INFORMS Open Forum

This week you should have received two emails about proposed amendments to the INFORMS Constitution. You can read all about the amendments here: https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Governance/Constitutional-Amendment

Any questions about the proposed amendments are welcome in this forum. But my message today is to bring your attention to the process of voting.

Our constitution requires that at least 20% of INFORMS members vote for the vote to count. It also requires that those votes arrive by mail. Yes – snail mail. We realize this is a bit burdensome (and one of the proposed amendments addresses this issue), but it's critically important that you take the time to participate in the vote and help us reach 20%. Here's what to do:

1. Look for the email from INFORMS Secretary Mark Lewis, sent by INFORMS Election Coordinator <mailto:noreply@directvote.net> on November 3, 2022 with a subject line "Important – INFORMS Changes to the Constitution".
2. Click on the link in the email to open and print the PDF ballot
3. Write your member number on the ballot. Your member number will be in the email or can be found by logging into your account at https://myaccount.informs.org/s/login/
4. Mark your selection by filling in the box next to your choice
5. Enclose the ballot in a sealed envelope and write your name on the envelope (it must have your name on the envelope, or it won't count!)
6. Mail it to Survey & Ballot Systems, 7653 Anagram Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA (not to the INFORMS office)

You'll have the collective gratitude of the entire INFORMS Board and staff if you do this TODAY – don't wait! In early December, our voting vendor will mail paper ballots to members who have not voted yet. Envelopes must be received by February 28, 2023. Please vote now and save the time and money it will take to mail ballots out to you.

Thank you, and feel free to reply with any questions about the voting process or the amendments!

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David Hunt
Vice President
Oliver Wyman
Princeton NJ
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Hello, thank you for the information. I just want to confirm that student members are eligible to vote? Thank you!

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Harsh Anand
Graduate Student
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA
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The answer is YES. All member types have an equal vote, including students. Thank you for checking!

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Laura Albert
INFORMS President-Elect
Professor and David H. Gustafson Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-04-2022 13:05
From: Harsh Anand
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

Hello, thank you for the information. I just want to confirm that student members are eligible to vote? Thank you!

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Harsh Anand
Graduate Student
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA
------------------------------

Thanks for the information. I wanted to confirm that - Is there really not a way to vote online? Thanks! 


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Mihir Mehta
Penn State University
State College PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-05-2022 09:47
From: Laura Albert
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

The answer is YES. All member types have an equal vote, including students. Thank you for checking!

------------------------------
Laura Albert
INFORMS President-Elect
Professor and David H. Gustafson Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-04-2022 13:05
From: Harsh Anand
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

Hello, thank you for the information. I just want to confirm that student members are eligible to vote? Thank you!

------------------------------
Harsh Anand
Graduate Student
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA

Hi Mihir,

 Thanks for asking the question -- I am sure it is on a lot of peoples' minds.

Unfortunately, you can't vote online. You must vote by mailing your paper ballot because that's what our constitution currently requires. But it's also one of the things that the proposed amendments would change.  We ask you to please take the time to mail back the paper ballot, even though we know it is somewhat inconvenient. It's a chance to truly make a difference and we're very grateful for every vote!

Many thanks for helping us make a difference for the future!

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Radhika Kulkarni
Vice President, Advanced Analytics R&D (retd.)
SAS Institute Inc. (retired)
Durham NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-06-2022 06:19
From: Mihir Mehta
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

Thanks for the information. I wanted to confirm that - Is there really not a way to vote online? Thanks! 


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Mihir Mehta
Penn State University
State College PA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-05-2022 09:47
From: Laura Albert
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

The answer is YES. All member types have an equal vote, including students. Thank you for checking!

------------------------------
Laura Albert
INFORMS President-Elect
Professor and David H. Gustafson Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison


Original Message:
Sent: 11-04-2022 13:05
From: Harsh Anand
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

Hello, thank you for the information. I just want to confirm that student members are eligible to vote? Thank you!

------------------------------
Harsh Anand
Graduate Student
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA

Thank you for posting all of this information here as a reference.
I can't find the email you mentioned though, so I may have accidentally deleted it.  What should I do to still be able to vote even if I lost the email?

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Erin Garcia
Lecturer
Auburn University
Auburn AL
------------------------------

That's okay, and thank you for asking. Even if you can't find the email, no worries at all. You can download the ballot from the web page: https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Governance/Constitutional-Amendment. Your member number can be found by logging into your account: https://myaccount.informs.org/s/.  Please ensure that your name is on the sealed envelope and mail your ballot to our voting vendor, Survey & Ballot Systems, 7653 Anagram Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA. They have a complete list of eligible voters. If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to me. We thank you for voting!

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Grace Trent
Executive Assistant & Board Services Administrator
INFORMS
Catonsville MD
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-08-2022 15:12
From: Erin Garcia
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

Thank you for posting all of this information here as a reference.
I can't find the email you mentioned though, so I may have accidentally deleted it.  What should I do to still be able to vote even if I lost the email?

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Erin Garcia
Lecturer
Auburn University
Auburn AL
------------------------------

Happy to say I sent my ballot back as soon as I got the email - didn't want to forget! #ADHDBrain I even used one of my fancy new Women Cryptologists of WWII stamps. 

The web page with info: https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Governance/Constitutional-Amendment 

Lisa

​

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Lisa Yeo
Assistant Professor
University of California, Merced
Merced CA
lyeo2@ucmerced.edu
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I am just commenting to encourage my fellow members to vote.  Yes, mailing ballots is inconvenient, but if the amendment is accepted, hopefully we will never have to do it again!

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Dayana Cope
GM, Decision Science
Delta Airlines
Decatur GA
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To encourage everyone to vote, I also put my ballot in the mail today and made sure to write my name on the envelope.

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Banafsheh Behzad
Associate Professor
College of Business
California State University, Long Beach
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 08:42
From: Dayana Cope
Subject: Voting process - INFORMS' constitutional amendments

I am just commenting to encourage my fellow members to vote.  Yes, mailing ballots is inconvenient, but if the amendment is accepted, hopefully we will never have to do it again!

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Dayana Cope
GM, Decision Science
Delta Airlines
Decatur GA
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I just put my constitutional amendment ballot in the mail. Have you?

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Neil Desnoyers
ndesnoye@sju.edu
Adjunct Professor
Saint Joseph's University
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