blank" option counting towards the quorum but not included in totals for calculating results.
 
 **Recording.** Once a decision has been made during the consensus-seeking phase or by a formal vote, the decision-making body will record the decision e.g., in Team Compass issues for decision-making bodies whose workflow is on GitHub or other equivalent and publicly visible mechanisms.