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What voting mechanism is used in the CWB election?
Who is eligible to vote?
What voting mechanism is used in the CWB election?
A preferential ballot system is used in CWB Board of Directors elections. Rather than just checking the box beside one candidate's name, voters are asked to rank candidates in order of voting preference. Voters are not required to rank every candidate on the ballot. The following information has been taken from the CWB election website, active only during election periods and the time leading up to them. "A preferential vote system will be used in accordance with Regulation to ensure that elected Directors obtain the support of the majority of producers casting votes in the district. Voters will be asked to rank the candidates in their district, in the order of their voting preference, for example, First choice, Second choice, Third choice, Fourth, etcetera. If, after the initial count, no candidate has received a majority of First choice votes (i.e. – 50% plus 1 vote), a second count will be conducted. This second count involves eliminating the last place candidate from the process and reassigning that candidate’s votes based on his/her voter’s second choice or preference of candidate. This process will continue until one candidate receives the required 50% plus one of the votes. If a voter does not rank all candidates on a ballot, that ballot will continue to be included in successive vote counts as long as the candidate(s) that are ranked remain in the running. If a voter does not rank his choices in strict numerical sequence, the ballot will be counted only to the extent that a strict sequence is maintained (for example – if a ballot reflects a preferential ranking of 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, etc. only the rankings of 1 and 2 will be utilized --- even if the ranking of 3 is obvious)." For more information about the voting process, Click Here.
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Who is eligible to vote?
The following information was for the 2004 CWB director elections. Updates will be made leading up to the next director elections in 2006. Any producer (from even numbered districts) of wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed or canola may vote, regardless of how they use or market their crop. CWB permit book holders are automatically on the voters list, but you do not need a permit book to vote. Those who do not have a CWB permit book but who wish to vote need to fill out a statutory declaration form and submit it to MNP before November 19, 2004 at 5 pm CST in order to get on the voters list. Click Here to download a statutory declaration form or call 1-800-446-0890 to find out more. 2006 update: Federal Ag Minister Chuck Strahl made some changes to the list of farmers who would automatically get a ballot sent to them. Only producers who delivered wheat or barley to the CWB in the last two crop years (2005-06 and 2006-07) would automatically receive a ballot. Any other producer who grew wheat or barley over those years, even if they did not deliver to the CWB, remain eligible voters but are required to fill out a statutory declaration in order to receive a ballot. In previous elections, many interested parties who were not active in farming operations were sent a ballot based on the fact that they still had a permit book. Meanwhile, many active wheat and barley growers were not sent a ballot based on the fact that they did not deliver to the CWB. This change helps to rectify that illogical situation somewhat.
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