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January 6, 2006
Dear VOTF Members,
Participate
in selecting your leadership. Demonstrate the “Voice” of the
Faithful by voting for your National Officers: President, Vice-President,
Secretary, and Treasurer.
Voting
commences on Tuesday, February 7 and closes at 9 PM Pacific
time on Tuesday February 22.
INTERNET
VOTING
A study conducted after the Officer elections in 2004 found that 90 percent
of all voters used the Internet and that the cost of Internet voting was $5.25/voter,
compared to $15 for each vote cast through the mail. Due to the disproportionately
high cost of mail voting and the low number of those who used the mail to vote
the Board of Trustees, the Officers, and the Elections Committee decided to limit
voting this year to the Internet only.
No voting by
postal mail will be available for this election. However, the
Elections Committee is working directly with affiliate leaders
to ensure that those members who want to vote but who do not
have an email account can arrange to cast their votes over the
Internet.
VOTING
PROCESS
On February 1, the Nominations Committee will send an email to those
VOTF members with an email address in the national VOTF database that will
provide a link to the VOTF website. As with the last election, the link will
identify all those who were nominated for an Officer position and it will also
list which of those names constitute the official ballot. In addition, the
link will provide access to the official duties for each position and the personal
statements prepared by those on the ballot in support of their candidacies.
On February
7, Campus Vote will send an email to those same members
that provides a link to the official ballot and instructions
on how to vote as well as a link to the VOTF website where
they can review the official duties of the Officer positions
and the personal statements of the candidates. Campus Vote
is the company whose software enables many organizations to
conduct electronic voting in an efficient and secure way.
In order
to ensure one vote per member, the same email will contain
a “unique code” for each member to use in voting. In those
instances where more than one member in a household (e.g.,
spouses, sisters, etc.) share the same email address, and therefore
receive only one “unique code” in the email, members will be
directed to contact VOTF in order to secure a separate “unique
code” for the additional member(s) in that household.
Between February
7-22, members will be able to vote in accordance with the
instructions issued by Campus Vote.
On February
14, Campus Vote will send an email reminder to any members
who received a “unique code” on February 1 but had not voted
by that time.
On February
22, at 9 PM Pacific time, Campus Vote will close the window
for voting.
By February
28, VOTF will announce the election results.
ELECTIONS
COMMITTEE
The VOTF Board of Trustees appointed an Elections Committee to oversee the
integrity of the elections process. The Committee developed the specific procedures
and dates noted above and it will post them on the VOTF website. It will also
monitor the election returns throughout the voting period and resolve any concerns
or questions that arise. At the conclusion of the voting period, the Committee
will certify the accuracy of the results and report them to the Board of Trustees.
The members
of the committee are listed below. Anyone who has questions or
concerns about the elections process or procedures leading up
to and during the voting period can contact affiliate leaders,
Executive Director Ray Joyce (617.558.5252; rjoyce@votf.org),
or Bill Casey, chair of the Elections Committee (703.568.3438; b13909@comcast.net).
Bill Casey,
Northern Virginia (chair)
Clare Gerber, Rochester, New York
Anne Hart, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mary Heins, Indianapolis, Indiana
Linda Mains, Seattle, Washington
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