NCOWS Senatorial Election

[Frenchie]

All the candidates are our fellow members and are/were running for office to maintain and promote the concept, ideals and agenda of NCOWS for all the membership as a whole, and any member in good standing should never, ever feel that anyone elected to an official position in this or any organization are not accessible, for on the contrary, all you have to do is ask! We are blessed with multiple electronic forums, a bi-monthly mag, a website, e-mail and shooting events where these kind folks can be addressed or button-holed on any given topic, just ask and you'll be surprised how important they think your ideas are!
Best regards and good shooting!
'Ol Gabe

Well, so much for feeding the conspiracy theorists... 

[Silver Creek Slim]

What is the possibility of having the ballot on the NCOWS website?

Slim

[Dutch Limbach]

Overall I think having the ballot in the magazine is a better idea (and considerably less expensive) than mailing them separately as we've done in the past. Maybe a big starburst or something on the cover alerting folks to look inside for their ballot would help.

I must agree with Lone Gunman on this, and might even add that when membership renewals and the like are sent out those mailing alert members to look for the ballots in the Sept/Oct issue of The Shootist.

Lone Gunman,

I didn't keep track of where the ballots were postmarked. I can tell you the vast majority of them came from Iowa and Nebraska with Kansas a distant third. I was somewhat surprised that there weren't very many ballots postmarked from Indiana or Ohio, since there was a member of GLFMC running.

Private citizen,
Dutch

[Silver Creek Slim]

Overall I think having the ballot in the magazine is a better idea (and considerably less expensive) than mailing them separately as we've done in the past. Maybe a big starburst or something on the cover alerting folks to look inside for their ballot would help.

I must agree with Lone Gunman on this, and might even add that when membership renewals and the like are sent out those mailing alert members to look for the ballots in the Sept/Oct issue of The Shootist.

Lone Gunman,

I didn't keep track of where the ballots were postmarked. I can tell you the vast majority of them came from Iowa and Nebraska with Kansas a distant third. I was somewhat surprised that there weren't very many ballots postmarked from Indiana or Ohio, since there was a member of GLFMC running.

Private citizen,
Dutch

Ya should of had a whole pile from WI. We do what they do in the land of Daley: "Vote early and often." 

Slim

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Lone Gunman,

I got my copy of the Shootist today (11/30/04), Being a newcomber to NCOWS, I have no idea when I'm officailly supposed to receive it. For those of you that didn't vote, tsk.... tsk...!! You had all the same information on the candidates and their stand on the issues that all of us that DID vote had.
I would be suprised at a large voter turnout here in Indiana since there is only one NCOWS posse. It would be interesting to know how many ballotts were sent in by members outside of Iowa.............. Maybe next time we can all chip in and donate funds for postage for a mailing notification/ballott wirth return postage to the membership that didn't want to spend 37 cents and a little effort to vote.

OCB

[Lone Gunman]

I was somewhat surprised that there weren't very many ballots postmarked from Indiana or Ohio, since there was a member of GLFMC running.

Well, I reckon the folks back east probably know Dave better than we do     

Joss, I haven't heard anything from the Marshal either, in the past we've gotten letters in the mail so maybe that's how it's being done this year too. 

Slim, I can post the ballots on the website for downloading next year but they'll still need to be printed out and mailed. If the feds can't figure out a way to have secure online voting I don't think I'll tackle it either.

[B. Butch Cavendish]

 Well I know they got at least one from outwest here. "I'd like to know who won, or better yet who lost?"

[Silver Creek Slim]

Slim, I can post the ballots on the website for downloading next year but they'll still need to be printed out and mailed. If the feds can't figure out a way to have secure online voting I don't think I'll tackle it either.

The would be great. The more places to access a ballot "should" increase the number of votes cast.

Slim

[Ol Gabe]

Just some food for thought here, nothing more...
What with the low number of ballots, it makes a person wonder how many of the over 2,000 (?) actual paid memberships are actually involved in the shooting hobby itself. As in any national or international organzation, there is always a segment of the membership that joins just to read the mag, they might be involved in a hobby business, a collector of old firearms, an Old West affecienado, or a simple hanger-on in the fringes who never, ever wants any part of the actual running of the org. For whatever personal reason these folks only want to participate from afar.
These members are every bit as important as those that shoot every weekend, even though they may never participate to any level other that reading THE SHOOTIST and thinking it might be fun to go to the Nationals someday just to observe, they are still paying yearly dues and as such are encouraged to cast a ballot and have their say as to what is done in the org.
It is doubtful that it is a problem with the price of a stamp or a delay in the mail, simply that many folks don't want to vote in an election like this since they don't participate, nothing more, nothing less, and thats it in a nutshell.
Human nature, as we all know, is such that its hard to change, most folks are set in their ways and can't be moved off dead center, so be it. We would hope that those folks who thought they didn't have any say could be convinced by articles in THE SHOOTIST that their vote is very important. Unforetunatly the posts here and on TFS urging them to vote are not read by a very broad audience even thought it is an international forum so to speak. It is simply that, as mentioned above, many only joined to read the mag and thats all, to vote means nothing to them as they probably feel it wouldn't make any difference one way or the other.
How to overcome this malady? Start a VOTE 'campaign' with letters to the Editor in THE SHOOTIST urging all members, wherever they are, to vote in every NCOWS election as it is of extreme importance that their vote be cast and counted, hopefully the reminders will generate a surge, or at least a noticable increase in numbers for next years slate of candidates.
Best regards and good stumping!
'Ol Gabe

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Greetings, all!

As one of the election vote counters, I can only defer to the good Marshall Thorpe to announce the results.  That's the way it was decided for fairness.

I will say thanks to all who voted.  It took one deluxe cheeseburger and a couple hours to finish.  (The votes, NOT the cheeseburger! )

I think that in the long run, we all won.

That's mah story and I'm stickin' to it!

[Lone Gunman]

I think that in the long run, we all won.

"In the long run, we're all dead.". John Maynard Keynes

[Steel Horse Bailey]

"In the long run, we're all dead.".

LG, that's in the longest run!

[Yuma Kid]

Howdy All,
I think it would be safe to leak what is on TFS.  4 of the 5 newly elected Senators have identified themselves.  Lone Gunman (George Warnick), Grizzly Bear (Rob Brannon), Irish Dave (Dave Scott) and myself Yuma Kid (John Irons).  I guess we'll have to wait for the other elected officials to identify themselves.
Yuma

[Silver Creek Slim]

Congrats to y'all. 

Slim