The membership can only vote if they first nominate a chip.

1. I've never heard a good reason for having only those nominating a Chip of the Year being allowed to vote on it.
2. There are many good reasons why the entre membership should be allowed to freely/readily/with no preconditions vote on it:
(a) the COTY would carry more prestige if the entire membership could readily vote for it..
(b) many members are reluctant to nominate a chip because they don't know the year a chip was released (some chips have no dates, and a chip can be released the year before the year printed on the chip, I suppose).
(c) many members aren't aware of many of the current chips released and so correctly feel inadequate in nominating a chip. (In fact, the last two points probably explain why the powers-that-be don't want to change the rules. It is there little clique for whatever that is worth. The general membership, which make for fine voters, won't make nomination for the reasons given here, so a small group runs the show. Big deal.)
(d) being a rabid current-chip collector, etc., may qualify one to nominate COTY's, but has nothing/should have nothing to do with qualifying one to vote on a COTY.

Robt.