2009-05-27 Elections Committee Report

Our Interim Executive Director selected a National Elections
Supervisor for this year's Pacifica elections, Les Radke.  He was NES
for the 2006 Pacifica elections.

Bill Crosier of KPFT was elected chair of the Elections Committee,
and Yosh Yamanaka was elected secretary.  The committee had delayed
the election until it could determine if WPFW would choose its
members for this committee.

The committee agreed to have a work group conference call with the
new NES to discuss a list of concerns committee members developed
regarding previous elections, and then for the whole committee to
meet again with him to discuss how the committee can work with him to
facilitate the election process.

The committee also agreed to impress upon the NES the importance of
cleaning up both the listener member lists, and the staff lists.

The detailed list of concerns is in the appendix below.

A summary of the NES's responses during the May 21 conference call
follows, referencing the list of concerns:

General updates from the NES on May 21:
* He is in the process of reviewing information on possible LES's and
(as of May 21) has hired two (for KPFT and WPFW).  He has lots of
prospects for KPFA and WBAI, but not for KPFK.
* He is preparing material to be sent to the LES's, and would
appreciate help from the committee in developing guidelines for them
that would help them avoid future problems and challenges.
* He told the work group that he did not intend to contract out any
of the election work to companies who had responded to our earlier
Request for Proposals and whom the committee had interviewed and
evaluated, and did not need information on them.
* He was invited and intends to join the conference call for the next
Elections Committee meeting (May 31).

Responses to the list of concerns (below):

1.  Replacement Ballots:
The NES understood this was a problem.  He wants a single point
person for each station.  The work group emphasized the need for a
feedback system and a way of tracking replacement ballot requests,
and also the need to do an NCOA scan and use return service requested
on mailings to members, to be followed up with phone calls as needed
to get correct addresses and for them to be entered into the
stations' data bases.

1a. Election cost -- While discussing the above item, committee
members reminded the NES that getting the lists cleaned will reduce
effort, confusion, and challenges later and minimize the number of
replacement ballot requests and possible lawsuits.  In addition,
including along with the ballot, a member survey and a well-written
letter requesting donations, may increase participation in the
election and donations to help offset the cost.  Doing the NCOA scan
and correcting addresses before mailing the election packet will also
allow the use of bulk rate mailing to reduce postage costs.

2. Voter outreach via e-mail, slate mailings and other mailings:
The NES wanted minimal constraints on such mailings, and felt this
was primarily a free speech issue, but that more discussion may be
needed re: using personal e-mail lists.  He agreed that station
resources, including e-mail lists or other member contact
information, should not be provided to any candidates unless all had
equal access.  He also agreed it was virtually impossible to control
use of personal e-mail lists, even if we wanted to, and he does not
believe we should.  He was not sure about providing incentives for
replying to mailings and said he'd need to get a legal opinion about
that.  In response to a question re: delays of mailers by mailing
houses, the NES said he'd like for that to be the mailing house's
responsibility.  Committee members discussed possible ways we might
help all candidates get equal publicity online but nothing was
decided about that.

3.  Staff lists:
After hearing concerns of the committee on the need to get good staff
lists, the NES agreed that GM's also need to know who's on their
staff, and he wants (presumably the LES's) to work with station
managers to get good staff lists so all of them who should get a
ballot will get a ballot.  Several suggestions were proposed to the
NES.

4.  Faxing of candidate petition forms and other filing material:
The NES said this was OK but that candidates would also need to
deliver the signed hard copies later.  Committee members asked that
faxing of the forms be equally publicized to all candidates.

5. Deadline time for filing:
The NES said this should be fixed, probably 5 PM local time, and
publicized in advance (not just the date), and that the LES's should
not be able to change this.

6.  Timely response to Fair Campaign complaints/challenges:
The NES said he could use help with this. and wants to develop
guidelines (as the committee requested) in advance to challenges that
have come up before.  He said he'd like help from the Elections
Committee in developing a list of problems that have come up and how
they were resolved, and said he would send a list of prior challenges
so that the EC can help develop guidelines for how to handle them.
He agreed that this will help to reduce the number of complaints and
this will in turn make it easier to respond promptly to them.   He
added that complaints tend to come in surges, though, such as right
after campaign events, and it's not easy to respond immediately then.

7.  Fair playing of candidate carts:
Committee members impressed upon the NES that this has been a
continuing problem at all stations.  He agreed to check with PD's at
stations to see what worked best, and to help the LES's come up with
solutions that will work.  Station management also needs
encouragement to make sure the candidate cart playing system works
fairly for all candidates.

8.  Shut off time for returning ballots:
NES:  Same as #5 above

9.  Write-in candidates as 1st preference by default, how to handle
eligibility:
The NES said he felt write-in candidates should always be ranked #1
automatically, or else they would not have a chance to be elected.
He agreed the ballot needed to provide for more than one write-in
candidate, and will look at the eligibility issue (how to quickly
determine if a write-in candidate is a member, so that vote
tabulation would not have to be re-done.

10.  Hybrid (snail mail plus Internet) voting
The NES did not want to use any Internet voting, except perhaps for a
staff election on a trial basis.  If Internet voting is used, open
source software should be utilized.

11.  Other fair campaign issues  needing clarification:
NES: Yes, candidates can provide a link to a web site of their own in
their written candidate statements or audio statements (cart).
NES: Candidates will have a hard deadline for recording their
candidate statements and may not re-record their carts after that
date.

12.  Possible changes to new election policy:
NES:  The policy is done and adopted by the PNB.  Regarding changes
to the requirement for all programmers to produce and broadcast their
own tutorials, he said he believed the intention was to give
programmers more control and choice and that they could choose to
either produce their own tutorial or use one produced by others.

- - - - -

Appendix (sent to NES and Elections Committee before May 21 work
group conference call, and was the main topic for that call)

Concerns re previous elections for NES to address:

1.  Replacement ballots
*Every Pacifica election has had problems with this, repeatedly.
*Members have been promised replacement ballots but not received
them, lawsuits have been filed over this, and members have said
they'll never donate to their station again due to frustration
getting ballots -- lots of frustration and accusations about this.
*Some, but not all, of the problems relate to having good staff and
listener member lists, with correct addresses.
*Members need an easy way to determine in advance if they are on the
lists correctly, and an easy and reliable way to request replacement
ballots and get accurate status on whether they'll be sent one and
when.
*Part of the problem seems to be lack of accountability and
traceability so that the LES's and NES know who's really been sent
replacement ballots, what addresses they were sent to, etc.
Using one of the election vendors with whom we evaluated may help
with part of this, but getting accurate/complete/non-duplicated lists
is also very important.

2.  Voter outreach via e-mail, slate mailings and other mailings -
lots of questions
(Need to check California law that applies to this, too)
*What constraints can and should be put on slate and individual
candidate mass mailings, by e-mail and by snail mail (using
candidates' own lists, or a station's member lists)?
*Can such mailings provide incentives for recipients to reply, and if
so, what limitations, if any, might there be?
*What kind of information/endorsements can programmers send out
individually to people they know or to snail mail or e-mail lists
that they have personally or have acquired through non-Pacifica
organizations?
*What should be done if non-candidates send out mailings that contain
attacks or inaccurate information about one or more candidates?
*Under what conditions, if any, should Pacifica/the NES send out or
distribute mailings or announcements to counter inaccuracies in slate
mailings or individual candidate mailings?

3.  Staff eligibility lists & prior PNB motion
*At all Pacifica stations, it's been difficult to get good staff
lists, for unpaid staff members.
*The PNB passed a motion months ago asking all GM's to ensure that
lists (staff and listener members) are checked every 3 months but the
checking may be inadequate or not happening at all.
*We need a better way of getting staff lists in advance, verifying
them, and handling challenges (both for people who should be listed
who are not, and the reverse).  This needs to be a priority for
station managers, and a better system of working with unpaid staff
organizations on lists is also needed.
*Note that accurate and complete staff lists are needed not just for
elections -- they're also needed so that management can effectively
communicate updates and changes to station policies, emergency
information, training, and news regarding programmers and their shows.

4.  Faxing in of signatures on nomination petitions:
At at least one station, LSB candidates were allowed to fax in
petition signature forms and other forms to the station's fax machine
(sometimes with just one signature per fax), but this was not
communicated to all candidates.  Should this be allowed at all, and
if so, how should it be handled so it's fair to all candidates?

5.  Extension of the filing deadline
Under what conditions, if any, can an LES extend the filing deadline
for candidates (by a few hours, or a few days), to allow slow
candidates to file, and/or to increase the number of candidates if
the total number seems low.  It would help to have a written policy
or guidelines on this for the LES's to use.

6.  Timeliness of NES/LES response to fair campaign complaints
*How can we ensure that complaints are responded to promptly?
*Do the LES's and NES need help when the number of complaints is large?
*Note that if we can fix some of the other problems, so there are
fewer perceptions of unfairness, the number of complaints is likely
to decrease.

7.  Fair playing of CARTs (per checkoff lists, etc.)
*This has been a big problem at all stations and has caused many
complaints, although it may have been better in the last election, at
least at some stations where the LES was able to work out better
arrangements with the PD.
*There have been cases where one candidate's cart was not played for
an entire week, one candidate has her/his cart played several times
in a row, others skipped, etc.
*Playing of candidate carts needs to be logged, and verification
should be done to ensure the logs are accurate (not just time and
date, but which cart was played).
*Previous LES's, and GM's and PD's could be polled to see what works
and what doesn't, plus the EC members can provide suggestions based
on their experience.
*Programmers who don't follow the prescribed cart playing schedule
(which seems to be a common problem) may need greater incentives to
do this fairly, or the playing should be confined to times when this
can be controlled better (while still ensuring that carts are played
during a variety of programs).

8.  Shut off time for returning ballots
The deadline for returning ballots needs to be clarified (5 PM, or 6
PM, or midnight on the last day?)

9.  Write-in candidates as 1st preference by default, how to handle eligibility
The ballot, and instructions, need to provide for more than one
write-in candidate, and to allow voters to rank them other than #1.
Another issue related to write-ins is whether we can determine if
they are eligible before the votes are counted, so that the vote
transferring will work properly.  (In the last election, one write-in
was elected but was later found to be ineligible, thus making the
vote count incorrect.)

10.  Pros & cons of hybrid (snail mail plus Internet) voting
*Every election vendor who we interviewed told us they are already
doing combined/hybrid elections, and told us how they would verify
ballots, prevent people from voting twice, etc.
*Voting by e-mail has security problems, and some people feel voting
via a web site might also be insecure, although the election vendors
claim voting via a secure web site connection is OK.
*Allowing voting via the Internet can help voters who lose their
ballot and candidate info, as many seem to do because they wait until
they learn more about the candidates before voting.
*Providing a web site for replacement ballot requests, in addition to
a toll-free phone number, can facilitate getting replacement ballots
(either mail-in paper ballots or online voting passwords, etc.) and
increase the number who vote.  (All the election vendors said they
can do this.)
*Sending all members a complete election packet, with a pamphlet with
all candidate information as well as a ballot and ballot
instructions, is likely to result in more members voting, than if we
do not send candidate info except when requested and instead
encourage them to vote via the web.
*Sending everyone complete candidate info will maximize printing and
postage costs.
*Verifying addresses in advance (something we need to do anyway) will
allow use of bulk rate mailing to reduce costs.
*Enclosing a well-written fund raising letter along with the election
packet can generate extra donations to help defray the cost of the
election.
*Putting complete candidate information on the web can be done
regardless of whether everyone is mailed a complete election packet,
and can include links to audio statements from candidates, audio
candidate forums, and updates/corrections to what may have been
mailed.

11. Other fair campaign issues -- need to be clarified in info given
to candidates
*Can candidates provide a link to a web site of their own in their
written candidate statements or audio statements (cart)?
*Under what conditions may candidates re-record their carts and how
they can be changed?

12.  New election policy
* Should certain provisions be changed, such as the requirements for
tutorials produced by each programmer, and the disciplinary measures
and bonuses for station management?
--
Bill Crosier
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