Psychiatric News December 3, 2004
Volume 39 Number 23
© 2004 American Psychiatric Association
p. 57
INFORMATION ON THE CANDIDATES
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How APA s Preferential Voting System Works
The preferential voting system will be used in the election of
member-in-training trustee-elect since there are more than two candidates
vying for that office this year. The preferential voting system avoids the
cost and time of a runoff election by having members vote in a single ballot
for all their choices in order of preference. Voters need to understand its
importance. We hope this explanation will encourage members to use the system.
(These instructions are for the printed ballot; members who choose to vote on
the Web will find instructions adapted for the computerized ballot once
online.
In the race for member-in-training trustee-elect, next to each candidate's
name are three ovals marked 1, 2, and 3. To mark your ballot for each
position, decide which candidate you want to win. Make a solid mark in the
oval marked 1 next to that person's name. Look at the remaining candidates and
decide which one you would want to win if your first choice received the
lowest number of first-choice votes and was eliminated from the race. Make a
solid mark in the oval marked 2 next to that person's name. Indicate your last
choice by making a solid mark in the oval marked 3 next to that candidate's
name. (For more information about the ballot, see the box on
page 61.)
Voters must decide which candidate they would want to vote for if the
candidate of their first choice receives the lowest number of first-choice
votes and is therefore eliminated from the contest. The only second-choice
votes that are distributed are those on the ballots of the candidate with the
lowest number of first-choice votes. You are not helping your first-choice
candidate in any way by not rank-ordering the remaining candidates.
Conversely, you are not hurting your first-choice candidate in any way by
rank-ordering the remaining candidates.
The procedures for counting preferential votes are as follows: All
first-choice votes for each candidate are counted. If no candidate receives a
majority vote, the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice votes is
eliminated. His or her ballots are then redistributed to the remaining
candidates based on voters' second choices and added to each of the remaining
candidates' first-choice votes to determine which one has now received a
majority vote.
Instructions for preferential voting online will be on the online
ballot.
Remember: To be sure you get the most out of your APA voting privileges,
be sure to rank-order all the candidates in the race for member-in-training
trustee-elect.
Related Article:
-
PREVIEW THE APA BALLOT
Psychiatr News 2004 39: 61.
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