Another Compromised Election

 I am no longer the Secretary. It has been very hard for me, though, to not carry forward the amount of my duty of care and efforts that I made in those 15 years to bring the role of leading the members' legal and parliamentary efforts in always positive and inclusive, and legally compatible territory as that officer of the corporation. I'm that officer for the Kareng Fund/Caring Fund and have served as Secretary for most groups I'm involved in, as I actually like to take minutes and do that kind of organizing words. 

I do not have a copy of the current bylaws but it was always clear that the Secretary was in charge of the elections. Mary was Head Teller for years and we wrote the somewhat too detailed election Procedures and Policy document that we always meant to go back to and simplify, but it was better to have too much detail than too little. All of us knew exactly how to do what we were supposed to and there was never any question about the accuracy. I wasn't there when they revised the document in November 2024. 

It was the first election after Kirsten left when office staff didn't read the bylaws and surprised Mary and me at the HM by not only making Election Day the whole weekend, but publishing the ballots and having them available two weeks before, not just to those who would vote absentee but to everyone, many of whom dutifully picked them up and filled them out when the election was two weeks off. The ballot box had not been inspected and re-locked and neither of us had been consulted at all. We laughed nervously and decided a two-day election at HM was an okay idea, but insisted that the ballots not be ready for general distribution. Two weeks before the election did not give any chance for write-ins or anyone else to campaign. 

We wrestled it back into compliance but it was just a battle from then on to be included in the communications about it. The Head Teller is supposed to be Board-appointed every year, even if it is the same person. We were always playing catch-up despite giving everyone the election procedures and copies of the bylaws. It didn't occur to me then that I was already the target of disrespect for my efforts and gradually over the next few years I was cut out of every communication loop that I needed to be in. This was a general campaign to move out the traditional older leaders of the org in favor of new and younger leaders because of ageism. I was doing so many tasks I was even told, at a Board meeting, by a staff person, that I needed help and an assistant Secretary should be appointed. An officer, from the staff.

The tasks I was doing were all about trying to hold the org together in the transition after Kirsten left. She was always most respectful of me and my leadership, so I know it wasn't until after she left, and I know who the people were who wanted me out. I stayed in for the members. I would be there still and in my heart I still work for the members.

Every election we have had since then (December 2021) has been off in some way or another. This just got worse over time until we clearly have corruption from the staff in trying to control what the members want and need. We saw the unethical negative campaigns against the few members who still tried to use the system in 2025, and this time we saw no support for write-ins despite their public statements and name recognition. They were also volunteers seeking to serve, just like the so-called "official" ones we know are hand-picked and recruited by staff. Staff is never supposed to be involved in member elections in any way. Now we see they have been deemed members (no clarity on whether or not they pay the membership fee...) and presumably all vote for their bosses. 

The ballot language was misleading enough that a new one should have been issued as soon as the mistake was discovered. Since they were prepared two weeks in advance for absentee ballots, why was it not discovered? Was the Secretary consulted? He is brand new so may not have been informed of his role, though I sent him the Election Procedures and the former Secretary Job Description from 2023, before it was stripped down to something more vague in a recent Board motion. I knew he might think that was inappropriate, but legally he is held to what the law is, not what the stripped down job description says. He deserved to know what the role of the officer is in a membership nonprofit. They haven't quite succeeded in taking that designation away from us yet.

And then they ran out of ballots and turned some people away, until one of the candidates, or so I heard, forced them to go make more. Did those disenfranchised potential voters get their chance? Who knows? Would it not have been responsible to go make more copies before running out? Was that active or just passive voter suppression?  

As the link for the Policy and Procedures document doesn't work and neither does my access to my portal, I do not have many current documents, unless they are included in the Board packets as they are supposed to be. Changes to policy have to be approved by the Board. I have no idea what the Sec was told about his responsibilities, and in any case, I don't hold him responsible for what happened yesterday. Anyone could have proofread the ballot but we do not have a staff who proofreads. 

There hasn't been transparency for some time, about who the Head Teller might be, or the vote counters, but I believe it is the right of any member to observe the counting process if they so desire. 

If we don't have honest and legal elections, what do we have left for member rights?