000815 Pork Producers Encouraged to Vote in Referendum

Des Moines, IA - With the opening of the absentee ballot request period, the first major producer contact of the Vote Yes effort is underway, state and national pork leaders announced.

State pork associations, with assistance from the National Pork Producers Council, have been busily contacting all the producers in their states for whom they have telephone numbers. The phone effort, funded with 100% non-checkoff dollars, ran between July 25 and July 29. NPPC itself did not make any calls.

“This is a 100% non-checkoff effort to identify eligible producers, help them request ballots from their FSA offices with their consent, and encourage as many producers as possible to vote,” explained Karl Johnson, co-chair of the national Vote Yes effort and a pork producer from Mankato, Minn. “States are not sending ballots directly to producers, and they are not helping producers request ballots unless the producer specifically gave them consent to do so. USDA reviewed the process before we began.”

“With only six weeks before the referendum voting, the best way to reach all the producers and get them involved in the referendum was by phone,” said Norman Schmitt, Rudd, Iowa, pork producer.

The phone calls were designed to do the following: Determine which producers are eligible to vote in the referendum; Inform eligible producers about the referendum voting procedure; and Assist producers who would like to request absentee ballots from their county FSA offices.

If producers indicated on the phone that they did not meet the eligibility requirements to participate in the referendum, the callers moved on to another producer. “From the beginning, we have said we will work hard to ensure a record turnout of legitimate, eligible pork producers,” said Johnson. “Anyone who said they weren't eligible to vote was moved off our possible voter list.”

Eligible producers were told they could either vote in person at their FSA office or have an absentee ballot sent to them by their FSA office. Diane Bettin, a Truman, Minn., pork producer pointed out, “If we want to have a high turnout of eligible voters, it is critical that we let them know where and when to cast their votes and explain the referendum procedures to as many producers as possible.”

Eligible producers were informed about the voting process and were offered assistance in participating by absentee. Specifically, producers were asked whether they would like a request for an absentee ballot submitted on their behalf to their county FSA office. Those who gave their consent will have their names and addresses relayed to their county FSA offices.

“The in-person voting days fall right in the middle of harvest,” noted David Bentley, a Marshall, Mo., pork producer. “It will be much easier for more producers to vote by absentee rather than taking time out at harvest to go into town and vote.”

The referendum rules clearly state that producers may request ballots from their county FSA office by mail, fax or phone. FSA offices will send out ballots in response to all requests received, but no more than one ballot per producer. There is no prohibition in the rules on assisting producers with the process of requesting an absentee ballot. There is also no requirement that a producer must present a signed request, as evidenced by the fact that requests by phone are also explicitly permitted.

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