[nabs-l] NABS Leadership Update

Sun Jul 12 16:45:41 UTC 2009

Hi Joseph and all,

I am aware that many of the vote counts reported were multiples of 10.
>From my position at the podium, it appears to me that any counting
discrepancies can be attributed to a lack of training of the vote
counters, a problem that can be easily avoided in the future by
carefully selecting and training the  counters beforehand. However, to
be fair, this is the first I've heard about the reported counts
differing from those observed by other students in the room. Had a
discrepancy in a particular race been reported to us, we would have
entertained a recount.

Keep in mind also that some people choose to vote in some races but
not others, leading to different counts. This is a situation we've
seen in the past. In fact, in my recollection when we did standing
votes, the number of people voting differed significantly from one
race to the next.

I do acknowledge that even the suspicion of inaccurate counting is a
serious problem, and one we need to correct in the future with proper
training of the vote counters, and perhaps a paper trail or some other
method of verification. Joseph, if you  or others have suggestions for
solutions by all means present them to the board. We will consider all
suggestions and implement those that we deem best. We will also
consult with NFB national leaders and past NABS presidents before
making any decisions on this matter.

Anyone  who feels angered or upset by the election process, please
feel free to share your concerns with me or another member of the NABS
board. You also have the right as a member of this organization to
speak with someone at the national office. Again, I ask that you
couple your concerns with concrete suggestions for change or at least
specific  examples of what you found  offensive, as Joseph  has done.

I think we can say that we in NABS all have a common goal to make the
organization as strong as possible. Let's keep that overarching goal
in mind when we discuss this issue.

Arielle

On 7/13/09, Jessica Kostiw <jessicac.kostiw at gmail.com> wrote:
> Congratulations Arielle and to the rest of the board,
> I know most of you personally and I am excited to see what the next year
> holds!
>
> I was not able to make convention this year, but have read the posts
> concerning issues of the election.  Arielle, I think you have addressed the
> concerns more then adequately.  This is certainly not the first time that
> NABS elections have been contested, and it will not be the last.
>
> Again, sincere congratulations to all!!  You earned it!!
> Jessica Kostiw
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Arielle Silverman" <nabs.president at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 9:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS Leadership Update
>
>
> Dear Joseph and all:
>
> I am aware that some of  our members were disappointed in the way
> that elections and the passing of a constitutional amendment were
> handled at the NABS business meeting. While in the end all procedures
> were followed according to proper NABS protocol, there was some
> confusion initially among those running the election about how to
> handle these issues. I’d like to apologize personally for this and as
> NABS president I will make every effort to ensure that future
> elections are followed according to proper procedure. The good thing
> about making mistakes is that once they are made and recognized, care
> can be taken to keep them from happening again.
>
> It’s important to keep two things in mind when contemplating the
> elections. The first is that this is not the first time these issues
> have come up in NABS. For years we have been debating about how to
> count votes. This is the first time we required voters to display a
> card proving paid member status when voting. In the past we used
> standing votes and trusted that all voters were paid members. This
> policy led to its own set of complaints and chaos which is why we
> switched to the vote cards. Using the vote cards was an experiment,
> and if the members feel it was a mistake, we won’t do it again.
> Similarly, we have frequently had long elections with several people
> running for each position. There has been much debate about whether or
> not NABS should appoint a nominating committee. That is still an open
> question, and one I’d like the membership to think about before we
> make a decision. So, these are tricky issues with no easy answers and
> ones we’ve been struggling with for years.
>
> The second point I’d like to make is that our constitution is very
> vague. It doesn’t tell us how to count votes. It only specifies that a
> candidate needs a majority of the votes to win, and that if no
> candidate gets a majority, the one with the least votes is dropped.
> So, again, a lot of this is open to debate and there is no one way to
> fix it.
>
> Before our next election I’d like to have a couple of focus groups
> with NABS members about the best and fairest way to handle
> vote-counting, etc. For those of you who were feeling disappointed,
> I’d ask you to cease “grumbiling” and instead come to me with clear
> suggestions for improvement. What specifically did you find
> problematic? If you were the one running things how would you have
> done it differently? We can’t take everyone’s suggestions, of course,
> but we need concrete feedback in order to make changes. Though I can’t
> speak for anyone else, as NABS president I would never want to “quiet
> dissent”. Those of you who knew me in the early days of my NFB
> involvement know that I frequently asked questions and expressed
> opinions contrary to the so-called NFB party line. I do, however, ask
> that complaints and suggestions be voiced respectfully and that they
> be specific to what you thought was wrong or unfair. Just saying “it
> was chaos” doesn’t help us figure out how to make things better in the
> future. If you were disappointed, I also hope that you can still work
> with us and move forward. Elections only happen once a year, but the
> mentoring and collective action that happens in NABS happens all year
> long.
>
> Finally, I will say this: Whatever procedure we decide to use for
> conducting the election and counting votes, when I run the next NABS
> election I’ll be sure to spell out the procedures ahead of time before
> we start the election, and I will also make sure the vote counters
> have been chosen and instructed prior to the election. I suspect a lot
> of the trouble came from the fact that people didn’t know what to
> expect and that some of the rules changed throughout the course of the
> election. Again, I apologize for this and I can say with certainty
> that this won’t happen again.
>
> P.S. For your reference: The NABS constitution (not yet amended) is
> attached.
>
> On 7/12/09, T. Joseph Carter <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com> wrote:
>> David,
>>
>> I did not.  If I had, I'd be in the same position as the incoming
>> board right now—if they speak on the issue, it looks like they're
>> trying to quiet dissent.  An outsider is the only one who can do it
>> under the circumstances.
>>
>> If anyone ought to be crying foul about the election, it probably
>> ought to be me, for multiple reasons.  And yet that's exactly why I
>> need to be the first to say that it's time to move on.  We have a new
>> board, and they cannot be faulted.
>>
>> The only responsibility the incoming board has is to do better.
>>
>> Joseph
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 02:10:04PM -0500, David Dunphy wrote:
>>> Did you win any board positions Joseph?
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Arielle Silverman
> President, National Association of Blind Students
> Phone:  602-502-2255
> Email:
> nabs.president at gmail.com
> Website:
> www.nabslink.org
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org