Election of November 2024
Election Results
The Artisans Asylum election of November 2024 had the following results:
For Board of Directors, 2 seats, each with a 2 year term:
- Michael Shia
- Jack de Valpine
For Member Liaison to the Board of Directors, for a 1 year term:
- Tom Lingner
Congratulations to Michael, Jack, and Tom, and many thanks to Bill Zimmer and Art Torrey who also showed their willingness to serve the community this way.
There were 72 ballots cast, which is 20% of the eligible voters. Last year, there were 64 ballots cast which was 23% of the eligible voters at that time.
The full details of the Ranked Choice vote counting results are at 2024 Election Vote Counting
The email based voting worked very smoothly. Only a few members had questions about the procedure, and they were easily cleared up with the exchange of a few messages. A couple of members took advantage of the ability to revise their votes when Art announced his candidacy after voting had started. And there were no “spoiled” or uncountable ballots, since I could ask questions of voters who sent something ambiguous. Finally, it was good that users of the Antwerp building didn’t have to go to Holton during deskie hours to vote on paper.
The volunteer time needed to run the election was hugely less than past elections, mostly because it wasn’t necessary to publish internal documentation and train all the deskies on the procedures.
Although in this case the Ranked Choice result was the same as the more common “First Past The Post” style of election, it’s good that we’ve practiced with this fairer method of counting. It may help us achieve a better outcome at some point in the future.
One member expressed a strong desire to return to paper voting to allow for strict anonymity. What we have instead of a level of confidentiality similar to the level of care that the staff gives to protecting our personal financial information - specifically, that the sensitive information is handled by designated and trusted people who understand the requirements. I encourage any members who prefer strictly anonymous votes to find each other and see what the level of interest is. We could go back to paper if the proponents assemble sufficient volunteer hours to support it.
Respectfully submitted,
Pace Willisson
Election Commissioner
2024 Election Schedule
Saturday, November 16
The wiki election page will go live and be announced by email and on posters at the two front desks. We recommend that candidates submit statements before this date, but we will add statements upon request throughout the election period.
Sunday, November 10 – Saturday, November 23
Open Election Discussion Period. This is a great opportunity to discuss ideas and hear from candidates. Feel free to use any of our member-to-member communication tools to interact with candidates. Candidates are encouraged to announce "office hours" when they will be available to talk with interested members.
Sunday, November 24 – Saturday, November 30
Voting Period. The procedure will be similar to the email voting used in last year's election. You can read the full details of our General Election Procedures here.
How to vote
In brief, you'll email the Election Commissioner from your email address on file in the Artisans Asylum records and request a ballot. The full details are at Voting Procedure
Monday, December 2nd
Announcement of the elected member.
