What is TAFF? The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic. Since that time TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions. TAFF exists solely through the support of fandom. The candidates are voted on by interested fans all over the world, and each vote is accompanied by a donation of not less than $3 or £2 or €3. These votes, and the continued generosity of fandom, are what make TAFF possible.
Who may vote? Voting in the 2006 race is open to anyone who was active in fandom prior to April 2004, and who contributes at least $3 or £2 or €3 to the Fund. Larger contributions will be gratefully accepted. Voting is by secret ballot: only one vote per person, and you must sign your ballot. You may change your vote any time prior to the deadline.
Deadline: Votes in this race must reach the administrators by midnight, Saturday 27 May 2006. [Later: amended to earlier that day.]
Voting details: TAFF uses a preferential ballot system which guarantees automatic runoffs until a majority is obtained. You rank the candidates in the exact order of your preference for them. If the leading first-place candidate does not get a majority, the first-place votes for the lowest-ranking candidate are dropped, and the second-place votes on those ballots are counted as first-place votes. This process repeats itself until one candidate has a majority. Your votes for second and third place are important, but you may give your candidate only one ranking on your ballot. In order to win, a candidate must receive at least 20% of the first-ballot first-place votes on both sides of the Atlantic, separately. Any candidate failing to receive this minimum percentage on either side will be dropped, and the second-place votes on their ballots counted as first-place votes in the next ballot count. Thus candidates and their supporters will need to canvass fans on both sides of the pond. You may send your ballot to either administrator, but it will be tabulated with the other votes from the side of the Atlantic on which you reside. Votes from fans not resident in either Europe or North America will not count towards either 20% minimum, but are important to the outcome of the race.
Hold Over Funds: This choice, like 'No Award' in Hugo balloting, gives you the chance to vote for no TAFF trip this year, if the candidates do not appeal. Hold Over Funds may be voted for in any position, and is exempt from the 20% requirement; thus, if it receives a majority of the votes on the final ballot, no TAFF trip will be held this year regardless of how many votes Hold Over Funds received on the first ballot.
No Preference: For voters who prefer not to choose between candidates, but don't want the trip held over.
Donations: TAFF gratefully accepts your freely given money and material for auction; such generosity has sustained the Fund for over 50 years. TAFF is fandom's oldest travel fund, and one of its worthiest causes; give early and often! Please contact your nearest administrator for details.
Candidates: Each candidate has posted a bond, promising -- barring Acts of God -- to travel, if elected, to LACon IV, and has provided signed nominations and a platform (see below).
Please read all of this ballot before voting. Send entire sheet as your vote.
Name:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Address:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Phone number or email address:…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(we do not list or exchange this information)Signature:
Enclosed is ……………………………………………………………………………… as a contribution to TAFF.
Please make checks/cheques etc. payable to:
'Suzanne Tompkins' for US dollar cheques posted to Suzanne.
'TAFF' for all UK (sterling) cheques posted to Claire Brialey.
'James Bacon' for any other dollar or Euro cheques posted to James Bacon.
If you think your name may not be known to the administrators then, in order to qualify your vote, please give in the space below the name and address of an active fan (not a fan group, a candidate, or their nominator) who is known to them and to whom you are known.
Active fan known to the administrator:………………………………………………………………………….
2006 TAFF Ballot -- Europe to North America
'Bug' Bridget Bradshaw
I'm an active fan (since 1990), conrunner and fanzine writer (Obsessions, Squiggledy Hoy). I work for the SF Foundation and the UK's League of Fan Funds, and I keep a LiveJournal (bugshaw). I've stopped using my wheelchair -- hurrah! -- thanks to dairy intolerance and cheese avoidance -- boo! I would like to give myself to fandom in the US and Canada for six weeks, to meet new people and old friends. I am (I'm told) witty, interesting and enthusiastic. Expect my fund-raising to be imaginative, my accounts meticulous, and my report full of my sense of the absurd. And hamsters.
Nominators: Tom Becker & Spike Parsons (USA), Tony Keen (UK), David Langford (UK), Ulrika O'Brien (USA), Alison Scott (UK).
'½r' Arthur Cruttenden
What's in a name? Well -- in my case -- 26 letters, 2 spaces and a hyphen, which explains why I prefer 1/2r. Who am I? Gopher, staff and, in 1987, Eastercon committee member, running Beccon's fan-room. I've worked at many cons and am a past holder of the Doc Weir Award, given, I believe, in recognition of my providing bigger and better hangovers than any other fan. Have even pubbed my own ish. (Long ago, and I'm much better now, thanks). Have attended British and European Worldcons and would really love to see how American ones compare. PS: If you don't know what I look like, see p.68 of Mort: The Discworld Big Comic. I'm the wizard with .5 on his hat.
Nominators: Covert Beach (US), Pat McMurray (UK), Tobes Valois (UK) Pete Weston (UK), Ben Yalow (US).
'Sparks' Mike Rennie
Since the beginning of August I seem to have much more time on my hands, which has led me to consider a number of fannish things. Should I go back to producing fanzines? It has been 3 years since I produced a one-off fanzine Psychobabble at Torcon 3 and over a decade since I last edited TBD . Should I chair a convention? Well maybe we will give that a miss for a few years. Maybe I could run for TAFF, travel across the States, reliving the heady days of the great convention road trips, meeting new people, exchanging ideas, gossip and alcohol. Now if I can only persuade Orange County Choppers to lend me a motorbike…!
Nominators: Chaz Boston Baden (US), Steve Cooper (UK), Vince Docherty (NL), Brian Milton aka Munchkin (UK), René Walling (Canada).
Please read and fill out both sides of this sheet.
Send in entire sheet as your vote; do not detach this portion!
Please mark your preferences in numerical order: 1 for first choice, 2 for second, and so on.
[ __ ] 'Bug' Bridget Bradshaw
[ __ ] '½r' Arthur Cruttenden
[ __ ] 'Sparks' Mike Rennie
[ __ ] Hold Over Funds
[ __ ] No Preference
Send ballot and donation to:
James Bacon, 211 Black Horse Ave, Dublin 7, Ireland. (Euro and dollar cheques)
TAFF c/o Claire Brialey, 59 Shirley Road, Croydon, CR0 7ES, UK. (Sterling cheques)
Suzanne Tompkins, PO Box 25075, Seattle, WA 98165, USA. (US dollar cheques)
( JB )