How to use this Page

This episode continues our coverage of YALSA’s 2012 elections. The following podcast contains interviews with the two candidates for YALSA Councilor.

Vicki Emery

Steve Matthews

If you prefer, you may download the podcast at the YALSA Podcast site and transfer the file to the mp3 player of your choice.

I’m back, both literally and figuratively. I just attended ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas and with a great group of hard working YALSA members we taped interviews with the YALSA candidates. They have been posted for you to listen to. This is just one more way to give you the information you need to make an informed decision about our potential officers and award committee members.

I followed up Midwinter with a visit to my mom in Washington DC. Now, going to Washington always makes me think about our system of government and the fact that it requires individuals to take action. In fact I think about what Winston Churchill said about our form of government. He said “It is said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.”

And how does this apply to YALSA you are asking? Well, in my last post I shared with you that only about 18% of YALSA members actually vote in our annual elections. Democracy requires that individuals vote, yet we don’t. Now, I personally love to vote and I think I can confidently say over the past many years since I became a eligible to vote, I probably haven’t missed an opportunity to vote whether it be locally, nationally, or in our division. I also recognize that because so many of you don’t vote my vote is really valuable, I really count.

So here I was in Washington DC and as I looked at all those monuments to democracy I kept asking myself why questions?

• Why do so few of us take that small amount of time and vote?
• Is it too hard?
• Are there barriers YALSA hasn’t considered to voting?
• Do our members just not care about what YALSA does for them and who does it?

Well I don’t have those answers, so I’m writing this post to everyone who will not be voting. Please tell me why. Help me understand why you choose not to vote. If you don’t want to comment on the blog, send me an email. My address is [email protected].

I would like to understand and if there is something YALSA can do to make it even easier, then I’ll share the information, not the names.

Help me understand why.

And don’t forget, polls for ALA and YALSA elections open March 19 and close April 27.