PEA candidates were notified early this week by a phone message that the counting of the ballots for this year's elections would not take place as scheduled. Ballots were supposed to be counted on Wednesday, April 10.
The use of voting machines, as I had suggested, would have alleviated this problem and provided a immediate tally of the votes.This method would have also curtailed some of the suspicion around the fair and accurate counting by open partisans on the election committee.
Another troubling aspect of this year's election is that I have heard from some members that they did not receive ballots--the Elections Committee owes it to the members to ensure that all have received ballots. I will find out if the NJEA has established practices that election committees are supposed to follow, and to investigate these lapses in procedure.
Membership needs leaders it can trust, and the process needs to be transparent. You deserve honesty, fairness, and an untainted process. Secretiveness about where ballots are to be counted, partisanship, and lack of transparency contribute to an atmosphere of mistrust. As it stands now, members have expressed serious concerns about the integrity of the voting/counting process. Transparency? Still waiting....
Roni
