How does the election work? ?
Most states hold party ‘primaries’ in which voters choose the parties’ candidates for various public offices. The dates are set by state law, and the two parties hold their primaries on the same day. When Americans register for the vote, they are given the choice of declaring their support for a party, or for none. In most states, a registered Democrat may vote only in the Democratic primary and a registered Republican in the Republican primary. Some states, however, have “cross-over” primaries in which voters may vote in any primary – but only in one. And a few have primaries for all candidates together. A voter registered for a party or for none is free to vote for any candidate she or he wants in the general election. A handful of states instead choose the party candidates at conventions of party activists, including Iowa which opens the election year every February. The first primary is always New Hampshire. In theory, voters in primaries choose delegates to the party conventions.
The IELRB will come to UIUC and hold the election. A successful election is an affirmative vote from a simple majority of the people who cast votes. All those determined to be in the bargaining unit will be eligible to vote, whether or not they signed a card. With a simple majority of 51 percent, AAP could be at the negotiation table soon after the election! Return to Top How many Academic Professionals are in the potential bargaining unit? Between 2,000 and 3,000 Academic Professionals are in the potential bargaining unit, depending on what the IELRB decides. If I signed a card, am I obligated to vote for AAP in the election? Ethically yes, legally no. Since it is a secret ballot, no one will ever know how you voted. Why unionize relatively well-paid higher education Academic Professionals? Shouldn’t labor organizations be more concerned with minimum wage workers? Not all Academic Professionals are relatively well-paid. In the corporate model of higher education, many Academic Profess
Voters cast two ballots, one for a candidate in their constituency, and one for a party. The party vote determines the overall division of seats in parliament – which has at least 598 seats – under a system of proportional representation. A party may win 65 constituency seats, say, out of a total of 299, but then get this figure topped up by virtue of winning more than 10% of the party vote. To be represented in parliament, a party must cross the 5% barrier. Extra seats are added to parliament if parties win more constituency seats in parliament than they are entitled to under the party vote. This is one of the reasons it takes so long to work out exactly who has the most seats in an election as tight as this one. What issues were at the forefront of voters’ minds? In August the disastrous floods that hit the east and north of the country, causing some 15 million euros of damage, were the number one concern. It was Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s confident handling of the crisis that pr
