Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Did you join the NDP after Jack Layton's death? You might not be eligible to vote for the next leader.

I just noticed on the NDP's website the early and late cut-off dates that one must obtain an NDP membership in order to vote for the next leader of the federal NDP.  While all those who want to vote for the next leader must obtain a membership by February 18, 2012, NDP membership holders will have had to obtain their memberships after different dates depending on the province or territory where they live.

From the NDP website: http://leadership2012.ndp.ca/convention/how-vote
  • Individuals who take out memberships on or before February 18th 2012 are eligible to vote in Leadership 2012.
  • See the chart below for the membership cut-off date in your province/ territory. You must have joined or renewed your membership AFTER the following dates:
  •  
  • Newfoundland and Labrador September 15th, 2011
  • Prince Edward Island January 1st, 2011
  • Nova Scotia October 1st, 2011
  • New Brunswick February 18th, 2011
  • Quebec February 18th, 2011
  • Ontario September 15th, 2011
  • Manitoba September 1st, 2010
  • Saskatchewan September 15th, 2011
  • Alberta September 1st, 2011
  • British Columbia February 18th, 2011
  • Yukon November 20th, 2010
  • Northwest Territories February 18th, 2011
  • Nunavut February 18th, 2011

I live in Ontario.  I also signed up for a membership on August 24, 2011 just after the death of Jack Layton.  According to the membership sign-up requirements, I will not be eligible to vote unless I choose to renew my membership.  Since I signed up for a membership 23 days too early, I will not be eligible to vote.  I hope that the party will rectify this situation as I may choose not to renew my membership out of principle.  There may be a few members who may suddenly realize that they will not be eligible to vote if they joined the party a few days too early.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I just took out a membership, but mind you, if Mulcair is leader I will revoke.

rww said...

Your post is really silly. You are saying that if members quit the party (do not renew) they cannot vote. Duh. Why should they be able to.

I do not think anyone who only joins the party in order to vote for the leadership but has no long term commitment should be able to vote.

Skinny Dipper said...

No, what I am saying is that I joined the party to support the party in the long run. However, I do expect that my membership will be good for more than six months.

So far, I have not received a membership card (either physically or electronically). I do have confirmation that I paid for a membership. However, I have no confirmation that I am actually a member (other than by receiving telephone calls and emails from the leadership teams). Since there was no confirmation of my membership, there is also no confirmation of the expiry date of such membership.

Finally, I did actively support a local NDP candidate in the last provincial election. I did put up signs, phoned voters, and knocked on doors.

Skinny Dipper said...

My main concern is that some people may think that they are eligible to vote for the next leader. They may be surprised to discover that they don't have this right.

Mimi Williams said...

Your membership is for a year, with provincial wings having diffent years. If your membership expires before the cutoff and it's not renewed, it's no longer valid and you can't vote.

There is nothing at all untoward about that. Surely if you're going to leave the party on "principle", you can find something a little more substantive than this.

Skinny Dipper said...

Hi Mimi,

It's not that I want to leave the party. Far from it. It's just that I don't feel that I should have paid for a membership that was only good for 23 days. Had I known about the early-bird cut-off date, I would have waited to sign-up for a membership. If I were living in a different province, my paid membership would be good during the vote.

C Chmelyk said...

For the purposes of the leadership race, and as a show of good faith to all of those "early birds" who signed up early, why not honour the memberships of anyone who signed up or renewed AFTER Jack's passing but BEFORE the Feb 18 deadline. I cannot see why the Federal wing could not do so even in the absence of agreement from the Provincial sections.
PS: Hi, Mimi!

Anonymous said...

Hmm, I took out a Membership during the leadership convention and have yet to receive any confirmation. I get a lot of emails from them, however, no confirmation.

TM