2005 ALA Election
Q & A—March 16, 2005
Q: Which member group oversees the election?
A: The ALA Election Committee. Current members of the Election Committee are: Peggy Sullivan, chair; William R. Gordon, Peggy Barber; James A. Madigan; Donald J. Sager; and Al Companio, staff liaison.
Q: Why does ALA space the mailing of the web ballot package over numerous days?
A: Our ballot company, SBS, could send out all of the ballot packages within three hours, and they accomplish this for other association elections. However, because it is very convenient for members to go straight to the website from the email and given the size of the ALA membership and the unusual complexity of the ALA ballot, we want to make certain that we do not have server overload problems.
Q: Which browsers were tested with the ALA ballot package?
A: SBS tested Netscape 7.x; Internet Explorer 6.x; AOL 9; Firefox 1.0.1; Safari.
Q: Why do we use an election-specific password rather than the ALA member login password?
A: ALA has contracted election tabulation services with outside vendors for nearly two decades. The intent has been to guarantee confidentiality of responses and to remove ALA staff from this stage of the election process. The election-specific, one-time password guarantees the confidentiality of each member’s votes.
Q: How does ALA handle “bounce-backs” of the letter announcing that the election is open?
A: We try to deliver the election package for four days. If the message is not delivered, we mail a paper ballot.
Q: What is the election schedule?
A: All web ballots will be mailed by March 22, and all paper ballots by March 24.
Q: What if I do not receive a ballot?
A: If you have not received a ballot by April 1, please contact ALA Member Services, membership@ala.org, by phone at 800-545-2433, press 5, or by fax at 312-944-2641.
Q: When is the last day for voting?
A: Polls close at 11:59:59 on April 22.
Q: When are results announced?
A: The ALA Election Committee certifies the election and announces results on May 2.
Please forward any other questions and issues to Gerald Hodges, ghodges@ala.org.
We will provide regular updates of the number of ballots cast. VOTE!!!!!
|