Remember to mark your calendar this month to vote in this year’s Cuivre River Electric Cooperative (CREC) Board of Directors election. Starting on July 19, members may vote online, request a paper ballot, or vote in person at the co-op’s annual meeting on August 26.
At this writing, the annual meeting will go on as scheduled, however, should the coronavirus situation worsen, please check the CREC website for updates on the meeting’s status.
This year, CREC members will decide director races in the following districts: Lincoln County District 3, St. Charles County Districts 1 and 3, and Warren County District 2.
Free electricity prizes will be awarded to winners drawn from the entire pool of voters — online, paper ballot and in-person. Prizes will be awarded in the week following the meeting, and winners will be contacted directly. Seventeen names will be drawn for free electricity prizes ranging from $200 to $1,500.
The voting process is handled by the independent firm of Survey and Ballot Systems (SBS), based in Eden Prairie, Minn., who provides several ways for members to vote starting on July 19:
Vote online — If you have a valid email address on file with CREC, you may receive an email containing a direct link to your ballot. If you do not have an email address on file with us, or you do not receive the email link or prefer not to use it, you can still access online voting. Type directvote.net/crec/ directly into your web browser (not into a search engine) to access the login page of the 2021 Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Ballot (PLEASE NOTE: This link will not be available until July 19). You will be asked to provide your member number (without the dash or numbers after the dash) and the zip code of your billing address.
Vote by paper ballot — You can request a paper ballot starting July 19 by contacting Survey and Ballot Systems, which facilitates the election for CREC. Call 952-974-2339 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or email support@directvote.net. Complete your ballot and return it in the postage-paid return envelope. Do not mail or bring your ballot to Cuivre River Electric or the annual meeting.
Vote at a CREC office — If you do not have a computer at home you can visit a CREC office (Troy or Lake Saint Louis) and vote online at a computer kiosk.
Vote at the annual meeting on August 26 — A voting station will be open on-site at the annual meeting at our Troy headquarters. You will need to bring your driver’s license or ID and a copy of your electric bill if you have it, to register and vote.