Voting in the NRA Election < Spread The Word!!

[JeffKnox]

Ballots have been delivered for the 2024 NRA Board of Directors Election. If you received a ballot package in your March NRA magazine, you're a Voting Member.
I am one of four candidates for the Board that were nominated by petition of the members, not the establishment's Nominating Committee. The four of us are committed to reforming the NRA to get it back on track, end the lies and corruption, and make the NRA strong and effective once more.
The Four for Reform are Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and me, Jeff Knox.
We're asking NRA members to mark your ballots for just the four of us and no one else, as all of the other candidates are either incumbents (who have allowed the corruption to flourish) or were selected by the establishment's Nominating Committee.
Each year the NRA sends out about 2.5 million ballots to eligible Voting Members, and each year, only about 5% to 7% are ever returned. That means 92% to 95% of ballots go to waste and are never voted. That's sad.
The NRA is in serious trouble. The official response from NRA President Charles Cotton to the verdicts in the recent New York trial (posted here on this forum) demonstrate the fact that the current "leadership" has learned nothing from the past 5 years of turmoil and collapse. They're now claiming that the guilty verdicts in the NY case support what they have contended "all along," that the NRA was the victim of unscrupulous "vendors and insiders" who took advantage of their positions to reward themselves at the NRA's expense.
While that's partially true, the sad reality is that "all along" was really just the past month, and ignores the fact that the current leadership spent the past 5 years shielding and lying for those "insiders," costing the Association (you and me) well over $100 million in legal fees alone, and resulting in the loss of almost $200 million per year in lost revenue and over 1.5 million members.
The trial will now move to a second phase in which the judge will hear arguments and make decisions regarding remedies to try and get the NRA back on the right path.
The judge could just chastise the current leadership and warn them to do better, or he could dissolve the Board, remove the officers and executives, dismiss the current election, and install a Special Master to take control of the NRA and oversee its reorganization.
He will most likely choose a course of action somewhere between those two extremes.
Whatever the judge decides, it is critical that we have dedicated NRA members in place to help guide that decision and ready to step in to help guide the Association back to a position of strength and effectiveness.
The Four for Reform know that our influence will be limited on a Board of 76 members. We recognize that we won't be able to turn things around by ourselves. But if we don't get elected, or at least do well enough to catch the judge's attention, then the same people who sat by and allowed the corruption and subsequent wasteful coverup to continue, will be the only ones in a position to represent the membership going forward.
That doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
A few of those current board members have recently started talking about serious reform. That's good. I hope they're being honest and are finally beginning to see the light. If they are sincere, I look forward to working with them going forward. But sadly, the only current Director who made public statements and voted against the regime was Buz Mills of Gunsite. All the rest either voted against reform efforts, or sat on their hands.
There are 34 candidates listed on your NRA ballot this year vying for 25 seats on the Board of Directors. Twenty five of the candidates are incumbents running for reelection. Five candidates are "new" names selected by the board's Nominating Committee, which is controlled by the failed regime. Only four, Journey, Marshall, Fusaro, and Knox, are outsiders nominated by petition of the members.
You can vote for up to 25 candidates, but you don't have to vote for all 25. Bullet voting for just the four of us increases the weight of your votes and increases the odds that the four of us will be elected. Due to his name recognition as the owner of Gunsite Academy, Buz Mills always gets enough votes to easily win a seat. He and Ronnie Barrett will be among the top vote-getters in this election, so he doesn't need our help or your vote to win a seat, though including a vote for Buz doesn't hurt us. What does hurt is if you vote for 20 or 25 candidates, even if you include the four of us. Those extra votes serve to bolster the votes of low-information NRA voters who just vote for the Nominating Committee candidates.
To give your votes the most weight, only vote for the four reform candidates. If you personally know any of the other candidates and are convinced that they've seen the light and won't continue to support the cabal that's been driving the Association down the drain, it's your choice to include them, but don't vote for people you don't know, and keep your selections to a minimum.
Again, the best way to ensure that true reform candidates get elected is to vote for only four -- Marshall, Journey, Fusaro, and Knox -- then mail the ballot in well before the April 28 deadline.
There's also a Byalw change question on the ballot. The object of the Bylaw amendments is to create a new officer position called the Chief Compliance Officer. The CCO will be responsible for ensuring that all laws, rules, regulations, and policies are always followed by all NRA personnel. This position shouldn't be needed, as those responsibilities are supposed to be taken care of by the Board's Audit Committee. Unfortunately the Audit Committee has long been just a rubber stamp for whatever the CEO and his minions have wanted to do. The longtime Chair of the Audit Committee is Charles Cotton. The Vice Chair and former Chair of the committee is David Coy. Both have failed spectacularly in their duties and obligations on the Audit Committee, and both have been rewarded for those failures by being elected to serve as President and Vice President of the Board. Are you beginning to see the problem?
That's why I am voting YES on the Bylaw amendment question.
Obviously, it is easy for people to suggest that this post is self-serving, as I am one of the candidates that I'm asking you to vote for.
All I can say in response to that is that I've been a Life Member of the NRA since I started buying my Life Membership on a term plan with my first paycheck out of Basic Training back in 1978. Service on the Board is a volunteer position. None of us are supposed to receive any compensation for serving as a Director. Too many of the current Directors have skirted that rule and been paid "speaking fees" for attending Friends of NRA banquets, "consulting fees" for "advising" the CEO, or holding paid positions within state associations that receive grants from the NRA to pay their salaries. I will not take any money from the NRA beyond reimbursement for actual travel and lodging costs incurred fulfilling my obligatory duties as a Director.
As a professional writer, I would love to have my articles appear in NRA publications, but I will not accept payment, or will donate any payments I do receive, right back to the NRA or the NRA Foundation, for any of my articles that appear in any NRA publications.
I'm not seeking any paid position within the NRA, and I have no desire to serve on the Board for any longer than I absolutely have to in order to help get the organization back on track. Hopefully that would be just one 3-year term.
I've already gone too long in this post so I'll close by saying that I will do my best to monitor this post and answer any questions any forum members post in response.
I'll also reiterate my primary call to action by asking all concerned NRA Voting Members to please vote for only the Four for Reform: Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Denis Fusaro, and Jeff Knox -- and no one else, and to vote YES on the Bylaw question.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your questions.
In Liberty,
Jeff Knox
The Firearms Coalition | Ammunition for the grassroots gun rights movement

[ladder13]

Your circle was filled in.

[Grayfox]

I think a great many NRA members are currently in a wait and see mode. Will the NRA get back in the fight or just continue the poor business as usual that's been going on for years?

[GypsmJim]

I'm basically lazy, and thus I rarely give likes. But I did here. Regardless I voted for the "four" and my ballet is in the mail.

Personally, I don't think we can wait and see. We need to take charge and do what we can now. Time is of the essence.

[Gamecock]

Bless you, Jeff Knox.

The Board is culpable in the absurd corruption of the organization. It was their legal and moral duty to constrain LaPierre.

[pmanton]

I have followed your instructions to the letter.
Best of luck to you Mr. Knox

[ISCS Yoda]

The Four for Reform are Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and me, Jeff Knox.

Done and done.

[stansdds]

Done and done for me too!

[BE Mike]

I've been looking for this kind of information. I hope that you can turn the NRA into the juggernaut that it once was.

[reddogs]

Thanks for explaining this process.Ballot is going out today using your advice.

[RMFnLA]

Jeff, I literally had to go fish my ballot out of the trash; that’s how disgusted I am with the NRA.

You four have my vote; do us proud!

[Skyhunter]

Done and done for myself as well!

WYT-P
Skyhunter

[Super Trucker]

So if only four are worth voting for, what EXACTLY is the problem with Rick Ector from Michigan?

I know him and must be completely blind because I'm not seeing what your claiming, in him, which is why I'm asking for specific details.

I'm doing so publicly to avoid anything shady as I've asked others to vote for him.

[Waldo]

Jeff, I was already going to vote for the 4 of you, My only question was about the new position. I am now going to vote for just the 4 of you and the new position. I also wanted to tell you I talked to your father several times at various events in Maryland. I have a great deal of respect for him and always voted for him in the NRA elections. I used to look forward to his columns in the Shotgun News.

[gwpercle]

Thanks for the heads up ...
I wasn't sure who to vote for , now I know ...
I have always advocated for voting the "undesirable" persons out of office ... not quitting / disbanding the NRA ...
It's important to stay and fight ... with your vote !
Gary

[326MOD10]

Just completed my vote and the 4 of you are on it.

I understand the playing the odds math part of it and how the typical person will vote randomly on many of the spots because they don't know any better.

Also the bio printed with the material is like any bio. What the person puts in is what is printed so you have to be careful there.

To the question above about knowing certain Board Members I would say if you know the person and know they are worthy of your vote then vote for who you wish.

BUT keep in mind something got the NRA to the point of where it is now and having served on a Board before (Not the NRA) those are the folks who have the responsibility to keep things in line. If that hasn't been happening then you can't blame anyone but the person who has the oversight and the member who keeps putting them back in that position.

I wish you luck and appreciate your efforts to stand up for the silent majority of members.

[kwill1911]

Jeff,

We all wish for reforms at the NRA. The problem is that the organization is structured in a way that votes don't matter. Any organization with a BoD that big means that it has little to no influence on meaningful decisions.

[robertrwalsh]

Right now I am inclined to vote AGAINST any incumbent and anybody recommended by the nominating committee, just on general principles.

[BE Mike]

Originally Posted by kwill1911

Jeff,

We all wish for reforms at the NRA. The problem is that the organization is structured in a way that votes don't matter. Any organization with a BoD that big means that it has little to no influence on meaningful decisions.

With all the dirty laundry out there for everyone to see, I think that there will be a lot of momentum for change for the better.

[handejector]

I asked Jeff to post this rather than me posting the article from his website with his permission. I felt it would carry more weight if he posted it.
Thanks, Jeff, for taking the time to do so. I really appreciate it!

Put me on record as fully supporting Jeff Knox, Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, and Dennis Fusaro and the new Bylaw.
PLEASE spread this message as far and wide as you can! Get this message out there. Let's get these four elected and rebuild the NRA!

Many of you have been perplexed by my policy of not allowing negative commentary or "bashing" of the NRA.
I had a good reason for that.
I knew Wayne's regime was hurting the NRA and membership was declining. However, the NRA was still the biggest dog we had in the fight against antigunners. I was not going to provide a platform to harm the NRA further and possibly decrease membership more. Even as flawed as it was under Wayne's regime, we had to keep it alive.
We are at a pivotal moment in history here, folks. Wayne is gone, and good riddance! We have a chance to elect four Directors that are focused on reform and rebuilding. We must get these four men elected!
PLEASE do as Jeff is asking, and vote for ONLY these four and vote yes for the Bylaw.

Read these key portions of Jeff's post again-

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

I am one of four candidates for the Board that were nominated by petition of the members, not the establishment's Nominating Committee. The four of us are committed to reforming the NRA to get it back on track, end the lies and corruption, and make the NRA strong and effective once more.
The Four for Reform are Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and me, Jeff Knox.
We're asking NRA members to mark your ballots for just the four of us and no one else, as all of the other candidates are either incumbents (who have allowed the corruption to flourish) or were selected by the establishment's Nominating Committee.

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

The NRA is in serious trouble.

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

There are 34 candidates listed on your NRA ballot this year vying for 25 seats on the Board of Directors. Twenty five of the candidates are incumbents running for reelection. Five candidates are "new" names selected by the board's Nominating Committee, which is controlled by the failed regime. Only four, Journey, Marshall, Fusaro, and Knox, are outsiders nominated by petition of the members.

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

You can vote for up to 25 candidates, but you don't have to vote for all 25. Bullet voting for just the four of us increases the weight of your votes and increases the odds that the four of us will be elected. Due to his name recognition as the owner of Gunsite Academy, Buz Mills always gets enough votes to easily win a seat. He and Ronnie Barrett will be among the top vote-getters in this election, so he doesn't need our help or your vote to win a seat,

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

What does hurt is if you vote for 20 or 25 candidates, even if you include the four of us. Those extra votes serve to bolster the votes of low-information NRA voters who just vote for the Nominating Committee candidates.

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

I'll also reiterate my primary call to action by asking all concerned NRA Voting Members to please vote for only the Four for Reform: Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Denis Fusaro, and Jeff Knox -- and no one else, and to vote YES on the Bylaw question.

C'mon, people, NOW is the time to do something to save the NRA! Don't look back on this time and say "I wish I'd-a done that!"
If we can't get the NRA back in order, all may eventually be lost in this fight.

[4T5GUY]

OK I’ve got my ballot filled out with just the four.

To be honest I haven’t voted in NRA elections since I voted for “Chuck,” the first time. I admit that I don’t really read the Rifleman anymore. (Obviously I wouldn’t have even known there was a ballot in the recent one.) I’ve tried to tell them to save some money and don’t send me the magazine. NOPE.

Don’t get me wrong I’m still reading the Rifleman but they are from the ‘60’s - early ‘70’s. A friend of mine loaned me banker boxes full of them with no late fee upon return.

Jim

[STCM(SW)]

Originally Posted by ISCS Yoda

Done and done.

Same here. was waiting for something like this before sending in my ballot......

[stansdds]

My ballot goes into the mail this morning!

[47knuckle]

Good. My ballot went in the mail yesterday.
I also called a friend who had asked me for suggestions on who to vote for.

Hope this works out well for the 4 of you, and our NRA

[NYlakesider]

MR Knox makes serious sense!--

[ladder13]

Glad I waited before sending my ballot in.

[sniper]

Blast it! I've been waiting for information regarding "something's rotten in the NRA", and information on how (if possible) to ghange it! But, somehow the ballot got in the shredding pile, and is gone! I remember years ago when some members...the only name I remember was John Wooters...iirc... and it seemed to make a difference. Now, unfortunately, I can only sit back and watch the war!

[Jon42]

Putting mine in tonight. Need a shake up to get on mission.

[crc4]

Where were the members of the Board speaking out about the corruption, fiduciary crimes, LaPierre's megalomania, and the outrageous salaries paid to insiders and outsiders for the past 30 years?

Where were the members of the Board not playing along with the corruption speaking out?

Why did members, even after knowing about the continual corruption, continue to send in money?

It's like going to the refrigerator, pulling out a jug of milk, discovering it's spoiled, then putting it back into the refrigerator and expecting it to get better in a couple of weeks.

No thanks.

[ladder13]

I have not sent a single penny since the revelations. I will start up again if/when these four are elected to the Board and I see the ship correcting course.

[Greyman50]

Mr Knox,
Thank you Sir for this post, Have been a NRA member since 1973 and an endowment member for 20 years. Have to be honest but have not voted in an election for many years due to the corrupt ineffectiveness of the NRA dealing with 2nd Amendment Rights, seemed few if any “ had what it takes” to return the NRA to its Traditional Role. Ballot is marked for the 4 of you and goes in the mail today.
Thank you again.

[handejector]

Originally Posted by crc4

It's like going to the refrigerator, pulling out a jug of milk, discovering it's spoiled, then putting it back into the refrigerator and expecting it to get better in a couple of weeks.

No thanks.

So, what will you do?
Go to the refrigerator, pull out a jug of milk, discover it's spoiled, throw it away, and expect a new jug of milk to magically appear?
Do something.

[Borderboss]

I'm no longer a member and won't be again until all the house cleaning is complete. The Board was just as culpable as WLP in his corruption, and that included spending millions of our money defending WLP. Outside of ejecting WLP with a golden parachute, I've seen nothing that shows any actual change has occurred. I'll keep watching, but in the meantime, my donations go to groups like GOA, SAF, and FPC who actually get things done to protect the 2A.

[handejector]

Originally Posted by Super Trucker

So if only four are worth voting for, what EXACTLY is the problem with Rick Ector from Michigan?

I know him and must be completely blind because I'm not seeing what your claiming, in him, which is why I'm asking for specific details.

I'm doing so publicly to avoid anything shady as I've asked others to vote for him.

Read it again. Jeff did not say only four are worth voting for.
It appears to me that Rick Ector will easily be reelected. The point in voting for only the four PETITION nominees is to be sure they get elected. Your vote is strengthened that way.
As Jeff said above:

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

You can vote for up to 25 candidates, but you don't have to vote for all 25. Bullet voting for just the four of us increases the weight of your votes and increases the odds that the four of us will be elected. Due to his name recognition as the owner of Gunsite Academy, Buz Mills always gets enough votes to easily win a seat. He and Ronnie Barrett will be among the top vote-getters in this election, so he doesn't need our help or your vote to win a seat, though including a vote for Buz doesn't hurt us. What does hurt is if you vote for 20 or 25 candidates, even if you include the four of us. Those extra votes serve to bolster the votes of low-information NRA voters who just vote for the Nominating Committee candidates.
To give your votes the most weight, only vote for the four reform candidates. If you personally know any of the other candidates and are convinced that they've seen the light and won't continue to support the cabal that's been driving the Association down the drain, it's your choice to include them, but don't vote for people you don't know, and keep your selections to a minimum.

[old tanker]

The ultimate crime and real betrayal of the membership in all this was not 3000 dollar suits, or private jets to the Bahamas. The loss of reputation and consequently, effectiveness advocating for the 2nd Amendment has resulted in harm that may never be overcome. Our most virulent enemies have gotten more than could they have ever imagined or even hoped.

[crc4]

Originally Posted by handejector

So, what will you do?
Go to the refrigerator, pull out a jug of milk, discover it's spoiled, throw it away, and expect a new jug of milk to magically appear?
Do something.

I will do something. I'll not play the "Let's give them money" to pretend to revive a corpse and I'll continue my support of GOA and the 2nd Amendment Foundation.

[CajunBass]

I was going to just toss the ballot but you can be sure I’ll send it in now with four votes marked.

Thanks Mr. Knox.

[Grayfox]

Can someone explain to me just why the NRA needs 75 people on its BoD? That seems like a huge waste of time and effort to me in order to get everybody to agree on anything.
Or is it just easier to hide that bad apple in a bigger barrel?

[Super Trucker]

Originally Posted by handejector

Read it again. Jeff did not say only four are worth voting for.
It appears to me that Rick Ector will easily be reelected. The point in voting for only the four PETITION nominees is to be sure they get elected. Your vote is strengthened that way.
As Jeff said above:

I saw the line saying bullet voting for the four of us .......... Ir looked to me as saying only vote for the four of us.

Sorry, I misunderstood what he said.

[s&wchad]

Originally Posted by JeffKnox

The Four for Reform are Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and me, Jeff Knox.
We're asking NRA members to mark your ballots for just the four of us and no one else, as all of the other candidates are either incumbents (who have allowed the corruption to flourish) or were selected by the establishment's Nominating Committee.

My ballot is filled out exactly as requested and on its way. Thank you for all your efforts!

[luvsmiths]

Originally Posted by handejector

So, what will you do?
Go to the refrigerator, pull out a jug of milk, discover it's spoiled, throw it away, and expect a new jug of milk to magically appear?
Do something.

Sounds like he did do something.
He stopped drinking milk.

[cougar015]

Wasn't even going to vote as this whole ordeal with finally flushing out the corruption of Wayne LaPierre has made me sick. I hate that he even has a Full Page Farewll article in the March American Riflemen/ Hunter. While Wayne has done a lot of good for the NRA, it was obvious to the membership that he was miss-using the funds of the organization for his own personal enjoyment. Neal Knox and others tried 2 years ago to stop the corruption and bring it to light and they were instead removed from their positions . I am a Lifelong member and at the Benefactor level and I will now be sending in my vote as requested. Good luck to the 4 challengers and if voted in, I hope you are successful in helping to make the changes you seek and we, the membership, want.

[NYlakesider]

Mr Knox my vote is in the mail, only 4 names checked!

[CH4]

The Four for Reform are Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and me, Jeff Knox.

Originally Posted by ISCS Yoda

Done and done.

Me too

Not knowing anyone else on the ballot, I just voted for the above 4.

[D Brown]

I'm glad I found this thread as I had recently received a call from my brother asking if I had any insight into who to vote for on the NRA Ballot.

I told him I would try to find some information and forward it to him. What I did was forward a link to this thread Voting in the NRA Election .

I strongly suggest that everyone reading this thread forward the above link to any voting members of the NRA that you happen to know.

Sincerely,

[BC38]

Sure wish I could vote.

I first joined the NRA in about 1987 or 1988

I've always been an annually renewing member.

BUT, with the almost monthly solicitations offering some kind of "gift" for early renewal, I got complacent and stopped reading the mailings.

A couple of years ago I accidentally missed an actual renewal deadline notice, and let my membership lapse for a short time. So now I haven't had 60 months of continuous membership, and therefore I'm not eligible to vote.

My bad. I just wish they would stop bombarding me with EARLY renewal requests and JUST send me one renewal notice a month or two before my membership expires. If they did that I wouldn't have been ignoring them and I'd be able to vote in this election. BUMMER! I guess I need to be more diligent about reading what they send me - and/or keeping closer track of my actual membership renewal dates.

Best of luck Mr. Knox. I hope we can get some new blood in the leadership. We need it.

[4T5GUY]

Originally Posted by BC38

I just wish they would stop bombarding me with EARLY renewal requests and JUST send me one renewal notice a month or two before my membership expires.

One easy way to see when a renewal is due is to look at the mailing address label on the American Rifleman. Mine is due July of 2025.

Jim

[VOLCANIC REPEATING ARMS]

Originally Posted by handejector

I asked Jeff to post this rather than me posting the article from his website with his permission. I felt it would carry more weight if he posted it.
Thanks, Jeff, for taking the time to do so. I really appreciate it!

Put me on record as fully supporting Jeff Knox, Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, and Dennis Fusaro and the new Bylaw.

Many of you have been perplexed by my policy of not allowing negative commentary or "bashing" of the NRA.
I had a good reason for that.
I knew Wayne's regime was hurting the NRA and membership was declining. However, the NRA was still the biggest dog we had in the fight against antigunners. I was not going to provide a platform to harm the NRA further and possibly decrease membership more. Even as flawed as it was under Wayne's regime, we had to keep it alive.
We are at a pivotal moment in history here, folks. Wayne is gone, and good riddance! We have a chance to elect four Directors that are focused on reform and rebuilding. We must get these four men elected!
PLEASE do as Jeff is asking, and vote for ONLY these four and vote yes for the Bylaw.

Read these key portions of Jeff's post again-












C'mon, people, NOW is the time to do something to save the NRA! Don't look back on this time and say "I wish I'd-a done that!"
If we can't get the NRA back in order, all may eventually be lost in this fight.

Take a look at Wikipedia, another biased and unfounded opinions of people that have never owned firearms. Makes the NRA look like we don't care. Quite the opposite. Do you really think that criminals care about back ground checks or buy firearms legally?
Arrogant and elitist go to the "feel good" argument. Always complain and blame with no realistic solutions.
Time to tune up the old regime and make them pay for all the out of control spending of OUR money...
NRA Life member 1976

[handejector]

PLEASE spread this message as far and wide as you can!
Get this message out there.
Let's get these four elected and rebuild the NRA!

WARNING!!
There are FIVE different versions of the ballot showing the names in different order, so check carefully for these four:

Phil Journey
Rocky Marshall
Dennis Fusaro
Jeff Knox

See the pic of Page E from the magazine.

[handejector]

Originally Posted by sniper

But, somehow the ballot got in the shredding pile, and is gone!

You might be able to get another ballot by calling the NRA.

PLEASE spread this message as far and wide as you can! Get this message out there. Let's get these four elected and rebuild the NRA.