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PREVIEW THE APA BALLOT

Once again, Intelliscan Inc., a professional election management firm, will conduct the vote count in the 2006 election. As in the past several elections, eligible voting members will have the opportunity to cast their votes online by visiting APA's Web site at <www.psych.org>, where they will find instructions for voting online. The eligible voting members are members-in-training, general members, fellows, life members, life fellows, distinguished fellows, and distinguished life fellows.

As a cost-saving measure, ballots will be sent using nonprofit postage, and to accommodate possible slight delays in delivery, the Board approved an early mailing date of December 22, 2005. At about the time the ballots are mailed, Intelliscan Inc. will send e-mails to those members for whom APA has e-mail addresses, providing them with information on accessing the online ballot in advance. Members who do not receive such e-mails may also vote online but need to wait for the paper ballot for their access information.

The paper ballot will be sent in an envelope along with a booklet containing the photographs and biographies of and brief statements by the candidates for national, member-in-training, and Area offices. The booklet contains information on all candidates, including those for member-in-training trustee-elect (MITTE) and Area trustees. However, only members-in-training will receive ballots for voting for the MITTE. Similarly, only those members in Areas 1, 4, and 7 will receive ballots for voting for their respective Area trustees. The ballot you receive includes only the offices for which you are eligible to vote.

Voting on Paper

• The votes on paper ballots are counted using optical scanning equipment. Be sure to mark your votes correctly (see "Marking the Paper Ballot" below).
  
• The ballot and the courtesy return envelope are separate from the booklet and may be lost easily. Voters are encouraged, but not required, to use the courtesy envelope to return their ballots. Members who misplace the courtesy return envelope may use their own envelopes to mail their ballots to American Psychiatric Association, c/o Intelliscan Inc., PO Box 783, Phoenixville, Pa. 19460-0783.
  
• Do not send completed ballots to APA.
  
• APA does not use a postmark deadline. The deadline is the date by which ballots must be received at Intelliscan in order to be counted. That date is 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 6, 2006.
  

Marking the Paper Ballot

• Use No. 2 pencil or blue or black ink pen only
  

  

  
  
• Do not use red ink or felt-tip pens
  
• Make solid marks that fill the oval completely
  
• Make no stray marks on the ballot
  

Voting Online

• Each member will be able to access his/her online ballot using his/her last name and the ballot control number that appears at the top of the paper ballot or in the e-mail sent to members with addresses on file. (For security purposes, Intelliscan Inc. randomly assigns the ballot control number to each ballot. No one at APA knows or can access those numbers.)
  
• Each member's online ballot is a replica of his/her paper ballot; it includes photos, bios, and statements of the candidates and instructions for voting.
  
• Once the online ballot has been marked and submitted, votes cannot be changed.
  
• If a member returns a paper ballot AND votes online, only the votes on the online ballot will be counted.
  
• The deadline for voting online is 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, February 6, 2006.
  

Members should contact Carol Lewis no later than January 31, 2006, by phone at (888) 357-7924, ext. 8527, or by e-mail at clewis{at}psych.org if they believe they are eligible to vote but did not receive a ballot or they received a ballot and misplaced it. In the event of duplicate voting (paper and online), only the online ballot will be counted. Please contact Ms. Lewis with further questions, complaints, or suggestions for improving the ballot packet or the election process.

Related Article:

As you prepare to vote in APA's 2006 election, you should know the officers' duties and responsibilities and where you are needed to serve your professional organization.
Psychiatr News 2005 40: 24. [Full Text]

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