By Lucy Claire Curran, Sarah Ranney and Peggy da Silva for the Chapter Nominations and Elections Committee
Throughout 2020, nominations and elections took front and center stage. Debates raged, voters were recruited, votes were counted, objections were raised, and election results were finally certified.
Is this a description of the national elections across the U.S.? Yes, but in this case we’re talking about the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club. Every year, our Chapter – as part of the messily democratic Sierra Club – has the opportunity to elect its officers. The Chapter invites all members to vote, and leaders at different levels compete for seats. As in our country’s elections, some types of people are more likely to run for office, and some more likely to be elected. And just like in the United States elections, voters can be confused and too busy to pay attention. In 2020, a majority (over 60%) of the people eligible to vote in the United States actually did exercise that right. In our Chapter, just 2% of members voted.
Does it matter if we vote? A large number of people certainly think that it matters in public elections, and the endorsements of the Sierra Club are important to candidates. A great deal of time and effort is put into our Chapter’s endorsement decisions. When it comes to the nomination and election of the actual leaders of our Sierra Club Chapter and Groups, however, there is far less engagement in the process.
This past year, noting a multi-year trend of low voter turn-out, our Nominations and Elections Committee decided to do everything that we could to increase member participation in the nomination and election process. We strongly believe that more diversity in ideas for protecting our precious environment – and supporting the health of all of its beings – will make us stronger.
Recognizing that our leadership structure might be daunting and present barriers to candidates who could bring in new perspectives and voices to the club, we committed to making our process as clear, fair, straightforward and welcoming as possible.
We started in January with ambitions to: interact with member-voters and Chapter and Group leaders, revise the Nominations packets, support all candidates in the process (whether nominated or petition), hold informational gatherings, and assure that all printed materials were clear and succinct.
Then the pandemic hit. Everyone’s focus was changed, and we couldn’t gather to meet, greet and/or gather petitions. The Committee (made up of experienced and newer Sierra Club members, half with service on previous years’ Nom/Elections Committees) switched to Zoom along with the rest of the world, and made the best possible use of Chapter communication channels including the website and social media.
As a brief recap, this past year the Nomination and Elections Committee:
- Revised the election rules to be clearer and in line with National Sierra Club rules, and secured approval of these rules by our Chapter Executive Committee (ExComm);
- Split up to act as liaisons to different Group ExComms, and collaborated with the Groups’ Nominating Committees;
- Created a clear calendar of steps and deadlines toward candidacy for interested members;
- Set up a new (pandemic-friendly) system for online submission of candidate materials;
- Created a Zoom Open House for potential candidates that walked everyone through the process, with a Q&A hosted by Chapter leaders;
- In collaboration with the National Chapter Support office, created a new way for people to collect petition signatures, and for the Committee to verify the signatures;
- Recognized the confusion that exists over number of seats, duration of terms and process for election or appointment, and so made a new chart to graphically illustrate the outline of leadership in our Chapter;
- Finished nominations and petition verifications;
- Substituted online and photographed ballot-counting in place of our usual December chapter-wide office gathering to count the ballots;
- Dealt carefully with the upset that comes from new processes, resolved one challenge to a candidate, and adhered closely to our published guidelines and rules to resolve every situation.
All of this took a whole lot of time. And then… only 2% of our members voted. We understand that 2020 was an incredibly stressful year for everyone, and that this year continues to be no different. We acknowledge that not all of our members may have the time or energy available to focus on these elections right now. But out of our 35,000 members in the SF Bay Chapter, we hope to dramatically increase the number of voters, as a first step toward engaging our local members in the important local policy and conservation work of the Chapter. What will it take to get 50% of our members to vote?
Please put it on your New Year’s 2021 resolutions to VOTE in the public elections and the Sierra Club elections this year. National elections will come this Spring – that’s for our Board of Directors. And Chapter elections will be held in the Fall. NOW is not too early to begin participating – via Zoom – in the Chapter and Group meetings. Think about what you have to offer, commit to learning about and voting for your leaders, and possibly put your hat in the ring.
The Chapter ExComm will appoint a Nominations Committee soon. What is your answer to the questions raised here?
- Does it matter if we vote in Sierra Club elections?
- What will it take to get 50% of our members to vote?
Let us know your thoughts or any questions you have by contacting us at elections@sfbaysc.org. Our planet will be healthier because you are one of the 35,000.
Photo credit: Peggy da Silva and Sarah Ranney handing off the paper ballots by Tatiana Hodapp.