Posted by Russell Watt in Questions for the Candidates - All Tickets
JoeP noted that the turnout for this round of the election was very low (21 out of 82 possible voters). There were only 4 people who endorsed a ticket during the first round of voting, two of whom: Kat and Terry also nominated a ticket. One ticket didn’t receive any endorsements. Assuming all six people who ran, voted and voted for their own tickets, that the four endorsers also voted for the tickets they endorsed, and the other two people who nominated or seconded a ticket also voted, that leaves approximately 9 club members who voted who weren’t involved in the nominating, running or endorsing process of the election.

What does your ticket put this low voter turnout down to?

Well I could go on about the greater ills in society right now that contribute to voter dissatisfaction and participation but that just sounds to much like I’m trying to be smarter than I might be. The truth is low voter turnout happens more when things are running smoothly than when they are not. We just changed over to Exodus and overall it went well. Ships are in good positions for the most part. None of this is bad. We want to be moving toward a stable and more advanced club because things are happening that are important. With Discovery and the new films being planned it is important to be cohesive and ready. Also this election has been civil for the most part and no one is trying to create chaos just to have it. So people do not line up on one side or the other more to see the fight than the issues. This is to me just an ebb and flow of a democratic institution. Certainly in this second round more efforts will be put by both tickets to round up more voters and that most likely will be reflected in the final voting. I would not panic just yet.

Do you believe this is representative of a larger problem that the club needs to deal with? Why/Why not?

Yes and No. As stated this to me is an ebb and flow of the Club being in an overall good place. If there is food in the fridge no one is going out to buy more. If the cupboard is empty there is a rush on the Super.

However this does not mean we sit on our hands. As President I would like to sponsor events like “Be A Fcomm or VP or Pdept Director FOR A DAY” for people who never have. Get them interested in seeing how government feels and how decisions are made or discussions had. What the rules look like etc…Get people interested in that and those who might not vote will. Its part of buy in. It does not have to be just new people but older members who might want to see if they are interested in participating. Voter apathy sets in win people feel comfortable or don’t feel they have a say. Our admin will assuredly give everyone a say with open discussions on issues and initiatives like Tony’s writing initiatives that boost peoples feeling of belonging. With that comes buy in and with buy in comes ownership. With ownership comes responsibility and the feeling that voting counts and your vote will count.

Are there any changes your ticket thinks can/should be made to the election process that may improve it while ensuring the integrity of the process?

Frankly no. The election process works well. The discussion in some years can be heated but we have a system to control that. As far as integrity goes I do not know enough about Exodus and how it manages voting to know if there are vulnerabilities but I do trust TECH does and is making our voting system as secure as possible. I would like to see us get people involved to be the Election Coordinator. That would relieve some who have to do it over and over and hopefully train up new people. How to do that is something we would seek input on and have to think on a little more.

Do you think there is any truth to the rumours that a Stargate/Game of Thrones/Divergent coalition of RPers have hacked our system and influenced the result, as occurred in my dreams last night?

Of course they have. Aided by those gray aliens everyone sees only at night for some reason. You know the same ones who probably kidnapped you last night and put those thoughts into your head. Not that I’m denying or confirming such an existence. Also that is not a chip in your neck. Repeat there are no chips in your neck. Now just wave and smile boys, wave and smile.

Thank you everyone … I look forward to your answers to my (mostly) serious set of questions.
Russell the Annoying Tribble

Sidney