BALLOT #12
Amend Voting for Admins v. Create Mayor and Objection Process
April 18, 2005
THIS IS NOW A TWO PART BALLOT.
In Part One, it is proposed to overturn a vote of the membership. Another procedure with options is proposed instead. Part Two of the Ballot provides options for those who wish to retain a vote of the membership.
EVERYONE MUST ANSWER QUESTION 1. After that, proceed to either Part One or Part Two.
Question 1: Agreement to overturn
=12 A. I agree to overturn the vote of the membership and will vote on the options in Part One of this ballot. Proceed to Part One, Questions 2 through 6
=0 B. I wish to retain a vote of the membership and will vote on the options in Part Two of this ballot. Skip Questions 2 through 6 and Proceed to Part Two, Questions 7 through 12
PART ONE:
Question 2: I agree to the following text:
“The Mayor is held accountable for determining what constitutes a ‘continuous, visible, and contributory presence,’ approaching members so qualified to obtain their agreement to serve, and entering the names of those who volunteer into the pool of admins-in-training. That roster will be prominently posted, and volunteers will remain on the training roster for at least [ten] days.
=12 A. I agree to the text and to the ten days.
=0 B. I agree to the text, but prefer [#] days. insert the number of days your prefer.
=0 C. I do not agree to the text
Question 3: I agree to the following text stating that concerns and suggestions will be submitted by email, and I will vote on who should review them in the next question:
“While volunteers are on the training roster, all members are responsible for reviewing the roster to determine whether they know any good reason why a particular volunteer would not make a good administrator and should not immediately enter the pool of full admins when their training is complete. If no member expresses a concern or objection volunteers will enter the pool of full admins without delay. If a member does have a concern or objection to a particular volunteer, these must be sent by email to the [Mayor][Admins account, where they may also be forwarded to the Mayor] so that the [Mayor][current Admins][Mayor together with current Admins] can review them for merit.â€
=12 A. I agree to the text
=0 B. I do not agree to the text
Question 4: Concerns and objections should be reviewed by:
=0 A. The Mayor alone
=1 B. The current Admins alone
=11 C. The Mayor together with the current Admins
Question 5: I agree to the following text
“If the concern or objection involves a serious violation of by-laws for which a formal action of some kind is required, then the volunteer will not enter the pool of full admins until the issue is resolved. The Mayor and current Admins together will inform the volunteer immediately, attempt to verify the merit of the accusation insofar as possible, and if it has merit they will initiate whatever procedure is called for in the by-laws. If exonerated, the volunteer may enter the pool of full admins when training is complete. If restrictions are placed on the volunteer as a result of the procedure, they will not enter the pool of full admins until the by-laws allow them to do so.â€
=12 A. I agree to the text
=0 B. I do not agree to the text
Question 6: I agree to the following text
“If the concern or objection involves matters of courtesy, or unfamiliarity with certain forums, or anything else affecting only the comfort level of the members, [the Mayor][the Mayor or an appropriate admin] will explain the problem to the volunteer as tactfully as possible and suggest ways that their posting might become more “visible and contributory†before they enter the pool of full admins.â€
SELECT ONE:
=0 A. I agree to the text and would like the mayor alone to be responsible for conveying this kind of information
=12 B. I agree to the text and would like the mayor and admins to be free to decide who could best convey the information to the volunteer.
=0 C. I do not agree to the text
Question 7: I agree to the following text
“The Mayor will retain record of these concerns and objections and make sure that any full Admin who is coaching the volunteer knows of them as well. When the volunteer expresses his/her readiness to enter the pool of admins, including their correction of any prior deficiency, and the full Admin who has been coaching them agrees, the Mayor will send an email to any member who has raised a prior objection and ask permission to lift the objection, explaining what has been done to rectify the problem. If the member still objects, they must explain why and the issue will be revisited as before. If no response is received within [seven] days, the objection will be lifted and the volunteer may enter the pool of full admins. The pool of full admins will be posted prominentlyâ€
SELECT ONE:
=12 A. I agree to the text, including seven days for lifting objections.
=0 B. I agree to the text, but not to the seven days. I prefer [#] days. insert the number of days you prefer
=0 C. I do not agree to the text
**** END OF PART ONE ****
PART TWO: No one completed Part Two It is preserved onlky for historical record
Question 8: Approve the following opening clause:
The Mayor is held accountable for determining what constitutes a “continuous, visible, and contributory presence,†approaching members so qualified to obtain their agreement to serve, and offering their names in groups for an approval vote of the whole membership. These votes will be held with sufficient frequency that there will be no more than ten candidates presented at one time.
Question 9: Voting Method: Rank your choices. There are eight choices, A through H. Pairs of choices differ only by the percentage required for approval. A Quick Summary of the key differences between methods is provided at the end of all the choices.
A . The Prim Method: A thread is placed in the proper forum listing all candidate admins, and a yes/no poll is included. Members vote “yes†or “no†to accept or reject the entire list. Members who vote "no" must send an email to the Admin account specifying which candidate(s) they do not accept.
The number of “no†votes will be counted as equal to the number of emails sent to the Admin account. Anonymous “no†votes in the thread will not count toward the total votes cast.
If the “yes†votes equal 67% or more of the total votes cast, the entire list will be accepted.
If the “yes†votes equal 66% or less, the “no†votes will be counted to determine whether any individual candidate received “no†votes equal to 33% of the total votes cast. If the “no†votes are split among the candidates in such a way that no candidate received 33% or more, then all candidates on the list are accepted. An email which lists objections to more than one candidate will be counted as one vote against each of those candidates, and one vote toward the total number of votes cast.
Any individual candidate who receives “no†votes equal to or greater than 33% of the total vote will not be accepted into the pool of administrators.
B. The Prim Method, with “yes†votes needing to be greater than or equal to 75% of total votes cast in order for the entire list to be accepted, and an individual candidate needing to receive “no†votes equal to or greater than 25% of total votes cast in order to be rejected.
C. The laureanna Method: A thread is placed in the proper forum listing all the candidate admins and a poll is included. The poll will take the form:
• Accept all
• Accept all but [candidate name], with one such poll option for each candidate
• More than one candidate is not acceptable
If the voter objects to more than one candidate, they must send an email to the Admins account listing the candidates to whom they object. [They must include their reasons.][They may include reasons but this is not obligatory.] The email will be counted as one vote against each of the candidates listed, and one vote toward the total number of votes cast.
In Question #9 you may vote between the sentences in brackets or to exclude both of them.
An individual candidate must receive “no†votes greater than or equal to 33% of the total votes cast in order to be rejected.
D. The laureanna Method, but an individual candidate must receive “no†votes greater than or equal to 25% of the total votes cast in order to be rejected.
E. A thread is placed in the proper forum containing a ballot which members must copy into an email and send to the Admin account in order to cast their vote. The ballot will list each candidate separately with a yes/no choice beside their name. [A 'No' vote must include the reason.][A 'No' vote may include the reason but this is not obligatory.] One ballot choice will also be, “approval of all candidates,†and this will be counted as one “yes†vote for each candidate and one vote toward the number of total votes cast. Any candidate receiving “yes†votes greater than or equal to 67% of the total votes cast will be accepted.
In Question #9 you may vote between the sentences in brackets or to exclude both of them.
F. The same method as E, but any candidate receiving “yes†votes greater than or equal to 75% of the total votes cast will be accepted.
G. A separate thread for each candidate is placed in the proper forum with a yes/no poll. Any candidate receiving at least 67% approval will be accepted. The vote in this case is anonymous and no explanations could be given.
H. The same as G, but any candidate receiving at least 75% approval will be accepted.
Question 10: Public nature of opposition votes
SELECT ONE:
A. If the total number of opposition votes against a candidate is not visible because of the nature of the poll, this information will be posted for each candidate in an appropriate thread at the close of the vote.
B. The total number of opposition votes against a candidate will only be posted if it results in a candidate’s rejection and is not otherwise visible because of the nature of the poll.
C. The total number of opposition votes against a candidate will not be posted.
Question 11: Public nature of opposition comments: Rank
A. Anyone casting a 'No' vote by email (except in the Prim Method) must give a reason for it , and these comments will be made available to any candidate upon request, with the voter’s name deleted, after the close of the vote.
B. Anyone casting a 'No' vote by email (except in the Prim Method) must give a reason for it, and these comments will be made available to rejected candidates only upon request, with the voter’s name deleted, after the close of the vote.
C. Anyone casting a 'No' vote by email (except in the Prim Method) has the option of providing a reason and these comments will be made available to any candidate upon request, with the voter’s name deleted, after the close of the vote.
D. Anyone casting a 'No' vote by email (except in the Prim Method) has the option of providing a reason and these comments will be made available to rejected candidates only upon request, with the voter’s name deleted, after the close of the vote.
E. No comments regarding a candidate should be made in any opposition email and the email should be treated as a secret ballot.
Question 12: Approve this provision
“Candidate admins who are rejected by the vote of the membership may be placed on the list again in subsequent votes as many times as they wish.â€
Question 13: Given that binding votes and quorums have not yet been defined but will be handled in Part IV of the Agenda, do you approve the following closing clause:
"The membership vote on candidates for administrator is a Binding Vote requiring a quorum as defined by the Charter, Article (.)"
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"All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."
Epigraph on the tombstone of W.C. Fields.