ARRL Northwestern Division Director Jim Pace, K7CEX, and Vice Director Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ, overcame challengers for their respective positions in the 2016-2018 election cycle. Ballots counted November 20 at ARRL Headquarters showed that Pace defeated challenger William Balzarini, KL7BB, 2190 to 654 votes, while Altus outpolled challenger Delvin Bunton, N7QMT, 2061 to 776 votes. Pace and Altus have been declared elected. The count took place under the supervision of a representative of CohnReznick LLP, the League’s independent auditor. Three tellers, appointed by the Ethics & Elections Committee, were New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI; ARRL Chief Financial Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY, and ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ.

Pace, who had been elected Northwestern Division Vice Director in 2012, moved into the Director’s chair in 2014, after former Director Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF, was elected ARRL Second Vice President at the ARRL Board of Directors annual meeting. President Kay Craigie, N3KN, tapped Altus, then Oregon Section Manager, as Vice Director to succeed Pace, who previously had served as Western Washington SM.

Incumbents in four other ARRL Divisions faced no challengers in the current election cycle and have been declared re-elected. They are Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Vice Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA; Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, and Vice Director Bill Hudzik, W2UDT; New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, and Roanoke Division Director Dr Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, and Vice Director Bill Morine, N2COP.

New terms of office for all successful candidates begin at noon on January 1, 2016.

This election cycle marked a return paper ballots. The ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee decided in January to return to using solely paper ballots, after instituting a hybrid paper and electronic balloting process in the fall of 2012. Online balloting proved popular among those who took advantage of it, but overall voter participation declined significantly. See August 2015 QST, p 78, for more information.