FYI FNFN Voters: Regarding the Election Dear Electors, This is my 7th time in 6 years being the Electoral Officer for FNFN (4 General Elections and 3 Bi-Elections) and for the first time I have had comments directed at me that question not only my integrity and honesty as a person but the integrity and honesty of this Election and I would like to address them. 1. I want every eligible Member to cast a vote so that your elected officials are a true representation of your will. I understand that voting in person on the actual Election Day is impossible for some Members so I make myself available for advance voting during my work hours, off hours, after hours, or at my home. I do not have advanced voting options during only one specific day and time like Federal, Provincial, or Municipal Elections. 2. There is no provision in the election guidelines that FNFN follows to have any kind of advanced voting and I do this as a courtesy. When I raised the question about advanced voting during my first General Election in 2008 I was told by the INAC Governance Officer for FNFN that I could allow it but that the voter would have to follow the rules outlined for a mail-in ballot—that is, a Voter Declaration filled in and witnessed and the ballot and Declaration then put into separate envelopes and kept aside until the close of polls on Election Day. In front of the scrutineers and assembled counters the envelopes are then opened and if the Declaration is correctly filled in, then the ballot envelope is opened and the ballot put into the Ballot Box. 3. I can only mail ballot packages to off-Reserve members for whom I have current addresses and this obviously misses quite a few voters. Ideally I would like to have addresses for all off-Reserve members but despite repeated requests to Members via the newsletter, website, or Facebook, this has not happened. If they contact me with an updated address and there is time to mail a package, then I do so. Unfortunately, many wait until just before the election—or the actual Election Day!—to contact me and then our options for voting are limited as time has run out. I certainly could say that I am sorry and that I cannot assist them in voting but as I stated in my first point, I want every voter to be able to vote. Consequently the only option then available is to either email or fax a ballot and Declaration to them and then for the voter to either email or fax back the completed documents to me. I print these off when the office is vacant and quickly put them into the appropriate envelopes as though they were a mail-in ballot. I do not look at how the person has voted but I can see the ballot. To me this is no different from my duty as Electoral Officer to help a voter on Election Day who needs my assistance with reading the ballot or physically filling it in. I can see how they are filling in the ballot but I am not looking. 4. Mail-in voting or advanced voting packages must be sent somewhere and kept somewhere safe until the close of polls on Election Day. Because I live out of town I have chosen to have the mail-in ballots sent to my home mailbox verses renting a mail box in town or having them sent to the Band Office. I am the only one with the key to my mailbox. I keep the mail-in or the advanced voting packages in a secure spot in my home until Election Day. An unethical person could dispose of any and all ballots that are received prior to Election Day regardless of where they are sent or kept. I am not that kind of person. In the coming year there will be a review of the Election Code that FNFN is following and the Membership must decide on what changes you would like to see implemented. Perhaps there should be no option for advanced voting. Sandy McLean, Electoral Officer
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 22:33:32 +0000
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