ELECTIONS AS PUBLIC SECTOR WORK

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of a democratic government to ensure that free and fair elections upon which a democracy depends are beyond reproach; and 

WHEREAS, private corporations are unsuited for this task because of the vested interests of people behind the corporate veil and the profit motive; and

WHEREAS, corporations are compromised by partisan conflicts of interest due to campaign giving; and

WHEREAS, corporations doing public work often limit public access to their work and claim that systems built with public funds are proprietary; and

WHEREAS, private corporations are less accountable than public institutions in terms of protecting citizens’ personal data; and

WHEREAS, the administration of voter registration and of elections by corporations increases the opportunity for electoral fraud and reduces people’s confidence in elections:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers support a requirement that all aspects of the administration of elections be performed by public employees using a transparent process that is fully disclosed to its citizens; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT oppose contracting out to private corporations the administration and responsibility for elections; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support citizen volunteers who act as poll workers or in other election capacities and supports a requirement that adequate training be provided for all volunteers, either directly or with oversight by public employees.