MORE ON VOTING/ELECTION REFORM

     Now we have the issue of the voting that takes place at the assemblies at the beginning of every month. It is an outmoded, almost valueless system at this point. Many delegates do not bother showing up, many associations do not even appoint delegates, many delegates violate the trust in them and vote as THEY wish, rather than as representatives of their association and its wishes, and of those who do show up, half do not have a clue as to what is going on. At crucial election times they are pulled from their crypts or wherever they are hiding and told how to vote. This is a bad, really bad, situation.
     What is right and fair is that the system change to a one unit one vote system with multiple owners limited to one vote so as to prevent what we now have - blocs of voters that skew the results. One unit one vote. Simple in thought and now to implement.
     The options are many. Do we have a system of once a month assemblies continue but one must attend to vote or do we have a system where issues must be publicized with good lead time - to be decided - and then voters can then be there or send in ballots in a well controlled system, have a bar code system, a Scantron system as one person suggested - not bad for those present, actually, a buzzer system or whatever. There are countless paths to explore and thus a truly impartial, bi partisan group must be set up, not one person, or two and not Ed Black!
     A system of contact and voting must be set up for emergency purposes or permission granted VERY CAREFULLY for action by officers to be approved shortly - or not - in which case action would be stopped and ALL major contracts would have to be explained and discussed, no more of this hide, hide, hide and sneak it through. No more ignoring of the residents as the powers that be decide on their own, for themselves, what they want to do and how they wish to spend OUR funds.
     But even before we do any of this, the first immediate action that must be taken is the counting of votes in the DA .
It is a disaster and rife with corruption, miscounts, "errors" and anything else you can think of. Partisan counters are used, there is no set and sure way to count the votes and the system is not just silly, it is dangerous and outmoded. First up - reform here. Again, it must be a bi partisan effort, not a Gorodetzer/Black/Israel decision.
     There is much to do, many details to work out, but it can be done if we set out to do it with a strong will and much hard work. There might be some extra cost in it, but when one thinks of the money that will be saved as we refuse to allow partisan spending, foolish and private project spending, harmful contract spending, - we will eventually be way ahead of the game.
     Speak up. Let your feelings be known. Become a board member, run in the upcoming election, be a delegate - but do something!