This posting, regarding the CCA's Election process has been made on the CCA's Forum and is reprinted here.

This post is made in an effort to correct some false impressions and misunderstandings about the Balloting process of CCA Elections.

At issue was what happens with mailed ballot(s), where the voter(s) failed to include their name(s) and Membership number(s) on the reverse side of the ballot envelope. The initial implication was that the ballot(s) were voided and there was no recourse or follow-up to allow the voter(s) to correct the situation.

In a review of past Election announcements on the CCA's mow-archived Message Board, one can find several instances where submitted ballots to the Election Chairs were "voided" due to a voter(s) name not being listed on the reverse of the ballot envelope. Going back 10 years, there were approximately 4 instances of such situations, totaling about 6 voidings of ballots.

However, in those instances the Election Chair(s) sought out the voter(s) to resubmit their voided ballots. It would appear that this infrequent situation, for what ever reason, was outside the Temporary Election Chairman's awareness. However, the Chairman has since reached out to the sender(s) of the voided ballots, seeking corrections.

It should also be noted that Election process details, such as this situation, are not address in the CCA's Constitution, nor By-Laws and the same can be said about the majority of CCA Election processes. Apparently, it was decided long ago to not include the details in the Constitution, but any CCA member in good standing can change that by submitting a Constitutional change, which fully details the desired specifics. To do so, one only needs to submit the detailed change to the CCA President for inclusion on the next Election cycle ballot.

However, perhaps such documentation of an Election process would be better recorded if added to the CCA's By-Laws. Again, any CCA member in good standing can make such a recommendation to the CCA Board (any Officer) for consideration to be added to the By-Laws.

Alternatively, the simplest way to document the Election process, would be for the Election Chair(s), or a Board Officer, or even a CCA member in good standing, to develop a process and submit to the CCA Board for review and potential implementation, as a Job Description for the volunteer position of Election Chairperson.

I will also note that in the ensuing discussion of this topic (CCA Elections) there was a question posed as to whether or not there was a deadline in which to become a new member of the CCA, or renew an expiring membership on the cusp of the election, and still qualify for voting. This was discussed by the CCA Board during the June 2023 Board Meeting and it was decided that new memberships are valid when the Membership Officer issues a Membership number, which is a timely event when payment is made. As for renewals, payment dictates validity of membership for purposes of voting. Accordingly, a member that is on the cusp of the election ballot counting date, needs to be current in payment. The Election Chair receives a Membership Directory just before the ballot counting day and has the ability to confer with the Membership Officer, during the ballot envelope opening event. Please note that the CCA Board is very 'voter suppression' adverse. However, one MUST be a paid in full member on ballot envelope opening day.

Lastly, another discussion point was the voting validity for Associate members. The Board is in concurrence with, and fully supports and enforces the CCA Constitution, wherein:

"C. Associate Members: Family and relatives of a Charter, Regular or Life Member in good standing. They are allowed access to functions restricted to “members,” but they do not receive the club magazine nor can they hold office. They may vote on matters which are voted upon, but they must be provided with notices and duplicate ballots by the member they are attached to, not by the club;"

In other words, Associate members, in good standing, have full voting privileges. Moreover, Associate memberships are reserved for Family and Relatives. At one time, "Family and Relatives" was interpreted to mean only individuals within the same household, but over time, the meaning has changed to individuals living in separate household(s), but are still "Family and Relatives".

Thank you,

Jim Follis
CCA Vice President