2015 USCF Executive Board Election

Two years ago I discussed the 2013 USCF Executive Board Election, and last year, with two candidates for two positions, the election was a non-event. This year the candidates were announced some months ago in 2015 Executive Board election candidates (uschess.org; January 2015; USCF membership required to view the original post):-

The following individuals submitted nomination petitions for the 2015 Executive Board election: Randy Bauer, Anjelina Belakovskaia, Charles D. Unruh. Regrettably, Mr. Unruh's submitted petitions fell short of the requirements of Article VI Section 4 of the USCF Bylaws. Therefore, the Election Committee announces that two candidates have qualified for the 2015 USCF Executive Board election.

All three would-be candidates made an appearance later in the thread. Two weeks into the thread, we learned,

Boyd Reed is mounting a write-in campaign. He is well respected and energetic, so he stands a real chance.

Reed made an appearance a few days later, responding to the question,

How does one run a "write-in" campaign?

He answered,

One runs a write-in campaign for the EB the same way one might run a write-in campaign for any other elected position - by contacting voters directly. Meeting people directly, emails, phone calls, Internet discussion and direct mail would be my tools of choice. It is correct that write-in candidates do not get candidate statements in Chess Life. Nor do they appear on the printed ballot. But if it gets more people energized and sufficiently interested to register and vote, the Federation benefits.

Former USCF President Bill Goichberg, a long-time chess insider, weighed in on his website with an opinion piece, The 2015 USCF Executive Board Election (checkmate.us). He recommended,

There are two Executive Board seats to be filled this year, and two candidates on the ballot, Randy Bauer and Anjelina Belakovskaia. Another candidate, Boyd Reed, is campaigning for write-in votes. • I recommend voting for Randy Bauer and writing in Boyd Reed.

As for my vote, I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. Bauer will undoubtedly be re-elected and voters who feel strongly will choose between Belakovskaia and Reed. Since that's fine with me, I won't waste a stamp on returning the ballot.

The results will be announced next month.