PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW CAREFULLY.
Electronic Voting FAQs:
Please carefully read our informational guide to voting electronically for our Contract Ratification. We’ve provided as much information as possible to avoid any confusion about the electronic voting process. The Motion Picture Contract Ratification Voting will OPEN on Wednesday, September 26th at 8am and CLOSE on Wednesday October 10th at 1pm. Should you have any questions, or should you want to update or check on your contact information on file, please call the Union Hall at: (818)762-4239 or email: unionhall@ibew40.org
Ballots will be sent via email and text message around 8:00AM on Wednesday, September 26th. If you do not have a mobile phone number, or email on file, a postcard with your individual voting key will be mailed to you.
If you did not receive your ballot on Wednesday September 26th via email or text message, please contact the Local 40 office at:
To help ensure emails are delivered successfully, Members should be on the lookout for an email:
Members should also take a minute to add invitations@app.electionbuddy.com to their contact list. This teaches your email program that you are expecting an email from us, and will decrease the chances that a spam filter will catch it.
Please contact the Union Hall at (818)762-4239 to obtain your ballot. Please remember, in order to be eligible to vote in our Ratification vote, you must be a Member in good-standing, not retired, suspended or on withdrawal. Should you have questions regarding your eligibility, please contact the Union Hall at (818)762-4239.
Please contact the Union Hall at (818)762-4239 to ensure we have your correct information on file.
Please contact the Union Hall at (818)762-4239, or at unionhall@ibew40.org
You can also vote anywhere where you have access to a computer such as a public library. If you cannot access your public library, contact us to schedule a time to use a computer at the Local 40 office. No Local 40 Staff will be present if you decide to vote at the Local. Be sure to have your email, text message or postcard with your individual access key, as you will need it to vote. Members will only be allowed to vote one at a time to ensure the confidentiality of each Members vote.
In order to protect vote security, personal unique voting keys are created and used only once. Election Buddy will be requiring you to input the last 4 of your SSN linked to your unique voter key to ensure your vote is protected and fulfilled by you.
The Election Company we are utilizing for our electronic contract ratification vote is called ElectionBuddy. “ElectionBuddy is about voting processes for Member-based organizations. Our Staff strives to simplify and secure elections and votes for voters, Members and Election Administrators.”
Source: ElectionBuddy Website: www.electionbuddy.com
We were referred to the platform by other Local Unions that have been using the ElectionBuddy system for their contract campaigns over the years. Local 40 has received permission from the International Office to use ElectionBuddy and the electronic voting process for our upcoming contract ratification vote, as the company is certified by the Department of Labor. We may be using this method of voting for our upcoming Ratification votes of our other Agreements. In addition, the local unions within the Basic Crafts Locals are using the same system to vote their Memberships.
See list of other organizations that have trusted ElectionBuddy to manage their elections: https://electionbuddy.com/customers/overview
Fairness and independent observation of an online election system is enhanced using technology. Proper audits start with proper security. ElectionBuddy uses 256KB encryption used by banks and credit card companies, and follows stringent election security guidelines for election processes, such as the United States Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards for elections. They also follow PCI standards for secure storage of information. Vote audits are always conducted to protect voter anonymity; none but you and the election company will ever know the voting choice you made.
IBEW Local 40 will be utilizing ElectionBuddy’s “Dedciated Assistance” option for our Contract Ratification Vote. What this means is that ElectionBuddy will be overseeing every aspect of the voting process, and will be the one assisting our Local 40 Staff should they run into any issues during the vote. Local 40 is providing, and overseeing the list of eligible voters. Remember, a Member must be in good-standing (i.e.: not be suspended or on withdrawal) in order to vote. We have ensured there will be Local 40 staff available for assistance for the duration of our Contract Ratification Vote.
Monday – Friday 8am-5pm, and CLOSED from 12pm-1pm for Lunch
We will be leaving the polls open for two weeks, from Wednesday, September 26th at 8am until Wednesday October 10th, at 1pm giving our Members plenty of time to cast their vote.
Results are automatically tabulated. Results will be announced to the Membership as soon as we receive the official results from ElectionBuddy. All votes will remain anonymous even after the results are revealed and Local 40 will not know how individual Members voted. Your anonymity is protected throughout this process. You will also be able to ensure your vote was properly included in the results.
Local 40 will be sending out an email with the results from the Contract Ratification. Make sure you have updated your email with the office to receive emails from IBEW Local 40. To verify your contact information, visit : www.ibew40.org and LOGIN
The decision to utilize an electronic voting method was to ensure our Members had enough time to thoroughly review the proposed Summary of Key Changes and still be able to vote in a timely manner. We believe this method will simplify the voting process while also adding extra security checks and balances that are DOL compliant, and monitored by a third party, ElectionBuddy. All voter ballots and results are observable and audit-able to verify votes are correctly cast and to avoid any election fraud.