Dear Group Executive Committee candidates

[julesjones]

I have this week received my voting packet for the union elections. And a very fine cure for insomnia it is, too. But I am doing my duty and reading the election addresses in order to make a decision on to who to vote for. Some of you are quite right, as an ordinary member I have never heard of the factions who are apparently a good reason to vote for this person or against that person. I've also never heard of any of you as individuals, apart from the one from my local branch. Which means that all I know about you is what you've put in your electoral address.

And if your electoral address ends mid-sentence with the words "400 word limit exceeded" in a nice bold font, what I now know about you is that you are incapable of following instructions in something as important as putting together your opportunity to persuade me to vote for you.

That tells me quite a lot about how good you will be at following rules in other places where they matter. Enough for me to make a decision on you without even reading the 400 words.


Yours with love,

A Member

Comments

[lexin]

That is a very good point.

[julesjones]

I was genuinely astonished by how many of them didn't seem to grasp this. I've only glanced at the National hustings booklet, but that doesn't seem to have the same issue -- perhaps it doesn't have such a tight word limit?

[zeborah]

This kind of method is how I whittle down the candidates when voting in local body elections too. Typos? eliminated. No photo? eliminated. Long explanation about how the government's controlling us through microwaves and whatnot? aw, kind of nice to know that guy's still hanging in there, but still not voting for him.