AMO will retain independent firm to administer elections, referendums

AMO will retain independent firm to administer elections, referendums

American Maritime Officers will retain True Ballot Inc. to administer its elections of national officers and to conduct membership referendums.

Based in suburban Washington D.C., True Ballot Inc. (www.trueballot.com) is an independent company that provides traditional and electronic voting services for labor unions and other organizations. The firm's clients include such diverse interests as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Bar Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Kean University and the Greater Capital Association of Realtors. True Ballot Inc. also provides election services for the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Building and Construction Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations.

"This is the first step toward simpler, safer, more efficient and more reliable elections in our union," said AMO National President Tom Bethel. "True Ballot Inc. brings no bias to the table, and the firm has no stake in what AMO members decide with their ballots. "In addition, this company and its staff can serve as the impartial administrators and conduct a union-wide election of officers or a membership referendum in AMO at significantly less cost and in a lot less time than what we are accustomed to in our union," Bethel continued.

Representatives of True Ballot Inc. demonstrated their services for Bethel, AMO National Secretary-Treasurer JosŽ Leonard and AMO employees during a meeting at the AMO office in Washington on July 19. The company's methodology includes paper ballots secured by individual bar codes and "PIN" numbers and automated ballot tracking and counting.

AMO would provide the membership voting eligibility data, but True Ballot Inc. would print and mail the ballots and provide the confidential codes for each original and duplicate ballot. Each voting AMO member would be able to track his ballot and monitor the election electronically. All of the daily election data would be available to AMO members on compact disc.

"This would be automated voting, but with a paper trail followed easily by AMO members," Bethel said. "Anyone who has voted in national elections in the last seven years understands the importance of printed proof of how they voted."

Bethel said the new system of electing AMO officials and setting union policy by membership referendum would not eliminate the need for ballot tallying committees elected from within the seagoing AMO membership or deny individual AMO members the opportunity to observe ballot counts.

"This technology-based method of voting would ease participation in the democratic process by all eligible deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters AMO members, and it would increase individual confidence in the principle of a free and fair vote in our union," Bethel concluded. "It would provide for greater ballot security, greater accuracy and less administrative waste, and it would diminish the risk of post-election controversy and dispute."

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