Publications

Election Procedure

The two basic requirements for the actual conduct of the election are contained in the Retiree Elections Code, Section 2, Sub-section F:

  • ". . . election shall be by secret ballot."

  • "All Sub-Chapter members shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to vote."

The first of these rarely causes problems. Sub-Chapters can provide any means of privacy, from elaborate voting booths to seating space at isolated tables. Others use even less complicated methods. Almost any method which affords the voter the opportunity to mark the ballot without any other person observing is acceptable. After the person marks it, he or she deposits it in a ballot box or other container where it is mixed with the ballots cast by others and the right to secrecy is preserved.

It is the second requirement that occasionally creates disagreement.

For comparatively small Sub-Chapters, it is a common and completely acceptable practice to conduct the election during a membership meeting. Ballots are simply given to all members present and then collected in a common container and counted. For larger Sub-Chapters this system may not work.

While it is practical to simply pass out ballots in a meeting of 20 people, all of whom know each other, it is quite something else to try to do the same thing in a meeting attended by several hundred members. In the case of these larger groups, it is usually best to set up specified hours of voting and function on a basis similar to the holding of an election for public office. It is essential, of course, that a record be kept of which members voted—both to avoid having someone vote twice and to avoid giving ballots to non-members. The best way to do this is work from an up-to-date membership listing and require voters to (1) identify themselves and (2) sign for their ballots.

If more than one voting location is to be used, great care must be taken to see that each member votes in only one location. This may mean breaking the membership list down by residence. It may also mean frequent telephone contacts between one location and another or to a central location controlled by the chairperson of the Election Committee for the purpose of updating a master list.

These problems for larger Sub-Chapters can be solved. Three kinds of "solutions" that are occasionally attempted, however, are prohibited:

  • There can be no proxy voting. No member can authorize another to cast a vote for him or her.

  • Mail ballots cannot be used for those who are on duty during voting hours. Balloting by mail must be done by all members or by none.

  • There can be no "absentee" voting. In the rare instances where this has been tried, it has been found that the practice lends itself to abuse and therefore cannot be used.

Occasionally a problem will arise concerning a person who arrives to vote and there is doubt as to his or her eligibility. Challenges can be raised concerning the eligibility of a prospective voter either by a member of the Election Committee who is present or by an observer representing one of the candidates. It is up to the Election Committee to resolve the matter.

The prospective voter may, for instance, not be listed on the membership roster and yet insist that he or she is a member. If the person can produce evidence that he or she is paying dues—a stub from a current pension check showing checkoff of dues, or a receipt for current dues issued by the Sub-Chapter, for example—the matter can probably be settled on the spot and a ballot issued. If it is a matter requiring further investigation or additional evidence which cannot be produced immediately, the person should be permitted to mark a ballot and then seal it in an envelope with his or her name on the outside. This envelope should then be placed in the ballot box or in a separate container until the challenge is resolved.

At the time for the closing of the polls, anyone standing in line to vote should be permitted to do so. Anyone arriving after that time will have lost the opportunity.

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