Curious about the "Legal Name" aspect. Do we want to have people sending that to the mailing list? Perhaps we mention that it is a requirement that they're willing to disclose it to the conservancy and other board members, but not require that it be sent to the mailing list. I can't remember, did the Conservancy need an address as well? We should note it as a requirement if so.

Ted

On Mon, 2015-02-09 at 01:37 -0800, Bryce Harrington wrote: 
Hi all,

As per our current FSA, when a board member resigns, we hold a public
election to replace them.  In preparation for this, I've drafted the
following election procedure.  Please review and contribute your
suggestions for improvement.  Copyedits welcomed too!  I'll post a final
copy for voting on when it's ready.

I've adapted this from some of the earlier elections we've had,
formalizing things a bit here and there.  I've also taken ideas from
X.org's election process where they appeared to have better mechanics.
In particular, I've dispensed with our nomination/seconds system (which
is awkward and inevitably leads to a mess of declines) and just ask that
candidates indicate interest by registering.  Also of note, I'm
specifying STV as the voting method; it's basically the multiple-person
form of IRV.  I assume this is going to be fine with everyone, but
please do raise any concerns.

Martin Owens says Django has modules for STV (and IRV) voting, so we can
consider doing the voting through the website rather than on the mailing
list.  This might be easier to manage, as well as give a little more
privacy.  I'd particularly like to hear thoughts on this.

Bryce



------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inkscape is holding elections for ${NUM_SEATS} new Board Members.

${Introduction_Text}

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 volume of about 30-50 emails
per month; 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.

As specified in Section 6 or our charter we maintain a committee of
seven project members. Section 6 reads as follows:

"6. Representation of the Project in the Conservancy. The Developers,
each a signatory hereto, shall represent the Project in its official
communication with the Conservancy. There shall be seven Developers
(together, the "Committee"), elected by the community members of the
Project listed in the Project's AUTHORS file (the "Community
Members"). Each Developer shall continue to serve until he or she
resigns from the position. The Developers may be removed from the
position at any time by a majority vote of the Community Members. Upon
the resignation or removal of a Developer, the Community Members shall
elect a replacement Developer to serve on the Committee. The Committee
will elect a single individual to communicate with the Conservancy (the
"Representative") and shall notify the Conservancy promptly following
the election of a new Representative. The Representative will have the
authority to instruct the Conservancy on the Project's behalf on all
matters. This section may be modified by a vote of at least 3/4 of the
Community Members, with the consent of the Conservancy, such consent not
to be unreasonably withheld."

Election Schedule
=================
 * Kickoff Announcement:	   ${date}
   + Post to inkscape-announce@
   + Publish news item to website
 * Candidacy period Start:	   ${date}
 * Candidacy period End:           ${date + 1 week} (Midnight Pacific time)
 * Publication of Candidates
     & start of Candidate Q&A:     ${date + 1 week}
 * Election Start:                 ${date + 1 week}
 * Election End:                   ${date + 1 week + 2 weeks} (Midnight Pacific time)
 * Results Posted:                 ${date + 1 week + 2 weeks + 2 days}


Membership
==========
Inkscape developers listed in the AUTHORS file as of ${AUTHORS_DATE} are
considered Official Members for purposes of this election, as per our
Fiscale Sponsorship Agreement with the Software Freedom Conservancy.
Only Official Members may run for the board positions, and only Official
Members may vote for them.


Board Election
==============
The following Board Members have resigned from their positions and need
to be filled by new members:

   TBD
   TBD


The election process starts with a Candidacy Period during which any
Official Member may indicate interest in running for the positions.
To register, please email ${ELECTIONS_ADDRESS}, giving your

 - Legal name
 - Current professional affiliation
 - Statement of contribution to Inkscape or related technologies
 - A personal statement

At the end of the Candidacy Period, the applicants will be reviewed to
verify eligibility.  The list of candidates will then by published, and
the community will have a chance to ask questions on the development
discussion list, inkscape-devel@...5....

Finally, the election will be held using the Single Transferrable Vote
(STV) voting system[1].  This is similar in mechanism to the Instant
Runoff Vote (IRV) system we've used in the past[2], 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: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote

2: Past elections:
   2006 Election
      + http://inkscape.13.x6.nabble.com/Election-process-for-Inkscape-Board-tt2805584.html
   2008 Election
      + http://t48889.graphics-inkscape-development.graphictalk.us/opening-inkscape-committee-nominations-t48889.html
   2012 Election
      + http://inkscape.13.x6.nabble.com/Inkscape-Board-Election-voting-time-tt4965288.html#a4965302
      + http://inkscape.13.x6.nabble.com/Inkscape-Board-Committee-Nominations-tc4965274.html

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