By Kristin Gilpatrick
$686 million Marine Federal Credit Union knew it wanted more members to participate in board elections. It thought maybe electronic voting would help and, for the first time, added e-ballots for the election held early this year.
Read on to see just how well this worked.
“Membership involvement, member ownership, is what makes credit unions different from banks, yet until now, only about 500 of our 107,000 members voted to elect directors. Like at many credit unions, less than 1 percent of our members were part of the ownership, part of the difference,” explains Craig Chamberlin, president/CEO of the Jacksonville, N.C.-based credit union.
Though the opportunity for participation was always there because members could attend the annual meeting or vote by paper ballot, most members didn’t seize that opportunity. “Ultimately, we wanted all members involved in what makes us different, and … decided that technology could help us reach our member participation goals,” he adds.
Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Clark says the credit union knew it wanted to use electronic voting options to increase member participation, “but that’s really all we knew going into the process,” he says. “We weren’t sure what to expect. It was a blank sheet of paper and CUES helped us fill in the blanks.”
The credit union decided to enlist the help of CUES CUES eVote™: Elect and Educate, as well as increase its marketing and member education, to boost this year’s election participation. The CU’s process included member education about the new process, the candidates and the importance of voting. Members got the word through many channels, including the credit union’s paper and electronic newsletters, emails, and direct mail pieces. The program also included the option of paper ballots for members who wanted them.
“We kept a close eye on the dollar and on the results, comparing paper to electronic ballots and monitoring voting data throughout the election time,” notes Clark. “The whole electronic process went smoothly, seamlessly, and member participation was higher than ever.”
In fact, they saw a 500% increase when 3,000 members voted this year, using mostly electronic but also some paper ballots.
“We are tickled with such a substantial increase in participation we saw by offering electronic voting,” Chamberlin adds. “After all, ownership participation is what the election process is all about.”
Kristin Gilpatrick is a freelance writer for CUES.
Learn more about CUES eVote and how it can increase your member participation today.
