04/23/2020

During these unprecedented times of social distancing and staying at home, the ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee (E&E) has postponed ballot counting for four contested Section Manager elections.

Since March 23, ARRL Headquarters staff has been working remotely under the Governor of Connecticut's mandate, which is currently in effect through May 20 and may be extended into June. The ballots for the Section Manager races in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, and Maine were scheduled to be counted on Tuesday, May 19 as directed by the ARRL rules and regulations for Section Manager elections. Due to the circumstances, ARRL Interim CEO Barry Shelley, N1VXY, asked the E&E Committee for an extension that would allow ballot counting to happen as soon as practicable before mid-June.

Although this extension was granted, it does not change the Friday, May 15, 2020 deadline for ballots to be received at ARRL HQ. Standard operating practice dictates that any ballots received after this deadline will not be counted. The Governor's mandate and social distancing practices do not affect this section of the election rules.

Terms for election winners are scheduled to begin on July 1, 2020. ARRL hopes to see the Governor's restrictions relaxed in time to have a team of tellers inside HQ to count the ballots and publish the elections' results in enough time that the terms of office will not change. The E&E Committee will have to decide the course of action, should any unforeseen circumstances not allow the ballots to be counted by mid-June.

The safety of our staff and members remains the highest priority as we work through these difficult times. Thank you for your understanding.

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