Polling Procedures

Links to membership and relevant polling pages are in green

WHO IS ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BARONIAL POLLING?
All paid members of the barony with their own membership number are eligible to participate.
This includes those who are associate or family members, including minors.
Note that membership is based on the ZIP Code of the address on file with the Corporate Office.
We make every effort to make sure that all current ZIP Codes in the barony are included, but you
may not be eligible if your address on file with the Corporate Office is not inside the boundaries
of the barony even if you have lived within the barony for some time, but simply have not
notified Milpitas of your address change.     Dec. 19 is the last day to pay or renew membership, change your address or add family members.  You can do so here

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO VOTE BY PAPER BALLOT?

Paper ballots are still the default. As long as your paid membership and address are current, you
and any associate and/or family members with their own membership numbers will
automatically receive a paper ballot in the middle of January unless you have opted to vote
electronically.

ll you need to do is to complete that ballot indicating your preferences for baron and baroness
by ranking them “1”, “2” and “3”. Note that you must assign a ranking to each of the three sets
of candidates or your ballot may be considered incomplete and not tallied.
Once you have done that on the special colored ballot, place it in the provided postage paid
envelope and mail it to Their Majesties. Note that Their Majesties must receive your ballot on or
before 1 February for it to be counted. Postmark date does not count so please allow for that
when planning on when to return your ballots!

WHY SHOULD I VOTE ELECTRONICALLY?

There are several reasons why it is advantageous for the barony and for you to use the relatively
recent electronic polling system which Hidden Mountain is using for the first time.
The three most important are the lower cost to the barony, the avoidance of the quirks and
possible time delays of the postal system and the greater ease of use for the actual polling return.
Kingdom has calculated that each ballot generated, mailed and returned to Their Majesties costs
the barony approximately two dollars. While we are a relatively small barony, across the
entirety of the baronial polling that still comes out to a fairly significant amount of money.
And by using the electronic polling system you have until 1 Februrary to fill in your ballot and
actually send it to Their Majesties, avoiding the possibility that a delay in the postal system
would cause your ballot to arrive late and so not be counted.

HOW DO I VOTE ELECTRONICALLY?

  1. Access to the baronial polling will be through the Atlantian polling system at
    https://polling.atlantia.sca.org./index.php
    You will see the arms of the various baronies at the top of the page, and can proceed to log in if you have an identity and password in the Atlantian Enterprise Login (AEL) system.  If you have recently taught or taken classes at the University of Atlantia or are a member of the Orders of the Laurel, Pearl, Pelican, Golden Dolphin, etc., you will have a login ID and password. 

  2.  If you do not have an ID and password, then you will need to request one. (Note that you  may have to create AEL logins for children who are members, since a majority of minors do NOT have enterprise logins.) You can do that by simply clicking on the Request an Account link and filling in the information requested on the screen that appears.  It would be a good idea to request an Account at least a couple of days before the deadline for electing to use the electronic ballot, (January 8, 2020)as we anticipate that the system managers may be a bit busy at that point!
  3. Once you have an AEL account (whether one you had for university or an order or one you have
    just been assigned), go to polling.atlantia.sca.org  (baronial pollings log in). If you get an
    error message, that means that your ID is not properly linked to your paid membership. Fill in
    the information requested and the system managers will update your entry to link your
    membership and notify you that you have been verified. (If it goes more than two days and you
    have not been notified, contact Alisoun at silverdragon@charleston.net so she can check on your
    status!).
  4. Once your membership has been verified, you can log in and you will see several menu options
    on the left side of the screen. Choose the option for “Baronial Ballot Type”. If you have not yet
    selected that option, it will show a link that reads “Paper” as that is the default ballot type
    currently. If you click on that link, it will bring up a pop-up screen with information on your
    membership in the polling system. The very first item is “Opt-in”. If you click on the field, it
    will bring up the two options for electronic and paper ballots. Click on Electronic Ballot and
    click the “Update Ballot Type” button at the bottom of the pop-up window. You can then log out
    from the system.
  5. Once you have chosen to use the electronic ballot (on or before 8 January when that option goes
    away!), all you have to do when the balloting opens on 15 January, is to come back to the
    Baronial side of the ESP to fill out and send your polling.
  6. Note that the home page has an option which can automatically send the members an email when
    the polling opens and a warning when the polling will close the next day, as well as a reminder
    until you have completed the polling. Those options may already be pre-selected. If they are not, it would be a good idea to select both the notification for the polling opening and that for the imminent closing of the polling just to remind you that you have not completed the polling.
  7. If you have any questions about the electronic polling process (it is MUCH easier to do than to describe!), send me an email at silverdragon@charleston.net or call me at 843-209-1425.

Alisoun