Here is the actual text based on voting results, as interpreted by Jnyusa. Please state whether you agree that this text accurately reflects the voting results, so that we can add it to the charter pending ratification of the membership.
Article 4: Office of the Mayor
¶4: Elections
Elections will be held once a year according to the following schedule:
• On July 24, the current Mayor will post an announcement that the nomination period will begin in 30 days.
• On August 23, a 10 day nomination period will begin, extending until September 2.
• When the nomination period concludes, an election committee will be convened and a ten day voting period will begin.
• The voting will conclude on September 12.
• The new Mayor will be inaugurated on September 22.
During the nomination period, an individual member may nominate or second one candidate only.
The Election committee will be a three-person committee headed by the current Mayor. The current Mayor will select two individuals that she or he believes to be reliable, and together they will oversee the voting process, including counting the votes and announcing the results. No one who is a candidate for Mayor may be a member of the committee. One Ranger will be assigned to the committee to facilitate processes requiring access to the administrative panel; however, the Ranger will not participate in committee proceedings.
The vote will be conducted by secret ballot submitted by PM or email, using instant runoff format if there are more than two candidates and with each voter listing their top three choices in order of preference. The current Mayor will vote first and convey his/her vote by PM to any Ranger who is not him/herself a candidate, so that in the event of a tie the vote already cast by the Mayor will count a second time as the deciding vote.
Members serving as Rangers at the time of the election may run for Mayor, but must resign as Rangers if they are elected.
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Amendments to Article 4:
¶1: Term of Office, Eligibility, and Selection
To be eligible, a candidate must be 18 years of age or older, a registered member for six months, and be nominated and seconded by two other members.
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Ballot No. 37. Election of the Mayor
Vote will remain open for 48 hours, until 9:00 p.m. GMT on July 1.
PART I. Election Committee
Question 1. Three-person committee headed by current Mayor.
Do you agree with the following statement:
A three-person committee headed by the current Mayor will oversee the voting process, including counting the votes if necessary.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 2, 3 AND 4 WILL ONLY BE RELEVANT IF CHOICE A IS CHOSEN FOR QUESTION 1]
Question 2. Selection of the committee.
Please state whether you agree with the following statement:
The current Mayor will select two individuals that she or he believes to be reliable with no other restrictions except for those imposed by the results of Questions 3 and 4.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
Question 3. Ranger on the committee?
Please state your preference regarding having a Ranger on the committee.
A. There will be no Ranger on the committee. If the committee needs information from the Rangers, they can ask any of the Rangers to supply it.
B. One committee member will be one of the Rangers, chosen by the current Mayor.
C. One Ranger will assigned to the three-person committee but will not participate in committee proceedings other than to make him/herself easily available to the committee to facilitate processes requiring access to the administrative panel.
Please rank your choices in order of preference, with No. 1 being your most preferred choice:
1.
2.
3.
Question 4. Formation of committee and avoiding nominations of committee members.
Please state your preference regarding the formation of the committee?
A. The committee will be formed 20 days after the current Mayor has made the "heads-up" announcement (10 days before the nominations officially begin). If at that time a member is considering accepting a nomination for the office, the member is not eligible to be on the committee. If a person accepts a position on the committee, they may not be nominated for the office.
B. The committee will be formed 20 days after the current Mayor has made the "heads-up" announcement (10 days before the nominations officially begin). If a committee member accepts a nomination to run for the office, they will be replaced on the committe.
C. The committe will be formed at the end of the nomination process. Members who accept a nomination to run for the office will not be eligible to serve on the committee.
Please rank your choices in order of preference, with No. 1 being your most preferred choice:
1.
2.
3.
[PLEASE NOTE THAT IF THE TOTAL VOTES FOR CHOICE A AND CHOICE B EXCEEDS THE VOTES FOR CHOICE C, THEN THE WINNING CHOICE WILL BE BETWEEN CHOICES A AND B, WHICHEVER RECEIVES MORE VOTES]
PART II. Election Timelines.
Question 5. Election process
Please state your preference for the overall election process.
A. I approve the following overall election process: A "heads-up announcement" will be given by the current Mayor 30 days before nominations begin, with sufficient time to complete the election process before the current Mayor's term is scheduled to end. There will then be a ten-day nomination period followed by a ten-day voting period.
B. I approve the following overall election process: On July 24, the current Mayor will post a "head's up announcement" that the nomination period will begin in 30 days. On August 13, the committee will be convened [assuming that Choice A is chosen for Question 1 and Choices A or B are chosen for Question 4]. On August 23, the 10 day nomination period will begin, extending until September 2, when the ten day voting period will begin [and the committee will be convened assuming that Choice A is chosen for Question 1 and Choice C is chosen for Question 4]. The voting will be over on September 12.
C. I do not approve either process.
Please rank your choices in order of preference, with No. 1 being your most preferred choice:
1.
2.
3.
Question 6. Inaugeration date.
Please state whether you agree with the following statement:
The inauguration of the incoming Mayor will be on September 22 of every year.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
PART III. VOTING PROCESS
Question 7. What kind of vote?
Please state your preference regarding the type of vote we will use for the election of the Mayor.
A. A simple poll in which the board software tallies the vote and the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether it is a majority or a plurality.
B. A simple poll in which the board software tallies the vote, with a majority of votes needed. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff will be held between the two highest vote-getters.
C. A ballot submitted by PM or email, using instant runoff format if there are more then two candidates, with each voter listing their top three choices in order of preference.
D. The committee will be free to chose the format of the vote after the nominations close.
Please rank your choices in order of preference, with No. 1 being your most preferred choice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Question 8. How to deal with ties.
Please state your preference regarding how to deal with ties
A. The current Mayor votes first and conveys his/her vote by PM to the Rangers (ranking all of the candidates in order even if the vote is conducted via a Poll). In the event of a tie, the vote already cast by the Mayor will count a second time as the deciding vote.
B. In the event of of a tie, each member of the three-person committee will vote again between the tied candidates.
C. In the event of a tie, the current Rangers will choose the winner (if there are an even number of Rangers, the last former Ranger to have left office will also be included.
Please rank your choices in order of preference, with No. 1 being your most preferred choice:
1.
2.
3.
Question 9. Rangers running.
Do you agree with the following statement:
Members serving as Rangers at the time of the election will be allowed to run for Mayor, but must resign as Rangers if they are elected Mayor. If a current Ranger runs they shouldn't have the current mayor's tiebreak vote PMed to him or her, for instance. Nor should he or she be involved in any Ranger tiebreaking vote.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
Question 10. Seconding nominations.
Do you agree with the following statement:
For the candidate to be eligible to run for the office, his or her nomination must be seconded by a different member than the member that initially nominated the candidate.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
Question 11. Limitation on nominating and seconding.
Do you agree with the following statement:
Members are only able to nominate or second a single candidate.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.
Question 12. Age limitation.
Do you agree with the following statement:
Candidates for the Office of Mayor must be at least 18 years of age.
Select one:
A. I agree with the statement.
B. I do not agree with the statement.