Flathead Electric Co-op set to hold trustee election

Three seats on Flathead Electric Co-op’s Board of Trustees are up for election this year. Potential candidates must be natural persons, members of the co-op, and must maintain primary residence within the district they seek to represent.

Trustee seats up for election are currently held by: Jake Van Houten, who represents District #2 which includes Lower Valley, Lakeside, Creston, Rollins and Cooke City; Gary Carmichael who represents District #3 which includes Whitefish and Big Mountain; and Alan Ruby, who represents District #5 which includes Kalispell and north of U.S. 2. 

Nominating petitions are due March 7. Eligible candidates will be added to the ballot. Completed nominating petitions require: 25 signatures from co-op members who also live in the candidate’s district; a high-resolution photograph to be used on the ballot insert; a candidate speech video no longer than three minutes; the candidate’s biography (100 words or fewer) to be used on the ballot insert. 

Electronic voting is available and gives members another option in election participation, as well as saving paper and postage costs for the not-for-profit co-op. Members who have not yet opted out of paper ballots may do so beginning Jan. 9 and will be automatically entered to win one of 10 $50 electric bill credits. 

On or about Jan. 9, all co-op members with email addresses on file who have not already opted out of receiving a paper ballot for annual co-op elections will receive an email from the Co-op’s independent election administrator, Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS). The e-mail allows members to enter their preferred email address for voting, which will opt them out of their paper ballot for this and future elections. To vote electronically, members who have not previously opted out of paper ballots must do so by March 1. If members take no action by March 1, a paper ballot will be mailed to them when the election opens in April. 

When the electronic election opens on April 19, members who have opted out of paper ballots may vote via e-mailed ballot; on the My Co-op mobile app; or by logging into their account via the co-op’s website. 

Additional election information and an FEC district map are available at www.flatheadelectric.com/trusteeelectioninfo or by contacting Cindy Crosswhite at 751-4444 or c.crosswhite@flathead.coop.