Since the 2012 consolidation between Carroll County REMC and White County REMC, the bylaws of Carroll White REMC have had the same director election processes in place.

Since the consolidations inception, we have experienced several election cycles to gauge what the membership wants with regard to the director election process and how the elected board of directors sees that need for change, said Kent Zimpfer, board president.

The most prevalent comments from REMC members focus on that often only one person is running in a general election or district, noted Zimpfer. This limited slate brings into question why the cooperative continues to have such a variety of voting options.

Member surveys taken during the election process and at the Annual Meetings opened up dialogue about updating the director election process, said Zimpfer. Members stated that over the past years, the election process was confusing. They didnt understand why only one name was on the ballot. This prompted members to ask, Why does my vote matter?

Members votes do matter, emphasized Zimpfer. Democratic Member Control is one of the seven cooperative principles that govern how we operate our cooperative. Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members. Representatives are elected by the membership and are accountable to them. Members have equal voting rights, one member, one vote. It is imperative to keep processes in place to allow members to participate.

In the process of addressing member-owners feedback on the election process, the board decided to act, said Zimpfer. We identified each election concern and drafted new proposals to update the bylaws.

The board room conversations revolved around addressing our members concerns, providing multiple voting options, eliminating district meetings, and an acceptance of acclimation voting at the Annual Meeting, said Zimpfer. These changes to the bylaws not only provide clarity and streamline the entire election process, but the result is also a cost savings for members.

The proposed bylaw changes were presented at a Carroll White REMC board meeting and were voted to be accepted unanimously, said Zimpfer.

Your board is excited about the new changes in the election process, and we want members to know we listen to their concerns.

To clarify:

• The most significant change to the bylaws is that district meetings scheduled annually in March have been eliminated. The change is a petition process that goes directly to the Annual Meeting for a vote.
  • The concept of having each district meet to nominate a member to run for the board at the Annual Meeting is a good concept; however, only a handful of members attended these meetings, said Zimpfer. There are approximately 1,800 to 2,000 members per district. When we added paper and online voting, the number of participants increased. However, there were still not enough members input in this process to warrant the time and financial commitment involved in a district meeting.
• The bylaw change is that any member who meets the qualifications to run for the board will file a petition with signatures of at least 15 members within their district at least 75 days prior to the Annual Meeting.
• If two or more members run against each other, CW REMC will use mail ballots and online voting to elect a director. This will also include on-site voting at the Annual Meeting.
• If only one member files a petition to run in a district, the new updated bylaws allow a director to be affirmed at the Annual Meeting by voice acclamation. This option will eliminate the cost of mailing and tallying online ballots.

The board believes this is what the members have been asking for in recent years, said Zimpfer. We appreciate members input and be assured we are always here to listen and serve.