3.29.22 – Important Updates from the APFA National Ballot Committee

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Important Updates from the APFA National Ballot Committee

The APFA National Ballot Committee (NBC) has been hard at work the last six months, making strides to improve the Election and Balloting experience both for our membership and at the Annual Convention. We have also taken the time to research and make a necessary change to the Balloting company we use going forward.

• SFO Base Vice President – Election Notice
• Executive Committee (Ad Hoc) Election Results
• **New** Ad Hoc Election Procedures
• National Ballot Committee (NBC) Members
• Storage Locker Emptied and Closed Out
• **New** Balloting Company & FAQs

 

SFO Base Vice President – Election Notice

ATTENTION SFO FLIGHT ATTENDANTS:

The National Ballot Committee (NBC) will be posting a Willingness-to-Serve (WTS) for the position of Base Vice President for SFO on the APFA website on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 10:00am (CT). The electronic Willingness-to-Serve (WTS) must be received by 10:00am (CT) on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Executive Committee (Ad Hoc) Election Results

Ad Hoc Place #3 and #4 were re-elected to a three-year term from 2022-2025 at the APFA Annual Board of Directors Convention on March 10th, 2022.

• Ad Hoc Place #3: Kerstin Conners – DFW
• Ad Hoc Place #4: Joseph Seeyle – PHX

**New** Ad Hoc Election Procedures

At the Annual Board of Directors Convention, the National Ballot Committee (NBC) was excited to introduce a modern, all electronic balloting process for the Board to elect the Executive Committee(Ad Hoc). APFA partnered with SBS Voting Systems to introduce a live, real-time voting platform. This new process took the once hours long, cumbersome process to just five minutes.

National Ballot Committee (NBC) Members

Also, at the Annual Board of Directors Convention, the (5) five National Ballot Committee (NBC) positions were seated by the Board of Directors. Serving the next two-year term 2022-2022 are:

• Adam Brooks, Chairperson – PHL
• Denise Dell – CLT
• Jill Kelso – CLT
• Shelli Middleton – PHX
• Brad LaPrairie – DFW

A heartfelt thank you to Ron Harris, DFW who served on the NBC several times over the years. Ron was instrumental in assisting with some of the recent transitions, improvements, and changes.

Storage Locker Emptied and Closed Out

The NBC recently emptied the storage locker used to retain election ballots and documents for the one (1) year required period and closed out that account until the next large election in 2023. We plan to do this during a non-election year, as the cost savings will be over $700 annually when not in use.

**New** Balloting Company & FAQs

The APFA National Balloting Committee (NBC) is pleased to announce we have partnered with a new election/balloting company, YesElections based out of Mineola, NY. After an error in the initial ballot count for the 2021 Base Officer Election that was the responsibility of TrueBallot, it was clear that it was time for a fresh start with a new company.

The NBC strongly felt it was important to explore all available options to us. The election/balloting industry is a very small niche industry, with fewer than 10 main companies out there. After months of vetting, the NBC is confident that YesElections is the partner that will best serve APFA in our future election/balloting needs.

YesElections has been in business for over 15 years and works with over 400 clients including other prominent labor unions from all over the country. When we met with potential vendors, our primary goals were clear:

1. We needed an election/balloting partner that could help us restore the integrity and trust in the process for APFA.
2. A company that offered a platform and technology that is “keeping up with the times”.
3. Necessary safeguards and best practices to eventually return to full electronic elections/balloting while ensuring full compliance with all applicable election laws and standards.

YesElections has many industry-leading safeguards in place and offers a variety of options for our members to utilize when elections/balloting are being conducted. These include Electronic(Online), Hybrid, and Paper voting options. Importantly, YesElections has a full understanding of the Department of Labor’s challenge to the 2016 National Officer election that was conducted electronically and has implemented best practices and safeguards in its electronic voting platform that are directly responsive to the issues in that election.

Q1: I recently updated my contact/mailing information and need to update it with APFA to ensure I receive future ballots. How do I do that?
A1: You can update your contact information through the APFA Membership Department (number below) or on the APFA website HERE.

Q2: What are the eligibility requirements to vote? How do I determine if I’m a member in good standing?
A2:To be eligible to vote, you must be an active member in good standing. A member is considered in good standing so long as they have met their dues obligation, with no dues in arrears for more than sixty (60) days. For your vote to count, you must be an active member in good standing. (APFA Constitution Article II, Section 4.A-C – Article VI, Section 4.B & 4.D)

You may check if you are a member in good standing or pay your dues by logging into APFA.org and then clicking on “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner.

You may also contact the APFA membership/dues department to confirm if you are in good standing. For assistance with online payments, to pay over the phone, or to check your dues status, you may contact:

• APFA Membership Department at (817) 540-0108 ext. 8153
• APFA Dues Department at (817) 540-0108 ext. 8151

Q3: With this new company, are we finally going to be able to return to electronic voting?
A3: This is the overall goal of the NBC, leadership at APFA and most of our membership. Many factors will go into making this decision during the next representative election which is governed under different sets of laws/standards than a Contract, LOA, or Referendum balloting.

The NBC along with our legal counsel and APFA leadership will closely explore that option before the next representative election. However, we intend to utilize either all-electronic balloting or a hybrid system going forward in non-representative elections.

Q4: What is “Hybrid” voting?
A4: A hybrid voting method is somewhat of a newer concept that we would likely utilize before returning to a fully electronic (online) voting method. The laws and standards around elections and balloting require you to be able to request a paper ballot if the election/balloting is being conducted electronically.

Hybrid voting would allow us to send out paper ballots to all members in good standing. Included on that paper ballot would also be your online voting credentials, giving you the choice and flexibility to either vote electronically(online) or mail in your paper ballot. All the necessary safeguards and systems would be in place that would prevent a member from casting duplicate votes or ballots.

Going forward, the NBC will continue to look for ways to improve the Election and Balloting experience while maintaining the integrity in the process that our membership expects and deserves.

In Solidarity,

Adam Brooks
APFA National Ballot Committee Chair
[email protected]