2022 TAFF Ballot
Europe to North America

Please read both sides before voting and send the entire sheet as your vote.

The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund was created in 1953 to provide funds to bring well-known and active 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. It exists solely through the support and continued generosity of fandom.

Who may vote?

Voting in the 2022 race is open to anyone active in fandom before April 2020 who donates at least £3 (GBP), €3 (EUR), or $4 (USD) to TAFF. (Larger donations are very gratefully accepted.) Voting is by secret ballot, with one vote per person. You must provide your name on the ballot. You may change your vote at any time prior to the deadline. All votes must reach the administrators by 11:59pm (US Pacific Daylight Time, -07:00UTC) on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

Donations

The generosity of fandom has sustained TAFF, our longest-running travel fund, for almost 70 years. We gratefully accept your freely given money, material for auctions, and other relevant donations: give early and often! Please contact your nearest administrator for details.

Candidates

Each candidate has posted a bond of £10 or €12 promising to travel, if elected, to the 2022 Worldcon in Chicago, Illinois. Each candidate has three nominators on their side of the Atlantic and two on the other, each of whom has personally contacted the administrators with their nomination. Each candidate has also provided a platform of up to 101 words (published overleaf). Anyone active in SF fandom can run for TAFF as long as they fulfil these criteria for the relevant race. Contact your administrator about future races!

Voting system

TAFF uses a preferential voting system similar to the system used in voting for the Hugo Awards. Voters should rank candidates in order of preference. If necessary, the lowest-ranked candidates will be eliminated from the race and those votes redistributed in subsequent rounds according to the next ranking until one candidate has a clear majority.

A candidate must also receive at least 20% of the first-place votes on both sides of the Atlantic to win. 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. (Note: In years with more than three candidates, this rule is not applied until after the candidates with the fewest votes have been eliminated and just three candidates are left.)

Votes will be counted according to a voter's contact address, not where they send their ballot. Votes from fans not resident in either Europe or North America will not count toward either side of the Atlantic for the purpose of this rule.

Hold Over Funds

This choice, like "No Award" in Hugo balloting, gives you the chance to vote for no TAFF trip this year should you feel none of the candidates deserve your support. "Hold Over Funds" is exempt from the 20% requirement: if it receives a majority of the votes on the final ballot, no trip will be held this year.

No Preference

For voters who prefer not to choose between candidates but don't want the trip held over.

How to vote

The minimum donation to vote is £3 (GBP) or €3 (EUR) or $4 (USD). Checks should be made payable to "TAFF" (for cheques in GBP) or to "Geri Sullivan" (for checks in USD). PayPal donations should be made to one of the email addresses below. If you mail your printed and signed ballot, send it and your donation to:

Europe: Johan Anglemark, Lingonv. 10, SE-74340 Storvreta, Sweden. PayPal payments to: EUTAFF@gmail.com

North America: Geri Sullivan, 37 Monson Rd, Wales, MA 01081-9743 USA. PayPal payments to: TAFF@toad-hall.com

The 2022 TAFF Candidates

Anders Holmström

Second time lucky for your Swedish all-purpose multifunctional fan? I found fandom through fanzines and conventions offered even more: I’ve gophered (and helped run small cons), gamed, filked, won costuming awards, taken part in programme, supported fan fund delegates and enjoyed hanging out with authors. I learned to drink real ale in fandom, and now I enjoy sharing and discussing craft beer. Books, fanzines and movies are good company, but even better with friends; I still love both the community and diversity of fandom, its history and how it changes with new cool stuff. I hope it’s time to meet again.

Nominated by: (Europe) Christina Lake, Alison Scott, Tobes Valois. (NA) Ulrika O'Brien, Nigel Rowe.

Fia Karlsson

You can’t spell FIAWOL without Fia!

My fannish life escalated quickly, from starting a local fandom club, to hosting book auctions, chairing cons, working as the Social Media Area Head for Worldcon 75 in Finland and being the Nordic Fan Fund delegate to Octocon in Dublin in 2017. I'm also a proud adopted member of Finnish fandom and recipient of the Swedish SF fandom Alvar award. 

I love travelling, meeting new people and am now dreaming of doing a travel blog about my TAFF-trip to Chicago. My great-grandfather emigrated there in the 1920s so it’s a special place for me.

Nominated by: (Europe) John ‘JC’ Clarke, Jukka Halme, Mihaela Perković. (NA) Colette Fozard, Lucy Huntzinger.

Mikołaj Kowalewski

I was born in 1998 in Poland. Since I joined fandom, every three years something new happens to me. I played my first RPG in 2012, attended my first convention in 2015, and ran one in 2018. Since then, I've also been counting nominations for the Janusz Zajdel Award (Polish "Hugo"). In 2021, I traveled to SMOFcon Europe in Lisbon; I also worked on 10 conventions including 6 online ones. So far, I've been a member and in most cases volunteer of ~40 conventions including 6 abroad: the Irish and Finnish Worldcons, Titancon/Eurocon, SMOFcon Europe, and twice the UK Discworld convention.

Nominated by: (Europe) John Dodd, Marcin 'Alqua' Kłak, James Shields. (NA) Pam Burr, Ian Stockdale.

Julie Faith McMurray

Hasn’t it been difficult? I’m lucky, I had good friends to zoom with, I have my beautiful husky, and I had my art. In the past, I didn’t create much, I helped others make their art – I ran artshows, worked with children and art. Four years ago a friend invited me to a 28-day challenge and I just never stopped. I’ve drawn every day since, using acrylics, pen and ink, shirts, Procreate, experimenting and learning every day. Being able to create has given me so much, now I want to meet others and share that happiness and joy with you.

Nominated by: (Europe) DC, Barbara Jane, Cristina Pulido Ulvang. (NA) Henry Balen, Whitfield Diffie.

Please rank candidates with 1, 2, etc. where 1 is your first preference:

[ ] Anders Holmström [ ] Fia Karlsson [ ] Mikołaj Kowalewski
[ ] Julie Faith McMurray [ ] Hold Over Funds [ ] No Preference

Name:

Address:

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If you think your name may not be known to the administrators, please provide the name of an active fan (not a fan group, a candidate, or one of their nominators) who is known to the administrators and who can vouch for you being an active fan, eligible to vote.

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TAFF might contact you regarding your ballot or to send out newsletters. We do not publish your data or pass it to any other organization.

Reproduction of this form is encouraged. It is the official voting vehicle and must be reproduced verbatim.

All votes must reach the administrators by 11:59pm (US Pacific Daylight Time, -07:00UTC) on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

Anyone reproducing this form should substitute their name here: David Langford.