The reorganization of the Pacifica Foundation is centered on elections, with the expectation that elections of the Local Station Board (LSB) Delegates and Pacifica National Board (PNB) Directors will ensure accountable and representative governance.

Each station has a local election coordinator who is convening an election committee to help implement the elections. The actual schedule of elections, which should take about three months, won’t be certain until bylaws are approved. Listener-sponsor elections and staff elections will take place at the same time. Successful elections will rely on:

• Clear and fair rules and policies
  
• Effective community outreach and education
  
• Active involvement of the station
  
• High turnout of informed voters
  
• Skilled and diverse candidates who are committed to Pacifica’s mission

THE RULES

These elections will use a system of proportional representation called Choice Voting. Proportional representation (PR) simply means that a given percentage of the vote will win approximately the same percentage of seats. In the case of listener representatives, with 18 seats on the station board, each seat will be elected by about 1/18th of the voters. Put another way, a group of like-minded voters no larger than 1/18th of all voters should be able to elect their preferred representative to one of the seats. This system guarantees that diverse groups of like-minded voters can support their preferred candidate(s) and win their fair share of the 18 seats. Nevertheless, it is possible that the gender and ethnic makeup of WBAI’s LSB might not match the demographics of WBAI’s signal area. As mentioned in the bylaws article at left, a mechanism may be included to add seats to the LSB to bring the board composition more in line with regional demographics.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

Elections will include more than a month of campaigning to inform voters about candidates and the election process, including:

• On-air equal-time appearances and broadcast of recorded statements
  
• Local “candidates’ nights” meetings
  
• Online information through the station’s website
  
• Printed ballot materials (with statements from each candidate) to be mailed to every voter. Some candidates may even provide email addresses for direct correspondence.

ROLE OF THE STATION

The elections will rely on the irreplaceable resource of the airwaves: station on-air personalities and recorded messages will remind listeners about upcoming deadlines and events; some campaign events will be broadcast, and the station will pay for all election expenses.

ROLE OF THE VOTERS

Listener-sponsor voters must qualify as a:

• Subscriber (contribute at least $25 to WBAI in the past year), or
  
• Volunteer (spend at least 3 hours supporting WBAI in the past year).

For an election to be valid, 10% of eligible voters must cast a vote. Voters will receive a mailed paper ballot and will have approximately 30 days to evaluate the candidates, then complete and return the ballot. Online voting should also be an option.

With 18 listener representatives being elected, there may be 40 or more candidates! To vote, first decide which candidates you do and do not support. Then rank those whom you do support in order of preference—1st choice, 2nd choice, etc. You may rank two or more candidates the same, but your single vote will then be divided among all candidates with the same rank. Do not rank those that you do not support.

Every vote is important—just 264 votes would win a seat in a 5,000-vote election!

CANDIDATES

To run for the board, you must:

• Be a qualified voter
  
• Submit a nomination petition signed by at least 15 other qualified voters, and
  
• Participate in at least part of the campaign A lack of diverse candidates would severely jeopardize the ability of the election to result in a diverse board.

Ballot used in 2001 KPFA (Berkeley)
Local Advisory Board Listener Election
spreading the message of Peace and Justice Radio.

For more information on bylaws or elections, go to www.wbai.org and click on “About WBAI,” or contact the WBAI Election Coordinator at 212-209-2976 or elections@wbai.org today to help out or to run!