USCF Special Election 2010: Vote!

If you're a USCF member, in the next week to ten days you should receive your ballot for the 2010 Special Election. Three persons are running for two seats. I am one of them. More important than voting for me is that you vote. While it's generally true that voting rights should be exercised, here there's a specific reason to exercise your vote. The USCF adopted one member, one vote (OMOV) a number of years ago. This procedure gives USCF's members the right to elect the Executive Board. It's my belief that the USCF will be a stronger organization to the extent that its members have the right to vote, and they take some modest amount of time to inform that vote. Please know that OMOV is not universally popular, and many feel that the USCF is better off with state delegates making the Executive Board selctions. I don't agree. USCF governance decisions do impact the game of chess in this country and the USCF's members should have a say in those decisions. You may not feel governance decisions at the board when playing a game, but the choices matter. They may affect the forms of chess that are offered to you, the quantity of quality of the competitions available to you, the information you receive (such as on the website and in the magazine), and perhaps even the number of players registering in your tournaments. Critical to the game in the U.S. is a healthy national organization that is capable of promoting the game in creative and sound ways. You can impact that organization by selecting its leaders. I firmly believe that the EB should be selected by the members, and you have that right at present. Please help protect that right by voting.

If you want to know more about me, read this blog. If you want to cut straight to the election chase, hit any of the blue labels anywhere in this blog that say "election," including the one at the end of this post.