ABA Member Opt-in Needed for E-mail Board Ballot

In an effort to streamline the voting and tabulation process, reduce costs, and preserve the environment, the American Booksellers Association is asking all regular member bookstores to opt in to vote via an e-mail ballot for this year's Board of Directors elections.

In the past, ABA mailed a paper ballot to every member bookstore and they then had to mail it back in a postage-paid envelope, thus incurring printing and postage costs and creating significant paper waste. This year, instead, with a bookstore's permission, ABA will send the 2009 Board of Directors election ballot by e-mail, thus allowing booksellers to cast their votes electronically without the need for a printed form. The e-mail communication would also include changes to ABA's Bylaws, which will be presented for a vote by membership at the Annual Membership Meeting at BookExpo America. (See related story.)

Bookstore members can give ABA permission to send an electronic ballot by completing a simple form available on BookWeb.org.

If a bookstore does not grant permission for the ballot to be sent via e-mail, ABA will send a traditional paper ballot this year. Each store will receive only one ballot -- either electronic or paper. All ballots will be sent at the end of March and must be returned by the end of April.