ATA members should vote!

We get the leaders we vote for. ATA is fortunate to have an all-volunteer Board of Directors that dedicate their time and energy to directing and bettering our organization. These directors and other specific positions are elected at an annual meeting of voting members during the annual conference each year.

In September, ATA always gives voters the information to carry out our duty to vote with intelligence. In the past, ATA has published candidate statements. Since 2017, they also release candidate statements by podcast.

For 2019, this is the timeline:

Become a voting member.

Become a voting member by September 22, 2019 (preferably well in advance): There are several ways to do this:

1. Through Active Membership Review
2. By becoming an ATA Certified Translator (CT): CTs become voting members as of their date of certification (after passing the ATA certification exam)
3. By becoming an ATA Credentialed Interpreter (CI): CIs become voting members as of the approval of their CI designation (after having their non-ATA interpreter credentials verified by fulfilling these requirements)

According to ATA President Corinne McKay, “If you are approved [by the deadline], you can vote in the October election. This process is free and takes literally five minutes. Also, remember that you do not have to attend the conference in order to vote; if you have voting status in ATA, you can vote by electronic proxy and everyone will receive that information before the conference.”

Become an informed voter.

a) Read the candidate statements published in the Chronicle in September and/or listen to the podcast containing the candidates’ statements (released in early October).

b) You can also find other supporting information to help you make your decision, such as the ATA profile of each candidate, what they have done in ATA or local chapters, or a LinkedIn profile… There is so much we can do now that the possibilities are endless. You can also email the candidates directly with questions.

Get out and vote!

a) Attend the election at the ATA Conference on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. and vote, OR

b) Sign up to vote by proxy/mail

If you care about the future of our organization—and our profession—voting is one way to change things for the better. Let’s support democracy at ATA!

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