 |
[RC] Technically speaking (was: AERC Voting Ballots) - kathy swigartWith respect to voting somebody else's ballot because they cannot be bothered, or because they have no opinion, or because they are out of the country and have asked you to, I refer you to the following statement in the by-laws:
"5.08. Neither the membership in the Conference nor any rights in the membership may be transferred or assigned for value or otherwise."
It is a contravention of the by-laws to give your ballot to somebody else so that they can use it to vote, since voting in a DAL election would come under the heading of "rights in the membership."
Of course, there is no difference between the person asking somebody "how should I vote?" and then following the instructions to the letter, and just giving that person the ballot to use for him/herself, but personally, if I were asked that question, the closest I would come to telling somebody how to vote is to tell them how I am voting for AND why...then let them make up their own minds. If they have no mind of their own, then the ballot should go unused (or if they want it to actually be "counted" as an abstention, it should be sent back blank).
Nobody could be caught in voting somebody else's ballot if they have the "permission" of the person to whom the ballot was issued (or if the person to whom it was issued didn't even notice). But I still think that it is, philosophically, wrong. Technically is is a violation of the regulations of the organization as well.
kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)
|