Polling NoticePlease see the attached polling notice which will be posted at the Band office as well as the 3 gas bars today.
The ballot packages for the off-Reserve members will go out in today’s mail—if you know of someone who lives off-Reserve and does not receive their package within 2 weeks, please have them contact me. For the first time I am officially accepting electronic voting (email or fax) and if you require more information about this, please contact me. If you have any questions about the upcoming election you may contact me by email or phone (home-250-774-7587 or work 250-774-2757). Reminder to CandidatesAs per the letter to candidates: "How you wish to campaign for the election is entirely your choice and any costs associated with it must be paid for by you such as a door-to-door delivery or an advertisement in the FNFN newsletter. You can, however, have information posted on the website for free."
With that being said, the deadline for the FNFN August issue of the newsletter is next Friday, July 25th by 4pm. If you wish to utilize the newsletter to campaign, the cost for a full-page ad is $20. This can be paid to Finance. The newsletter editor will ensure this fee has been paid prior to publishing your submission. You can send your submissions to webpage@fnnation.ca or sandy.mclean@fnnation.ca by Aug. 25th. Should you wish to post online for free, you can do so by sending it to webpage@fnnation.ca any time prior to and up to August 10th. It will be posted within 24-hours. Submissions are subjected to editing for content. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sandy McLean, Electoral Officer at 250.774.7257 or by email at sandy.mclean@fnnation.ca. |
From Sandy McLean, Electoral OfficerDear Electors,
This is my 7th time in 6 years being the Electoral Officer for FNFN (4 General Elections and 3 Bi-Elections) and for the first time I have had comments directed at me that question not only my integrity and honesty as a person but the integrity and honesty of this Election and I would like to address them. 1. I want every eligible Member to cast a vote so that your elected officials are a true representation of your will. I understand that voting in person on the actual Election Day is impossible for some Members so I make myself available for advance voting during my work hours, off hours, after hours, or at my home. I do not have advanced voting options during only one specific day and time like Federal, Provincial, or Municipal Elections. 2. There is no provision in the election guidelines that FNFN follows to have any kind of advanced voting and I do this as a courtesy. When I raised the question about advanced voting during my first General Election in 2008 I was told by the INAC Governance Officer for FNFN that I could allow it but that the voter would have to follow the rules outlined for a mail-in ballot—that is, a Voter Declaration filled in and witnessed and the ballot and Declaration then put into separate envelopes and kept aside until the close of polls on Election Day. In front of the scrutineers and assembled counters the envelopes are then opened and if the Declaration is correctly filled in, then the ballot envelope is opened and the ballot put into the Ballot Box. 3. I can only mail ballot packages to off-Reserve members for whom I have current addresses and this obviously misses quite a few voters. Ideally I would like to have addresses for all off-Reserve members but despite repeated requests to Members via the newsletter, website, or Facebook, this has not happened. If they contact me with an updated address and there is time to mail a package, then I do so. Unfortunately, many wait until just before the election—or the actual Election Day!—to contact me and then our options for voting are limited as time has run out. I certainly could say that I am sorry and that I cannot assist them in voting but as I stated in my first point, I want every voter to be able to vote. Consequently the only option then available is to either email or fax a ballot and Declaration to them and then for the voter to either email or fax back the completed documents to me. I print these off when the office is vacant and quickly put them into the appropriate envelopes as though they were a mail-in ballot. I do not look at how the person has voted but I can see the ballot. To me this is no different from my duty as Electoral Officer to help a voter on Election Day who needs my assistance with reading the ballot or physically filling it in. I can see how they are filling in the ballot but I am not looking. 4. Mail-in voting or advanced voting packages must be sent somewhere and kept somewhere safe until the close of polls on Election Day. Because I live out of town I have chosen to have the mail-in ballots sent to my home mailbox verses renting a mail box in town or having them sent to the Band Office. I am the only one with the key to my mailbox. I keep the mail-in or the advanced voting packages in a secure spot in my home until Election Day. An unethical person could dispose of any and all ballots that are received prior to Election Day regardless of where they are sent or kept. I am not that kind of person. In the coming year there will be a review of the Election Code that FNFN is following and the Membership must decide on what changes you would like to see implemented. Perhaps there should be no option for advanced voting. Sandy McLean, Electoral Officer 
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Indian Act Elections Backgrounder Information
Information Package to Nominees from Sandy McLean, EO
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Past Elections 'By the Numbers'General Elections
2008 - 481 voters and 224 votes cast 2010 - 482 voters and 168 votes cast 2012 - 520 voters and 302 votes cast By-Elections July 2009 - 482 voters and 168 votes cast December 2009 - 482 voters and 186 votes cast November 2010 - 486 voters and 178 votes cast | ||||||
