[cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair andvicechair

[Ben Wilson]

I tend to agree with Rich.  I have spreadsheet templates in Excel, which I can provide to the election judges, that they can use to process instant-runoff ballot tabulations.

From: Rich Smith [mailto:richard.smith at comodo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 12:07 PM
To: Ben Wilson; kirk_hall at trendmicro.com; public at cabforum.org
Subject: RE: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair andvicechair

I'm not sure what the right answer is.  But I'm not sure the current ballot, winner take all, even if winner==minority of members votes, is necessarily the right course to take in a consensus based organization.  My personal view is that an instant runoff form of balloting, though not perfect, is a better form of arriving at consensus.  I'm fine with Ben's proposal as well, but my personal view is that primary balloting would be more cumbersome, and possibly confusing than going with instant runoff from the outset.
-Rich


From: public-bounces at cabforum.org<mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> [mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org] On Behalf Of Ben Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 1:36 PM
To: kirk_hall at trendmicro.com<mailto:kirk_hall at trendmicro.com>; public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair andvicechair

A primary and final election could be specified when the number of candidates exceeds a certain threshold - e.g., "if there are four or more candidates, then there shall be a primary election."
From: public-bounces at cabforum.org<mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> [mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org] On Behalf Of kirk_hall at trendmicro.com<mailto:kirk_hall at trendmicro.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 11:31 AM
To: public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vicechair

My only concern with instant runoff voting is, it can seem confusing to the voter (maybe it shouldn't seem confusing).  Plus, people's preferences may change as the list of candidates narrows down.

From: public-bounces at cabforum.org<mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> [mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org] On Behalf Of Ben Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 10:12 AM
To: richard.smith at comodo.com<mailto:richard.smith at comodo.com>; public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vicechair

Thanks, Rich.  I wasn't in on the discussion about why early votes would be prohibited in this case.  It makes sense when vote results are public (election studies), but not when the votes are private.  And no, there hasn't been any proposal to change general voting rules.
The idea of the instant-runoff was discussed briefly.  Kirk did not like it, but I think that we could find a middle ground by doing a primary election that narrows the field of candidates to two.

From: Rich Smith [mailto:richard.smith at comodo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 11:05 AM
To: Ben Wilson; public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: RE: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vicechair

Regarding Ballot 137, I have a couple of comments;
1) We have traditionally (or at least on several occasions in the past) counted early votes on forum ballots if a member happened to cast their vote during the review period, and did not change or otherwise rescind that vote during the actual voting period.  Is there a reason that we are expressly forbidding early voting here, and are we going to forbid all early voting on all ballots going forward?
2) I know this procedure was discussed during the F2F, so this may have been discussed and rejected at that time, but I haven't seen anyone even bring it up in the list discussions, so I will:  Should we consider an instant-runoff procedure in cases where there are more than two candidates?  Personally, I think we should to avoid someone being elected with a very small minority of votes in an election cycle with a large number of candidates.  Not as big a problem IMO with 3 candidates, as the minority is still a significant amount of the overall membership, but with even 4 candidates, that possible minority becomes more significant, and with 5 or more, I think it really poses a problem with this proposed procedure.

-Rich

From: public-bounces at cabforum.org<mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> [mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org] On Behalf Of Ben Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 12:23 PM
To: public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vicechair

I am going to number this Ballot "137" but I believe I am also still seeking another endorser for Ballot 136 to elect Dean Coclin as Chair.

Do I have one more endorser for Ballot 136?

Do I have a sponsor and two endorsers for Ballot 137?


From: Ben Wilson
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 12:31 PM
To: public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: RE: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vice chair

Here is a possible solution

Add a subheading to the first paragraph of section 4.1 as follows:  "(a) Term of office:"

Amend the subsequent paragraphs as follows:

(b) Manner of conducting nominations:
At least sixty (60) days prior to the Upon expiration or early termination of the current Chair's term or upon his/her early termination as Chair, the Chair or Vice Chair will announce through the management mailing list that nominations are open for the office of Chair and the Vice Chair will automatically be nominated as to become the next Chair, but Forum Members may nominate themselves or others to be additional candidates as Chair.  A Vice Chair may decline the nomination to the office of Chair and/or indicate an intent to seek nomination for re-election to the office of Vice Chair.  The nomination period for Chair will last for at least one week but no longer than four weeks.  Upon the close of the nominations for Chair, the nomination period for the office of Vice Chair shall immediately open. The nomination period for Vice Chair will last for at least one week but no longer than four weeks.

(c) Manner of holding officer elections:
If a single individual is nominated for a position, the Forum will hold a ballot to confirm appointment of the nominee. For the confirmation ballot, each Forum Member is entitled to a single vote regardless of the number of participating Forum Member representatives or whether the Forum Member is categorized as a CA or product supplier. If multiple votes are received from a Forum Member's representatives, the last vote submitted during the voting period is considered the Forum Member's vote.  The single nominee is considered confirmed if a majority of the Forum members who vote are in favor of the appointment, regardless of the number of votes cast and irrespective of whether 2/3 of the CAs or 1/2 of the product suppliers approve appointment of the nominee.

If more than one candidate is nominated for Chair or Vice Chair, the Forum will announce an election ballot to determine which candidate will fill the position.  upon close of nominations, Within two weeks after the close of the nomination period, the Chair or Vice Chair will establish an election committee and announce the election ballot on the management mailing list along with the ballot start date, ballot end date, and a description of the voting process.  The Chair or Vice Chair will appoint the election committee by selecting at least two volunteers who have a reputation for independence, preferably individuals without voting rights in the Forum and that participate as Interested Parties.  The election committee is responsible solely for tallying Forum Member votes in connection with the election ballot. The description must include the email address(es) where members will send their vote, which should be the email addresses of the election committee.  ballot will be held in the regular manner to select the new Chair. If the election of a new Chair means the office of Vice Chair becomes vacant, the Members may nominate themselves or other candidates to the office of Vice Chair, and a ballot will be held in the regular manner to elect the new Vice Chair.

For election ballots, each Forum Member is entitled to a single vote regardless of the number of participating Forum Member representatives or whether the Forum Member is categorized as a CA or product supplier. If multiple votes are received from a Forum Member's representatives, the last vote submitted during the voting period is considered the Forum Member's vote. Within two weeks after the election ballot closes, the election committee will compile the votes, ensure that only one vote is counted per Forum Member, confirm the results with other members of the election committee, and publish the ballot results by sending an email to the public mailing list.  The election committee will not include any votes submitted before or after the voting period when compiling the votes. The ballot results email will contain only the following information:  a short description of the ballot purpose, the total number of votes submitted during the ballot period, and the name of the nominee receiving the most votes. The election committee may include other language as necessary to accurately describe the ballot and any concerns the election committee had with the ballot, provided that such language does not disclose how individual Forum Members voted.  The election committee will treat the votes of individual Forum Members as confidential information.  The nominee receiving the most votes is appointed to the applicable position, regardless of the number  of votes cast and irrespective of whether 2/3 of the CAs or ½ of the product suppliers voted for the nominee. If the election ballot results in a tie among the candidates receiving the most votes, the Chair or Vice Chair will call for another election ballot that includes only the two tying candidates.




From: public-bounces at cabforum.org<mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org> [mailto:public-bounces at cabforum.org] On Behalf Of Ben Wilson
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 11:41 AM
To: public at cabforum.org<mailto:public at cabforum.org>
Subject: Re: [cabfpub] Ballot to establish voting process for chair and vice chair

We should reword this so that we can begin nominations before vacancy.  I know that it says "on or before" - but this, and the language "upon expiration or early termination" seem to imply that the vacancy has occurred.  In many organizations elections are allowed to take place earlier, for purposes of continuity, etc.  Case in point, we should be able to move forward on a ballot to elect Dean as Chair before my term ends.  I'll take a look at the language and see if I can provide a suggestion or two.

---------
Ballot 136 - Chair Election

Amendment to Section 4.1 of CA/Browser Forum Bylaws to Clarify Election Process for Chair and Vice Chair
Motion Begins
The third paragraph of section 4.1 of the CA/Browser Forum's bylaws is amended as follows:

...

Upon expiration or early termination of the current Chair's term, the Vice Chair will automatically be nominated as to become the next Chair, but Forum Members may nominate themselves or others to be additional candidates as Chair. On or before the second week of a position's vacancy, the Chair or Vice Chair will announce, through the management mailing list, a start date and close date for nominations for Chair and Vice Chair, with the nomination period lasting at least one week.  If a single individual is nominated for a position, the Forum will hold a ballot to confirm appointment of the nominee. For the confirmation ballot, each Forum Member is entitled to a single vote regardless of the number of participating Forum Member representatives or whether the Forum Member is categorized as a CA or product supplier. If multiple votes are received from a Forum Member's representatives, the last vote submitted during the voting period is considered the Forum Member's vote.  The single nominee is considered confirmed if a majority of the Forum members who vote are in favor of the appointment, regardless of the number of votes cast and irrespective of whether 2/3 of the CAs or 1/2 of the product suppliers approve appointment of the nominee.

If more than one candidate is nominated for Chair or Vice Chair, the Forum will announce an election ballot to determine which candidate will fill the position.  upon close of nominations, Within two weeks after the close of the nomination period, the Chair or Vice Chair will establish an election committee and announce the election ballot on the management mailing list along with the ballot start date, ballot end date, and a description of the voting process.  The Chair or Vice Chair will appoint the election committee by selecting at least two volunteers who have a reputation for independence, preferably individuals without voting rights in the Forum and that participate as Interested Parties.  The election committee is responsible solely for tallying Forum Member votes in connection with the election ballot. The description must include the email address(es) where members will send their vote, which should be the email addresses of the election committee.  ballot will be held in the regular manner to select the new Chair. If the election of a new Chair means the office of Vice Chair becomes vacant, the Members may nominate themselves or other candidates to the office of Vice Chair, and a ballot will be held in the regular manner to elect the new Vice Chair.

For election ballots, each Forum Member is entitled to a single vote regardless of the number of participating Forum Member representatives or whether the Forum Member is categorized as a CA or product supplier. If multiple votes are received from a Forum Member's representatives, the last vote submitted during the voting period is considered the Forum Member's vote. Within two weeks after the election ballot closes, the election committee will compile the votes, ensure that only one vote is counted per Forum Member, confirm the results with other members of the election committee, and publish the ballot results by sending an email to the public mailing list.  The election committee will not include any votes submitted before or after the voting period when compile the votes. The ballot results email will contain only the following information:  a short description of the ballot purpose, the total number of votes submitted during the ballot period, and the name of the nominee receiving the most votes. The election committee may include other language as necessary to accurately describe the ballot and any concerns the election committee had with the ballot provided that such language does not disclose how individual Forum Members voted.  The election committee will treat the votes of individual Forum Members as confidential information.  The nominee receiving the most votes is appointed to the applicable position, regardless of the number  of votes cast and irrespective of whether 2/3 of the CAs or ½ of the product suppliers voted for the nominee. If the election ballot results in a tie, the Chair or Vice Chair will hold another election ballot that includes only the tying nominees.

...

Motion Ends

The review period for this ballot shall commence at 2200 UTC on                    2014, and will close at 2200 UTC on                     2014. Unless the motion is withdrawn during the review period, the voting period will start immediately thereafter and will close at 2200 UTC on                        2014. Votes must be cast by posting an on-list reply to this thread.

A vote in favor of the motion must indicate a clear 'yes' in the response. A vote against must indicate a clear 'no' in the response. A vote to abstain must indicate a clear 'abstain' in the response. Unclear responses will not be counted. The latest vote received from any representative of a voting member before the close of the voting period will be counted. Voting members are listed here: https://cabforum.org/members/

In order for the motion to be adopted, two thirds or more of the votes cast by members in the CA category and greater than 50% of the votes cast by members in the browser category must be in favor. Also, at least seven members must participate in the ballot, either by voting in favor, voting against, or abstaining.



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