2019 started out and continues to be a difficult year as it relates to political activity. One example of Local 620’s current political struggles is in support of our road crews. The Federal Infrastructure Bill, which if passed, would bring much needed revenue into the cities and the County of Santa Barbara. I am pleased to report that Local 620 has partnered with management and our elected representatives in Washington D.C. and Sacramento in our common goal to pass this bill. We believe that this bill will not only save current jobs in our public works facilities, but it will provide funds to hire additional unionized staff in both the public and private sector.
Local 620 is not immune from our own political issues when conducting elections. Local 620 conducts ratification elections, by-law elections and chapter board elections. There are two types of election processes, an on-site election, and mail ballot election. Both of these election types have just a few basic requirements, which are that you are a member in good standing which can be verified, that you cast your ballot at the official meeting or mail your ballot by the due date, and that you only mark on your ballot where provided.
The issue at hand is with Local 620 mail ballots. Local 620’s mail ballot as specified in the voting instructions requires that the member legibly print their name and sign their name in the spaces provided on the envelope for their ballot to count. If we cannot read the name on the envelope, or if the name on the envelope is not a member then the unopened ballot will be considered a challenged ballot and will not be counted. In addition, if the member does not sign the envelope where indicated then the ballot will be considered a challenged ballot and will not be counted. The purpose of signing the ballot is for verification purposes; in case voting fraud is suspected we can match and verify the signature on the envelope to the signature on an individual’s membership application. The area provided on the back of the ballot envelope is for address and name changes. See illustrations below:
