GUFF VOTING BALLOT
The 2016 GUFF Race Voting Ballot – Europe to Australasia
about guff
What is GUFF? GUFF was created in 1979. Known as the Get Up-and-over Fan Fund or the Going Under Fan Fund, depending on which direction it’s running, GUFF exists to provide funds to enable well-known fans from Europe and Australasia to visit each other’s national (or other) conventions and to get to know each other’s fandoms better. GUFF, like other fan funds, exists solely through the support of fandom. The candidates for each trip are voted on by interested fans, and each vote is accompanied by a monetary donation. These votes, and the continuing generosity of fandom through auctions and other donations, are what make GUFF possible.
who may vote?
Voting in the race to send a European fan to Contact 2016, the 55th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, to be held in Brisbane, Australia over the Easter long weekend 2016, is open to anyone who was active in fandom prior January 2014, and who contributes at least GBP5, EUR6, AUD10, NZD10 (or the equivalent in other currencies) to the fund. Larger contributions are encouraged and will be gratefully accepted. Only one vote per person is allowed. You must sign or otherwise verify your ballot, but your vote will not be made public.
voting details
GUFF uses a preferential ballot system which guarantees automatic runoffs until a majority is obtained. You rank the candidates in order of your preference for them. If the leading first-place candidate does not have a majority of votes after the first round of counting, the first-place votes for the lowest-placed candidate are discarded, and the second-place votes on those ballots are counted as first-place votes for the candidates concerned. This process is repeated until one candidate has a majority of all the votes cast. Votes for second and third place candidates are therefore important, but you may not rank any candidate in more than one position on your ballot.
hold over funds
This choice, like ‘No award’ in award balloting, gives you the chance to vote for no GUFF trip in 2014 if for any reason the candidates do not appeal. Hold over funds may be voted for in any position on the ballot.
no preference
This choice is for voters who do not wish the GUFF trip to be held over, but who either cannot or prefer not to decide between the candidates.
donations
GUFF gratefully accepts your freely given money and material for auction. If you’re not eligible to vote, or for some reason you don’t wish to vote, why not donate anyway?
Candidates. Each candidate has posted a bond of EUR20; promised that barring force majeure they will travel to Contact 2016 (http://contact2016.com) if elected, and provided nominations and a short platform displayed overleaf tolling their many interests and virtues.
how to cast your vote
The candidate for the Europe to Australasia race is: Jukka Halme.
You can vote online and pay via Paypal (just follow the form on the voting page to the end, after you click submit there will be a direct link to the Paypal account guffeurope (at) gmail dot com) or send your completed ballot form with cheque or money order or cash in person to:
Claire Brialey
59 Shirley Road
Croydon CR0 7ES
UK
(sterling cheques payable to GUFF)
Voting ends Wednesday 30th September 2015 23:59 GMT
