2019 Site Selection: Validating Postal Votes

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[Facing]: Johan Anglemark, Mark Linneman, Eemeli Aro, Emma England. [Opposite] Paul Taylor, Ben Yalow, Kate Secor.

By James Bacon: (Chair of the Dublin in 2019 bid). I’m observing the postal vote process. The administrator and the team are assisted by members of the Dublin in 2019 team and committee, people from six countries are taking part. Walter Jon Williams has joined us for a few moments, as I look on. Neutral separators are handling and ensuring it’s all correctly managed.  Worldcon 75 staff check against, their data and the level attention to detail and slow and steady methodical progress is taken seriously. The integrity of the procedure is impressive and I’m stunned at the knowledge of those here who deal with inevitable errors that may have occurred.

Here with me from the Dublin Team are Emma England, Ben Yalow and Paul Taylor. The bids are welcome and indeed expected to help and participate in the whole process, everything is run by volunteers, although this is something I have not done before and it feels like we are momentarily connected to people from far-flung places who want to participate in the decision-making process of who will get to host the Worldcon in 2019.

From Worldcon 75 there is Kate Secor, Michael Lee, Eemeli Aro, Mark Linneman and Johan Anglemark.

The large stack of envelopes is impressive and I’m allowed to photograph some of the stamps which I like. I love post and in many ways this is fabulous post.

Post has arrived at the US address from New Zealand, Germany, Canada and of course United States. The votes arriving at the Helsinki are even more varied with votes from Ireland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria, New Zealand, and Germany.

The process takes over two hours but the atmosphere is lovely and it’s an amazing thing to see the mechanics of this process which has existed in this form since 1983.

Science Fiction has permeated so much of our culture that some of the stamps used have particular relevance and make me smile.

More votes will be hand-carried and passed to the voting table from tomorrow and then of course everyone present here is entitled to vote.

 

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3 thoughts on “2019 Site Selection: Validating Postal Votes”

  1. I remember a discussion of the 1962 Hugo voting on a Heinlein board. One of the posters said that the only people who would have to breach confidentiality (when Heinlein asked if he won) were the chartered accountants who were counting the votes.
    I can’t imagine how hard Earl Kemp would have laughed at that comment.

  2. You have mixed up me and Emma in the photo, I think — I’m the blob of purple hair and Emma is the one whose face you can see.

    I was pleased and privileged to be able to participate in Site Selection again this year (I was AAH for Site Selection last year and DDH for WSFS Division this year — Mike Lee was AH and DH respectively). It’s an amazing feeling to get to see how many people really want to be a part of this process and how far-flung they are.

    The bids are such an important process not only of helping keep the paperwork burden from falling entirely on the poor con volunteers, but also of making sure that everything happens as it should. I think we’ve got a pretty good system worked out for making sure the process of voting is straightforward and the process of counting is sufficiently transparent that everyone understands what’s going on. I will be forever grateful for Mark Linneman, who taught it to me in the first place, and Ben Yalow, who kept me from falling off the rails when using it.

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