Unclear instructions void IATSE ballot
Confusion on where to select picks invalidates voting
The committee announced this week that it had rescheduled the delegate election for the ICG, which has 6,000 members and operates as Local 600 of the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, until after election of officers is completed. The ballots for all other offices -- which includes the seven national officers, the national executive board and regional council officers -- remain valid, with an April 23 deadline.
The committee said the possible confusion resulted from voting instructions prepared by California Elections Co., the company hired to print and prepare the ballots and instructions. The voting instructions tell members to poke out the dot appearing below the number for the delegate candidate, but the ballot places the dot above the candidate's number.
The panel said a few members have expressed concern that the inconsistent instruction may cause confusion but added that it believes it's unlikely. "Nonetheless, to avoid any doubt about the outcome of the delegate election, the Committee has voted to void the current delegate ballot, and to mail new delegate ballots on April 23," the committee said.
The committee noted that the next IATSE convention is scheduled for summer 2005, so delaying the delegate election by one month will not have a significant impact.
Key race has been for president, with Gary Dunham and Stephen Lighthill vying to succeed retiring longtime chief George Spiro Dibie. Dunham is running as part of the Coalition for a Democratic Union, while Lighthill, who's backed by Dibie, is running as the head of the Unite 600 slate. Major issues are runaway production, health care and finding sufficient work for members.
