BURBANK—Burbank ANCA reported that its ballot spotters called in last Saturday with news that ballots for Burbank’s all-mail February 26 Primary election had arrived in people’s homes.
“Based on a decade of all-mail election experience, we established our ballot spotter program this time,” explained Hagop Hergelian, Armenian National Committee of America—Burbank’s ballot spotter coordinator. “Because of the vagaries of the Post Office’s ballot delivery, we’ve always had trouble knowing when to start with our targeted voter outreach. This time, we wanted to be prepared and had three people watching for the arrival of their ballot in each of Burbank’s five zip codes.”
Arrival of the ballots triggered Burbank ANCA’s get-out-the-vote effort and volunteers were calling voters by Saturday and canvassing homes by Sunday.
Continuing the process of raising the level of civic participation by members of Burbank’s Armenian community is a prime goal for Burbank ANCA this year. “We hope to break all previous records of Armenian voter turnout with this election,” said Gaidzag Shahbazian, Burbank ANCA Electoral/Political Chair, “because our vote is our voice. Please vote, and vote early. This gives us more time to help others who may not be as familiar with the voting process.”
Voting is easy. Just fill in the bubbles next to the names of the candidates endorsed by the ANCA. (See the accompanying picture of the completed, two sided, ballot). Then, tear off the top stub of the ballot and insert the ballot in the secrecy sleeve. Finally, put the ballot/secrecy sleeve in the envelope provided, sign the envelope, and drop it in the mail. This year, for the first time, the envelope is postage-paid, so voters don’t have to put a stamp on it.
As a reminder the endorsed candidates are:
City Council: David Gordon, Robert “Bob” Frutos, and Jess Talamantes
Board of Education: Armond Aghakhanian and Larry Applebaum
City Clerk: Zizette Mullins
If you have not received your ballot yet, contact the Burbank City Clerk’s office, 818/238-5851, and request a replacement ballot. If you encounter difficulties doing this, need help with the voting process, or have any questions, please call the Burbank ANCA at 818/562-1918 or e-mail at: Info@ancaburbank.org.
The Armenian National Committee of America—Burbank advances the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian community and promotes its increased civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.
