ELECTIONS, PROCESS AND PROCEDURE

     In one month we will be having our yearly elections. Unfortunately, our elections do not have a reputation above reproach and it is time to correct that. Rules, a proper procedure must be set in place and all the holes, accidental or on purpose, must be closed, thus insuring a truthful and non-questionable election process and result.
     So what must be done? Read the following and you will see. It is proactive, to forestall suspicion, errors of omission and commission, a set process and procedure which will improve on what is presently in place - and anyone attending the last few DAs KNOWS how primitive and unreliable our voting is. One would think we had never done one before for all the confusion and lack of order and simplicity.
    
     1. NO candidate is to be part of any election process. In fact, they are not to be in the building.
           A. If the candidate is a voting delegate, he/she must enter, vote and leave, without carrying on any conversations or delaying actions
           B. If necessary, said candidate may be escorted from the building.
     2. NO ONE is to vote before 8 AM and that especially includes election workers who are already in the building.
     3. If an election worker is a voting delegate, then they must exit the building at 7:55 and wait outside with all the rest until such time as voting is officially opened and delegates allowed in to vote.
     4. No alternate delegates should be allowed to vote within the first hour. This will give the delegates, who have priority and are the assigned representatives of the associations, to vote first.
     5.I n order to insure a fair and non partisan election process, workers MUST be from both sides of the viewpoints and in sufficient number so as to insure impartiality.
     6.. Members of opposing viewpoints are to be involved in ALL and EVERY aspect of the election process from initial voting to final tallying.
     7. NO one person is ever to be alone with ballots. When counting, moving, distributing - there must always be members of opposing viewpoints with the ballots.
     8.. No ONE is to coach or coax or indicate in any manner which people to vote for to any delegate who enters to vote. If advice or guidance is needed, then again, two workers from opposing viewpoints must be there so as to insure fair play.
     9. THERE MUST BE OBSERVERS AT ALL PLACES OF THE VOTING PROCESS AND THAT INCLUDES IN THE BALLOTING ROOM, A PLACE RIFE WITH AREAS OF INTIMIDATION, COAXING, COACHING, ETC.
     10. Counters must be from opposing viewpoints and they MUST tally the votes and not allow anyone else to tell them not to tally officially.
     11. Final tallying of the votes must be with members of opposing viewpoints and NEVER by one person.
     12. There must be active recruitment and placement of workers of all viewpoints or else the entire process is tainted.
     13. All queries and concerns on the day of elections MUST be answered promptly, with respect and in proper tones. There is to be no cursing of the claimant by an election worker or indeed, the head of the Election Committee.
     14. UCO should insure that the election committee is comprised of representatives of ALL residents and not strictly and only from his coterie. The committee must work as a group and not be the work only of its chair, whomever the chair is.
     15. It behooves that the entire Village be acquainted with all that the committee does and that therefore, there be announced meetings, open meetings and that the above safety procedures be placed and put into action.

This is nothing more and nothing less than how elections are run in Palm Beach County. As a long time worker, as Clerk, of a precinct here in our Village, I know how much care and concern there is to insure that the elections are fair, with no one worker allowed to be alone with ballots or voters and no trace of suspicion be allowed to come into play. Susan Bucher works very hard to insure this and makes sure that her workers know this and abide by the rules.
     We here in the Village need to move out of the corrupt politics of the Tammany Hall type and move into a fresh, new and clean world of elections. Enough with the corruption that is rife in politics. Enough with all the suspicion of solicitation of gifts, of money, of work in exchange, etc. Open and clean, a clear set of rules, adherence to those rules, and transparent to all. That is what we need and must have here in the Village.

     MARILYN GORODETZER, I INVITE AND CHALLENGE YOU TO MEET AND DISCUSS THIS.  I CHALLENGE YOU TO INSURE THAT WE HAVE A CLEAN ELECTION AND THAT THE ENTIRE PROCESS IS OPEN TO ALL FROM BEGINNING TO END. IF YOU CANNOT SEE YOUR WAY CLEAR TO THIS, THEN YOU MUST EXPLAIN YOURSELF AND BE OPEN TO CHALLENGES.