[Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval --ProposedConstitutional Amendment.

Thu May 24 00:36:20 UTC 2012

Dear all,

In the past, we always passed a bag or box down the row or a collector would 
hold the bag or box in front of the voter and they would place the ballot in 
the bag or box themselves.  The collectors should never touch the ballit.
If I saw someone rip the corner off someone else's ballot, I would report 
them on the spot and stop the balet collections till the matter was resolved 
and corrected.
The person tampering with a ballot would be dismissed from the NFB for 
Conduct Unbecoming to a member.
Even at our chapter elections, we let each member place their ballot 
directly into the bag or box so that no one else touches them till they are 
counted by at least 3 people.
I would say that we might consider eliminating the lowest vote getters and 
go directly to a single run off election between the two top vote getters, 
to save time in any 3,4,or 5 candidate races.  This would save paper cards 
too.
Only members wearing their convention badges would be given a ballot card to 
vote with and different color cards could be used for each office, with no 
one other than the election counters knowing the color until the time of the 
ballot.
As per policy, no member of the ACB can hold office or be a committee chair 
in the NFB at any level.  They can be a rank and file member, but as long as 
they are a ACB member, they can not hold an office.
This is like the Republican letting a Democrat make their decisions for them 
and would be a conflict of interest.
You would never know just where their loyaltywas.

David Evans, NFBF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cathy Koyanagi" <cakoyanagi at samobile.net>
To: <kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com>
Cc: <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 11:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your 
Approval --ProposedConstitutional Amendment.

> Easy fix is to have each person put their ballot into an envelope and seal 
> it, then they can be picked up by designated election officials. 
> Cathy-Alice
>
> Original message:
>> Holly,
>>         Do you mean that you observed people tearing off an additional
>> corner or tearing off a corner when there was no corners torn off? I 
>> really
>> do not see any way around that. I want each person to put their ballot in
>> the container for counting so there can be no alterations.
>
>> Kathy
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Holly
>> Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 7:26 PM
>> To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval
>> --ProposedConstitutional Amendment.
>
>> Kathy,
>> I tend to agree with you. I would also like a different way to collect 
>> the
>> secret ballot, as well. I have seen people change the ballots as they 
>> were
>> past down the isle. At that point, I did not feel that I could do 
>> anything
>> about it.
>> Holly
>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On May 19, 2012, at 7:18 PM, "Kathy Davis" <kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>> Hi Dan,
>>>    I totally oppose your proposed amendment to the NFBF Constitution.
>>> You and I have always held differing opinions on the matter of secret
>>> ballots.
>>>    The fact is that I do not want to stand up publically or even raise
>>> my hand so members will know exactly how I vote. I may respect several
>>> members running for office but I do not want them to be cognizant of
>>> how I choose to vote.  Hurt feelings that can be long-lasting in
>>> nature would likely result.
>>>    Even though the majority of the voting members are blind, many have
>>> enough vision to see how folks cast their votes and of course, we have
>>> many sighted members who will also be part of the election process.
>>> Don't think for a minute that a given candidate will not learn from 
>>> other
>> members what
>>> they observed pertaining to how others cast their votes
>>>    To take my position a bit further and a little more concrete, let
>>> me add an example. It's a really terrible situation when two of my
>>> really good friends are running for the same office such as Second
>>> Vice President. This situation has occurred on numerous occasions
>>> throughout the years I have been part of the NFBF. For example, let's
>>> say that Sherrill O'Brien is running against Gloria Hicks. I may
>>> choose to vote for Gloria but I would feel horrible for Sherrill to
>>> know that I voted against her because I value both candidates'
>>> friendship. After all, we are an organization that has worked for
>>> years and years for voters to have the right to vote in secret and in
>> private.
>>>    Sorry my friend, but I can never support your amendment! Moreover,
>>> elections are far too important to get caught up in making our
>>> elections be over and done with in the quickest manner possible. If
>>> only one voting member is uncomfortable about voting publically, that
>>> member should have the right to call for a secret ballot. I hope
>>> others will jump in and share their views on this matter.
>
>
>>> Your friend and longtime colleague,
>
>>> Kathy Davis
>
>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Dan Hicks
>>> Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 1:47 PM
>>> To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
>>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Important: Submitted for your Approval --
>>> ProposedConstitutional Amendment.
>
>>> Fellow NFBF Members,
>
>
>
>>> As Rod Serling used to say in the beginning minutes of "The Twilight
>> Zone,"
>>> 'Submitted for your approval."
>
>
>
>>> Some of you may recall that at our 2011 NFBF Convention, we approved
>>> an amendment to the constitution which changed and simplified the way
>>> chapters designate their representatives.
>
>
>
>>> During this convention, I mentioned another amendment that I wish to
>>> see passed, and will be voted on at this year's convention.
>
>
>
>
>
>>> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS
>
>
>
>>> Now reads:
>
>
>
>>> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS
>
>
>
>>> Elections shall be conducted by a majority vote of the active members
>>> present and voting at an annually held business meeting.  Election
>>> shall be by voice vote, standing vote, show of hands, roll call vote,
>>> or secret ballot.  Secret marked ballots shall be required upon the
>>> request of any active member present and voting.  There shall be no
>>> proxy voting.  If no nominee receives a majority vote on the first
>>> ballot, the name of the person receiving the fewest votes shall be
>>> dropped from the list of nominees, and a second ballot shall be taken.
>>> This procedure shall continue until one of the nominees has received a
>>> majority vote from the active members present and voting.
>
>
>
>
>
>>> Proposed Change:
>
>
>
>>> ARTICLE IV:  ELECTIONS
>
>
>
>>> Elections shall be conducted by a majority vote of the active members
>>> present and voting at an annually held business meeting.  Election
>>> shall be by voice vote, standing vote, show of hands, roll call vote,
>>> or secret ballot.  Secret marked ballots shall be required upon the
>>> request of a majority of the active member present and voting.  There
>>> shall be no proxy voting.  If no nominee receives a majority vote on
>>> the first ballot, the name of the person receiving the fewest votes
>>> shall be dropped from the list of nominees, and a second ballot shall
>>> be taken.  This procedure shall continue until one of the nominees has
>>> received a majority vote from the active members present and voting.
>
>
>
>>> I am putting this out now so that we can talk about it and debate its
>>> merits via NFBF-L before the start of convention.
>
>
>
>>> Let me just say that we spend something like 45 minutes each
>>> convention passing out, collecting, and counting secret ballots at our
>> conventions.
>>> This year, the number of offices up for vote could make this time grow
>>> to an hour or more. We usually have about 120 people voting the final
>>> day of convention. That's 120 collective hours - the equivalent of
>>> five twenty-four hour days - of valuable convention time that we waste
>>> on a procedure which a majority of us may not want.
>
>
>
>>> Please note that my proposed amendment does not eliminate secret
>>> balloting; it just changes our constitution to call for a secret
>>> ballot only if the majority of the members present and voting wish to 
>>> have
>> it.
>
>
>
>>> Please take a look at this and give it your consideration. Feel free
>>> to share your thoughts.
>
>
>
>>> Dan Hicks, President
>
>>> NFB of Florida
>
>
>
>
>
>>> "It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars."
>
>
>>>                                                     -Garrison Keillor
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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>
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