AMSAT will provide its members with online voting as the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election gets under way. This year, AMSAT has contracted with a single, independent vendor, ElectionBuddy, to conduct and fully manage the election process, instead of with multiple vendors as it’s done in the past.

“AMSAT believes this voting system will result in greater election integrity, as it removes the potential for any perceived conflicts of interest,” AMSAT Secretary Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, said in announcing the changes. “ElectionBuddy will manage AMSAT’s voter list and interaction with members regarding the election. This ensures voter anonymity.”

A ballot card will be mailed to all current members by July 15, in accordance with AMSAT’s bylaws. Members may cast their ballots by visiting a unique URL or by utilizing a QR code printed on the card. Members who do not receive their ballots by July 15 should contact ElectionBuddy, which will be responsible for distributing and collecting ballots and for tallying votes. Individual ballot responses will never be shared with any volunteer or paid AMSAT staff.

Candidates’ statements of qualification will be published on AMSAT’s website and displayed on the ElectionBuddy website for eligible voters.

Eight candidates will be on the ballot. The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as voting members of the Board of Directors. Two alternate directors will be selected based on the next highest number of votes received.

Coleman stressed that ElectionBuddy will be voters’ single point of contact regarding any ballot issues for the 2019 AMSAT Board election. Questions will not be answered on the AMSAT-BB or via organizational social media accounts.

“In the event that you are unwilling or unable to cast your ballot via the online mechanism, ElectionBuddy will mail you a specific ballot that must be returned to them within the parameters of our election time frame, so that it is received by the office no later than September 15, 2019,” Coleman said in his announcement. “If you choose this option, please understand it is at an increased cost to the organization.”

The 2019 candidates for the AMSAT Board of Directors, in alphabetical order by last name, are: