General Election FAQ

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The Election phase (voting) for all contested Executive Committee and Bargaining Team positions will begin on July 9th, 2020 at 5:00PM EDT and end on July 16th, 2020 at 4:59PM EDT. Voting will take place online through Simply Voting; the election will be fully managed by Simply Voting and overseen by the Local’s Election Officers. Voting credentials will be sent out, via a Simply Voting e-mail blast, to all current and political members on July 9th, 2020 at 5:00PM EDT.

Candidate campaign statements can be found HERE.

Which positions are contested? 

  • Communications Officer
    • Fiorza ELAVIA
    • Assya MOUSTAQIM-BARRETTE
  • Grievance Officer
    • Sylvia PEACOCK
    • Parbattie RAMSARRAN
  • Unit 2 members of the Bargaining Team
    • Julian AREND
    • Kyle BELOZEROV (Withdrawn; name will remain on ballot as ballots have been finalized)
    • Michael FRASCHETTI
    • Christopher LUSZCZEK
    • Zoe NEWMAN

How do we vote online?

  • Online voting is being conducted by Simply Voting, a third-party platform. Voting credentials will be sent to each current and political member via an e-mail blast on July 9th, 2020 at 5:00PM EDT. The email will be from vote@simplyvoting.com.
  • You will arrive at a branded voting website and will log in using an Elector ID (Employee Number) and generated Password. Once logged in, if you have not yet voted, a tamper-proof electronic ballot will appear. Once the ballot is filled, you may review your ballot prior to final submission. When you submit a ballot, the results are encrypted and kept anonymous. You are issued a receipt, which allows you to verify your vote was cast as desired and is now blocked from voting in this election again.
  • Once voting has ended, results will be immediately emailed to the Election Officers. Any reports and audit trails provided to the Election Officers can be provided to candidate’s scrutineer.

What information do I need to vote? 

  1. Elector ID (your Employee number)
  2. Password (uniquely generated by Simply Voting)

Note: Both pieces of information are included in the voter credential e-mail.

Other than online, is there any other way I can vote? 

  • No. Unfortunately, for telephone voting to be feasible, a credential mail-out would be required, as SimplyVoting is unable to provide credentials via phone. Due to the incomplete nature (missing, erroneous, or out of date) of mailing addresses provided to the Local by the Employer and the displacement of members due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an email blast would reach more current and political members than a mail-out would.

Is Simply Voting accessible? 

  • Yes. Simply Voting is accessible with most assistive technologies such as screen-readers. Simply Voting has tested their platform with JAWS and deemed it accessible.
  • Emails from Simply Voting and the Simply Voting platform are designed to be lightweight, without hidden fields and text that can pose a problem to assistive screen-reader technologies.
  • If you do encounter any accessibility issues, please reach out to the Election Officers (cupe3903eo@gmail.com) and we will work with you to ensure you are able to vote.

Can I only vote once? 

  • Yes. Each member can only vote once.

How does Simply Voting ensure each member only votes once? 

  • In order to access the voting ballot, each member must go through an authentication process. Each member is assigned and provided one set of credentials. These credentials are recorded and can only be used once. This ensures each member can only vote once.
  • If members try to access the voting ballot with credentials that have already been used, they will be denied access to the ballot.
  • If the authentication process is by-passed, access to the ballot is denied.
  • The Simply Voting system stores both 1) the vote status and 2) the vote itself in a single transaction. Even if a voter attempts to submit ballots simultaneously on multiple devices, the system detects the multiple votes and will only accept one vote.
  • Simply Voting also rigorously checks the ballots for validity before accepting the vote.

Is this secure and confidential?

  • Yes. Simply Voting stores the votes and CUPE 3903 does not have direct access to the votes. No union members can view and/or alter ballots.
  • Each member is given authentication credentials to enter into the Simply Voting platform to verify their identity as a CUPE 3903 member. This ensures only those eligible to vote are able to vote.

Does this mean online voting will be used for future voting?

  • No. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge it presents, online voting is being used as a one-time necessity.
  • The use of online voting in the future will require further membership-wide discussions.

What if I need help? Who can I contact and how? 

Note from your Election Officers: 

“The Election Officers invite you to use online voting for Executive election and Bargaining Team election. However, this use of an online voting system for this election does not guarantee that online voting will continue going forward, whether at all or in the same manner. As you know, the use of an online voting system for this year’s election is needed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing required to flatten the curve and minimize the spread of the virus. Without an online AGM and an online election, the local is left in a holding pattern. Many aspects of the union cannot move forward without membership approval (which requires an AGM and voting). For example, our budget is currently on hold. While we continue to pay our staff for the work they do for us, we cannot add additional money to funds; we cannot purchase necessary items for the office or the staff; committee members are not replaced and thus some committees can’t disburse funds; a bargaining team has not been elected so upcoming bargaining may be affected; current executive members are not able to step down from their positions and be replaced which may leave some positions vacant until their replacement can be voted in. This list is not exhaustive but provides a glimpse into the need for an online AGM and voting. There is no set date as to when we may be able to gather in person so why wait and remain in this holding pattern when some progress can be made.”