Who is Eligible to Vote?

The USGenWeb Project Bylaws state in Article VII. Section F. Election Procedures: "All members of The USGenWeb Project, excluding Look-Up Volunteers and Transcribers, shall be eligible to vote."

The members who are eligible to vote are those volunteers who create and/or maintain the websites that are the purpose of The USGenWeb Project, (Bylaw II. Purpose)

In October 2003, the Advisory Board revised the Election Committee Procedures to require that members register themselves to vote (Article IV.C.) Members who were USGenWeb volunteers prior to February 1, 2004 were automatically registered to vote. Those who joined The USGenWeb Project after February 1, 2004, must register themselves to vote. Registration is necessary for all elections conducted by the EC. To vote in a national election or poll, a member must have registered before June 1st in the year of the election.

Once a member registers to vote, they do not need to register again. However, they do need to keep their member registration up-to-date so their voter eligiblity can be verified in all areas/regions for which they are qualified.

The EC only verifies a county/local site when it is:

  1. Adopted by a new/different Coordinator.
  2. The member registers to vote.
  3. The EC oversees a State Election.
  4. An unapproved site does not affect a member's eligibility to vote based on a different site that is approved.

The design and content of USGenWeb Project sites varies widely depending on the state, county, or special project; but the following are requirements for verification and approval of all registrations:

  1. The site is linked from the State or Project site. Election Committee Procedures, IV.C.5.a.
  2. Prominent display of an approved USGW logo on the main/index page of a county site. Bylaw IX.A.
  3. The main/index page of the site includes a link to The USGenWeb national site at https://www.usgenweb.org. Web Site Standards/Guidelines, Required for All
  4. The coordinator's name must appear on the main/index page of the site. Web Site Standards/Guidelines, Required for All
  5. The coordinator's contact information (email address and/or Email Registry ID) must either be on the main/index page of the site, or there must be a link to a "Contact Info" page. Web Site Standards/Guidelines, Required for All

The following will help you understand in what areas you, as an individual member, are eligible to vote.

Areas Within the USGenWeb Project

The USGenWeb Project is comprised of two divisions: States, and National Special Projects.

States:
The States are divided into four regions.

NENC - Northeast North Central Region: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin

NWPL - Northwest Plains Region: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming

SEMA - Southeast Mid-Atlantic Region: Alabama, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

SWSC - Southwest South Central Region: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah

Volunteers within the States may hold such positions as State Coordinator (SC), Assistant State Coordinator (ASC), Co-State Coordinator (Co-SC), County Coordinator (CC), Assistant County Coordinator (ACC), Co-County Coordinator (Co-CC), Town Coordinator (TC), and Local Coordinator (LC) for a State Special Project.

National Special Projects:
The National Special Project side is comprised of The Archives Project (SPAR SA), Tombstone Project (SPIP TP), Kidz Project (SPIP KZ), African American Griots Project (SPIP AA), and the Family Group Sheet Project (SPIP FGS).

In addition to the State Archives, the Archives Project includes several sub-projects:  Digital Map Library (SPAR MP), Pension Project (SPAR PP), Census Images (SPAR CI), Marriage Records (SPAR WD), Obituary Project (SPAR OB), and the Special Collections Project (SPAR SC) which is comprised of Family Publications, History Publications, Journals and Letters, Military, and Photo Collections.

Volunteers with the State Archives are File Managers, state (SFM) and county (FM). Volunteers with the other Special Projects are Project Coordinators (PC) AND Local Project Coordinators (LPC).

So Where Do You Fit In?

If your volunteer job is tied to a state then you belong to a Region. Look at the list of regions (above) and find the state(s) where you volunteer. Those will be the region(s) you belong in. All registered members of a State Project are eligible to vote for the County Coordinator Representative(s) for their region; and on any regional issues affecting that region. State Coordinators and Assistant or Co-State Coordinators are eligible to vote for the State Coordinator Representative for their region.

If you are a volunteer in one of the Special Projects you are eligible to vote for the Special Projects Representative.

And of course, you are eligible to vote for any position that is open for vote by the membership at large.

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The USGenWeb Project, Free Genealogy Online The Election Committee of the USGenWeb Project is a non-partisan standing committee charged with managing national polls and elections for the Project; providing a secure voting system; maintaining an up-to-date and accurate list of all members; and providing Volunteers with information about elections and candidates. It is not affiliated with any other election, voting, or campaign project or committee. Contact , EC Chair, or your regional EC Representative with questions and concerns.