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Q:
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How are email addresses validated?
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A:
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During October 2004, ALA did an email test to confirm member email addresses. Members with invalid addresses will receive a paper ballot. A final email test will be conducted in February.
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Q:
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Who will receive paper ballots?
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A:
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Any member who requests a paper ballot prior to March 9 will receive one. In addition, all ALA members who do not have email addresses in the ALA database, their email bounces during the final email test, or their email bounces during the election distribution will be mailed a paper ballot.
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Q:
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How do I request a paper ballot?
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A:
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You can request a paper ballot prior to March 9, 2005, by calling 800-545-2433 (press 5) or sending email to membership@ala.org.
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Q:
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What if I want to vote online but have changed my email address?
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A:
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If you change your email address prior to January 31, visit www.ala.org/profile or email membership@ala.org to update your information.
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Q:
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Where do I get the password for accessing the ballot?
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A:
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When the polls open, you will receive an email with instructions for voting including the Web address for the ballot and your unique password for voting in the 2005 election.
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Q:
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What enhancements have been made for the 2005 Election?
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A:
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Based on our experiences with the 2004 election, we have made a number of enhancements to the 2005 election process and ballot. This year there is a longer period between the last date for requesting a paper ballot and the last date for returning the ballots to ensure that there is plenty of extra time for return of paper ballots. You can request a paper ballot prior to March 9, 2005, by calling 800-545-2433 (press 5) or sending email to membership@ala.org.
The 2005 election provides a Web ballot that meets all W3C accessibility standards, which includes screen reader capabilities. This allows ALA's visually impaired members to navigate the ballot Web sites by converting text to audible speech. Also, for this election, council candidate biographies will be available in HTML format for members to review and print before entering the ballot package. A link to these will be provided on the election ballot login page.
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Q:
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Will the listing of candidates be scrambled as in the past?
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A:
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Yes, on the council and ALA officers' ballot, candidate sequence will be random. This is designed to eliminate any potential advantage in ballot order.
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Q:
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What happens if I don't receive either a paper ballot or an email with instructions for online voting?
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A:
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If you haven't received your ballot by April 1, call ALA Membership and Customer Service at 800-545-2433, press 5 or send email to membership@ala.org. We will confirm voting eligibility and send you a replacement ballot, if necessary.
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Q:
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How many ALA members can vote online?
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A:
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More than 40,000 ALA members have email addresses in our records.
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Q:
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What if I don't have time to sit and read all the ballot material and vote in one session?
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A:
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You may take as much time as you need reviewing the information and making your selections. If you wish to stop, the system will allow you to save your work and return to it later. Before your ballot is submitted, the system will provide a confirmation page for your review. Once you have submitted, you cannot login to the submitted ballot again. All ballots must be transmitted by April 22, 2005.
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Q:
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Who is SBS?
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A:
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Survey & Ballot Systems, Inc. (SBS) is an experienced, professional election services company dedicated to running the voting process with efficiency, security and integrity. For more than a decade, SBS has earned an excellent reputation for serving organizations with high client satisfaction and a willingness to tailor the services to meet client data collection needs - whether paper, Web or both. SBS has coordinated member election services for associations since 1990 and managed the successful 2004 ALA online and paper ballots. ALA has been an SBS client since 2002. Among SBS's other clients are the American Society for Industry Security, the Institute for Operations Research, the Management Sciences Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. and the American Academy |
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