The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

72 SEPTEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Behind the Scenes with AFSA’s Committee on Elections On the morning of June 4, the American Foreign Service Association’s Committee on Elections gathered, as they do every two years, to count the votes cast in the 2015- 2017 AFSAGoverning Board election. Following prompt closure of the online voting plat- form at 8 a.m., a committee member collected the paper ballots from a nearby post office, where the ballots had been safeguarded as they arrived via military, diplomatic and regular post fromAFSA members the world over. Donuts and coffee in hand, the committee set to work sorting and scanning all paper ballot envelopes at approxi- mately 9:40 a.m. They checked to make sure votes fulfilled the requirements for eligibility. Outer envelopes were opened and secret ballot envelopes collected. A second and third check of the outer envelopes was conducted to ensure no ballots were overlooked. Candidates were allowed to observe the tallying, and a number of governing board hopefuls streamed in and out throughout the day. With only a brief break for lunch, the committee worked meticulously to ensure a smooth process. At 1:30 p.m., the tallies from the paper and online ballots were merged. Preliminary results were printed and announced at 2:20 p.m. A total of 4,034 votes were cast this year: 1,023 written and 3,011 online. This figure is significantly higher than that of the 2013-2015 election, in which 3,502 voters partici- pated. For committee members, ballot-counting day may be the most gratifying of their two-year term. The commit- tee is tasked with running a fair and transparent elec- tion—no small feat consid- ering the logistical details involved, including publishing a call for nominations, ensur- ing all AFSAmembers have access to voting information, facilitating town hall meet- ings, distributing campaign platforms and more. AFSA thanks committee members for their hard work, including Chair Robert “Bill” Farrand, Jenna Bucha Jones, Mort Dworken, Russell Knight, Andrea Strano and AFSA staff—Executive Director Ian Houston, General Counsel Sharon Papp, Director of Member Services Janet Hed- rick, Member Services Repre- AFSA Committee on Elections Chair Bill Farrand (left) and AFSA Member Services Representative Natalie Cheung (right) consult on a ballot. AFSA/SHANNONMIZZI sentative Natalie Cheung and Elections Intern Brianna Pope. A full breakdown of the 2015-2017 election results can be found at www.bit.ly/ GB_Results_15-17. n —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Intern STAY CURRENT ON THE OPM DATA BREACH The American Foreign Service Association is closely monitoring developments on the recent data breach at the Office of Personnel Management and updating our website with the latest information at www.afsa.org/opm-breach. On June 22, AFSA sent a letter to the director of OPM regarding the reported breach in the SF-86 security clear- ance system (see www.bit.ly/1DhoLco ). In the letter, AFSA stressed the unique vulnerability of the Foreign Service, given its overseas presence and diplomatic assignments, and specifically petitioned for lifetime credit monitoring services and liability insurance, among other demands. AFSA also joined our partners in the Federal Postal Coalition in submitting a letter to President Barack Obama on behalf of our combined five million members reiterating our concerns. The letter included explicit reference to diplo- macy and development professionals (see www.bit.ly/1CHt2e4) . We encourage our members to keep checking AFSA’sWeb page, as well the OPM page, for additional information. n NEWS BRIEF