Eligible candidate is…

• FILAMemphis member who paid his/her 2005 and 2006 membership dues
• a nominated candidate who agreed to have his/her name listed on the ballot
• running for one position only. If a person is nominated for more than one position, he/she will decide which position to run for and cancel the other nominated position.
• not a member of Comelec.

Eligible voter is…

• FILAMemphis member who paid his/her 2006 membership fee by July 15, 2006
• included in the list provided by the Treasurer. If by mistake the name of paid member was not included in the Treasurer’s list, the member should provide proof of payment such as cancelled check or receipt.
• Family member (only 2 per family are allowed to vote and must be present during election day or have requested for absentee ballots)

Absentee voter…

• Is responsible to notify any Comelec member his/her desire to vote in advance
• Will receive an offical ballot and a SASE from the Comelec chairman the day after he/she notified any of the Comelec member his/her desire to vote in absencia. For out-of-town voter, ballots will be sent electronically (pdf or word file)
• Is responsible for mailing back (or e-mailing back) the ballot using the provided SASE if using postal service and must be received by the Comelec Chairman at or before midnight of August 18, the day before the election.
• Sealed absentee ballots will be brought to the voting place on election day and will be opened during the counting

During election hour, eligible voters should:

• Receive an official ballot from a Comelec member when he/she checks in to vote
• Sign his/her name opposite the official list of qualified voters
• Indicate with a check or cross mark the choice candidate for the position in the official ballot
• Fold and immediately drop the ballot in the slit of the sealed Ballot Box

Counting of the ballots will start at 3:30 p.m. (2 hours after the voting began at 1:30 p.m.) after the Comelec members have voted.  The chairman will declare the polling place closed, voting time is over, and counting of ballots will soon begin.

Each Comelec member ...
will perform one of the following duties:

1. Read the candidate’s name on each ballot aloud for the tallies
2. Initial the ballot after it has been counted
3. Drop the counted ballot in another box labeled “counted votes”
4. Mark the votes on the big Tally Board
5. Record the vote on a tally sheet
6. All Comelec members will audit and certify official results and sign their names below the official tally sheet.

After the voting and ballots are counted...

• Candidate getting the highest number of votes will be declared the winner for the position he/she is running for
• Any candidate who wishes to challenge the election results should file a petition to the Comelec Chairman within 48 hours after the election results were announced.
• The winners of the election will be certified by the Comelec members if there are no challenges filed within 48 hours.
• Challenges to the election results after the 48 hours expired will not be accepted.
• Comelec member will safeguard the safe keeping of the ballot box during the 48 hours that the results might be challenged. After the 48 hours, the ballots will then be destroyed, shredded if possible.

Announcement of Winners

• The next issue of the FILAMemphis newsletter will officially announce the new set of officers of FILAMemphis for 2006-2007
• The list of winners will be posted in the FILAMemphis website asap

Comelec Members

• Andy Eugenio
• Dr. Connie Babu
• Dr. Hermie Balderrama
• Dr. Avelino Reyes
• Beth Tyus