Rotary Gets Update on 2012 Primary Voting
February 7, 2012
By: Stephen Kent
Cindy Luczak
Rotarian
Cindy Luczak, Bay County Clerk, spoke to Rotarians about the upcoming election and what to expect.
Using a sample ballot, Luczak reviewed the names on the ballot. She noted that the Republican ballot will have eleven names
plus Uncommitted.
Several of the eleven names are people who dropped out of the contest after the ballot had been closed and prepared for printing.
The ballot also includes the names of relatively unknown candidates, like Louisiana's former Governor Buddy Roemer. These are valid candidates who have a platform but elected not to run a major campaign. All votes will be counted and reported to the party, even if they won't "count".
Of interest, the ballot will include an Uncommitted candidate. People voting for that name will be counted and reported to the party. The main effect will be to tell the party to use its own judgment.
The Democrats will be on the ballot, but they will also hold a caucus on October 4. The decision on their candidate is something of a foregone conclusion.
As a primary, this election will be paid for by the parties themselves. The election is run for the party's benefit and the results are used by the party to decide on its candidate.
Voters are required to declare a party affiliation in order to vote. That's necessary as there are two ballots, and the election is being run for the parties.
Unlike other elections, the names and party affiliation of voters will be made public 71 days after the election. This is mandated by a new state law. The actual vote is NOT part of this information, only the party selected. It is anticipated that this information will be collected and sold by companies that specialize in voting information. Voters can anticipate lots of mail and phone calls after the election.
Declaring a party does NOT restrict how one votes in the actual November general election. Voters will receive a party ballot in the primary. In the general election everyone receives the same ballot.
There has been some mis-information to the effect that voting in the primary means one cannot vote in the general election. This is false. Everyone can vote in the general election regardless of what they did at the primary.
It is anticipated that some voters will "cross over" in the primary and vote for the "other party". Speculation is that they'd do that to skew the results by voting for candidates that would perform poorly in the national election. Those cross over voters would then vote for their preferred party in the general election.
If all works well, poll workers will be using laptop computers to record voter names. This simply replaces the hand written record. Names will be linked to which ballot the person votes, but not how they vote. Ballots are numbered when passed out, but the numbers are removed and separated at voting time. The final, marked ballot is not identifiable.
Voters will be required to present photo ID. Almost anything is acceptable provided there's a photo. Luczak said that some really unusual, but valid ID's have been used in the past.
CLUB NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Farris Receives Congratulations
Congratulations and thanks to Harry Farris for his continued support of the Rotary Foundation as he was presented with a Major Donor Pin and Crystal. Harry (known as a Paul Harris look-alike) will have been a Rotarian for 50 years on July 1. He has been an icon of the club.
When polio became a Rotary International project, the club was asked to raise $10,000 and was given some tips on how to do that. Harry stood up and said "we can raise a hell of a lot more money by not doing that". Under his leadership the club raised $63,000 for the cause. From that time on, the Bay City club has recognized as the district leader in raising funds for Polio. Much of that is due to Harry's continued leadership for the cause.
On
April 10 the Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley will speak to the club. Mark your calendars and invite guests to attend.
This year's
Rotary Concert will be on April 12 at the State Theater as a music only program. Performers and musicians will include a Bob Segar tribute.
Program Ads are being sold at this time. Sign up at the next meeting.
The club is looking for
new members. A committee headed by Lee Newton has a list of individuals and businesses to be approached. See Lee if you'd like to help.
Rotary Bay City on Facebook!
Members are encouraged to visit the club's
Face Book web page. Click on the Blue Facebook to visit us there.
OFF SITE MEETING FEBRUARY 21
The club will hold an off-site meeting on February 21 at the new Family Y.
Rotary Concert at the State Theater on April 12, 2012.
International Night is scheduled for October 11, 2012.
Upcoming Programs
(See the official schedule at
RotaryBayCity.org )
February 14, 2011: Dave Rogers will talk about his latest book release.
February 21, 2011: OFF SITE MEETING
at the new Bay Area Family Y. See and learn about the new facility.
February 28, 2011: Andrew Kornecky Speaks about caregiver support, forms of dementia including Alzheimer's Disease and how to deal with the emotions of being a caregiver..
March 6, 2011: Mark Pankner talks about Junior Achievement.
March 13, 2011: First Vocational Day .
April 10, 2011: Lieutenant Gov. Brian Calley.
Rotary is an intimate affiliation of carefully selected business and professional people,
having as its objective the promotion of high ethical standards in private, commercial
and civic life, and dedicated to the ideal that the basis of all worthy endeavor is unselfish service.
Current and past
DISTRICT DISPATCH newsletters are available on the District site shown in the LINKS section below.
Rotary Bay City on Facebook!
Click on the Blue Facebook to visit us there.
Remember! Check attendance sheets at the front desk.
LINKS