# Election Procedure
## Resolution:
The Election Procedure as shown below, is adopted as the Inkscape
Project's official method for electing new members to its Board.
## Proposal:
A majority vote of the current board members is required for the
following matter.
Adopt Election Procedure version 4, as shown in Addendum for the
Inkscape Board's official procedure for holding Board Elections.
Diverging from this procedure is not allowed without board approval.
- a\. Accept Election Procedure v.4 as official election
procedure
- b. Accept Election Procedure, if the following changes are done:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
- c. Do not accept Election Procedure
## Background:
This procedure is derived from the [election procedure
v.3](https://alpha.inkscape.org/board/referendums/resolutions/election_procedure.html).
It mostly updates the procedure to not quote the FSA (so we have to vote
on the election process again when the FSA is updated), but link to it.
The FSA has changed the way
membership is defined, and this is reflected here.
## Change History
| Version | |
| :----------------: |
:----------------------------------------------------: |
| v.1 | RFC
Draft |
| v.2 | Clarify voting through the
website |
| | Note pseudonyms are ok, but legal names will be
needed |
| | Allow
nominations |
| v.3 | Increase Candidacy signup to 2
weeks |
| | Post to both inkscape-announce and
inkscape-devel. |
| | Drop mention of 'Enfranchised
Accounts'. |
| | Clarify bits that will be specified
per-election. |
| v.4 | Update for new
FSA |
| | Allow the proctor to decide on the election
platform |
| | Allow a deadtime between the end of the candidacy
|
| | period and the start of the
election. |
## Addendum:
File: election_procedure.txt
Inkscape is holding elections for \${NUM_SEATS} new Board Members.
\${INTRODUCTION_TEXT}
The term "board" in this document is equivalent with "Project Leadership
Committee",
as both terms are usually used interchangeably within the Inkscape project.
Typically the board votes on things such as project fund expenditures
(travel, conferences, marketing materials for events, etc), trademark
related issue, other legal issues that arise, etc. The board does not
have responsibility currently for technical decisions for the project,
and does not handle social/community issues where there are no financial
or legal aspects to the problem.
Board membership requires a commitment of time: At a minimum you will be
expected to participate in votes on the mailing list, which typically
occur with a frequency of about 0 to 3 per month. You are required to be
on the board mailing list, which has a low volume; you're not required
to participate in the discussions, but it is very strongly encouraged.
We also solicit volunteers from the board to serve as as event managers,
team leaders, fundraising coordinators, etc. - Again, not a requirement,
but we value board members who can shoulder such duties for the project.
It is also expected of board members to actively participate in the
project and follow ongoing discussions.
As specified in Section 6 or our fiscal sponsorship agreement (FSA)
\[1\] we maintain a committee of
seven project members.
## Election Schedule:
All dates are 8:00 UTC.
The number of days between the end of the candidacy period and the start
of the election
may be chosen by the proctor, but must not be higher than 7 days.
| Event |
Timeframe |
| :----------------------------------------: |
:----------------------------------------------: |
| Kickoff Announcement |
\${date} |
| Candidacy period Start: |
\${date} |
| Deadline for registration as a Member | \${date + 2
weeks} |
| Candidacy period End: | \${date + 2
weeks} |
| Publication of Candidates | \${date + 2 weeks + $n
days} |
| Election Start: | \${date + 2 weeks + $n
days} |
| Election End: | \${date + 2 weeks + $n
days} + 2 weeks |
| Results Posted: | \${date + 2 weeks + $n
days + 2 weeks + 2 days} |
## Membership:
Inkscape community members listed in the [Membership
list](https://inkscape.org/*membership/list.txt) as of \${date + 2 weeks}
are considered Members for purposes of this election, as per
our Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement with the Software Freedom Conservancy.
Only Members may run for the board positions, and only Members may vote
for them.
The Election Proctor may select the voting platform for the election.
\${HOWTO_VOTE_DIRECTIONS}
## Election Proctor:
The Inkscape Board elects by majority vote an Election Proctor who will
run a given election and ensure its successful completion. The Election
Proctor has the responsibility for ensuring the voting is done according
to procedure, assuring that the Vote is accurately tallied, and
announcing the finalized result of the Vote.
Once the vote has been finalized, the selected individual(s) immediately
become Board Members.
The Community may challenge the Election Proctor's tally within 30 days
of the vote finalization, by gathering a number of signatures from
Members exceeding 2/3rds of the total number of Votes cast
declaring the vote to be inaccurate. Should this happen, the Vote is
nullified, and a new election must be arranged by the Board.
## Board Election:
The following text can be used to draft an announcement about the
election, which should be sent to Inkscape's announcement and
development mailing lists.
> The following Board Members have resigned from their positions and need
> to be filled by new members:
>
> \${RETIREES}
>
> The election process starts with a Candidacy Period, i.e. members
> listed in the
> [membership list](https://inkscape.org/*membership/list.txt),
> during which any
> Member may indicate interest in running for the positions. To
> register, please email \${ELECTIONS_ADDRESS}, giving your
>
> - Name \[2\]
> - Current professional affiliation
> - Statement of contribution to Inkscape or related technologies
> - A personal statement
>
> Alternatively, any Member may nominate another Member, who has to send
> the above email if they are willing to candidate.
>
> At the end of the Candidacy Period, the applicants will be reviewed to
> verify eligibility. The list of candidates will then be published, and
> the community will have a chance to ask questions.
>
> Finally, the election will be held using the Single Transferable Vote
> (STV) voting system\[3\]. This is similar in mechanism to the Instant
> Runoff Vote (IRV), but for
> multi-seat results rather than the single-winner result of IRV. From a
> voter's perspective it's the same voting procedure: Rank candidates in
> order of choice with #1 being first choice, and so on.
# References:
1: https://inkscape.org/*leadership-committee/charter/
2: Pseudonyms are acceptable for registration purposes, but please note
that your legal name will need to be provided when officially joining
the board as a member, and may be needed on various legal documents
which will be publicly disclosed for transparency purposes.
3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote
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