HOWTO run the board election

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Every year we elect some board members, this is some hints on how to do that.

Managing the Voting Stuff

The Secretary runs the online vote.

  • Use the standing rules as guidance. Make sure to check them early, as parts of the election process start in the beginning of August.
  • Send out emails both to the regular members-only list and to the announce list. Don't be afraid to repeat the same information over and over. Elections are important stuff and it's better to pound the information into people's heads as much as possible, instead of risking confusion.

Nominations List

In 2015, Jamie shared a Google Doc (view-only) with the members list so that everyone could see who was nominated, even the people that didn't accept. Relative to 2014, this reduced the number of repeat nominations. There were always some viewers on the document, so it seems like a good idea worth repeating.

Jamie always sent out emails to nominees manually. Is there a better way to do this? Probably! Feel free to improve upon her method.

Electronic Voting

Since at least 2016, we have used the online voting service OpaVote.

Setting Up an Election on OpaVote

  • Log in with the secretary account and go to Console > Items > Create Election.
  • Check past election emails for what to put in title, description, etc. Or make something up.
  • Click Enable expert mode.
    • Show results during voting: no
    • Voting start date: last Tuesday in August
    • Voting stop date: first Tuesday in September
    • Automatic reminders: yes
    • Anonymous voting: yes
    • Method: Borda Count
    • Ballot Type: Ranked enhanced
    • Require full vote: no
    • Number of winners: 7 (or however many board members we're electing)
    • Shuffle candidate order: yes

Once the election is over, the initial results it displays are not technically correct. The ballots need to be recounted with slightly different options.

  • Go to Console > Items > Manage > Results and Ballots > Recount Ballots
  • Choose Borda Count with Ballot completion set to On.
  • Click Recount Ballots.
  • Done!

Example Election Email.

Hello i3Detroit member!
We are electing the seven (7) members of the i3 Detroit Board of Directors for the term beginning on September 3, 2018 and ending on September 1, 2019. See [this survey](https://www.i3detroit.org/wiki/Election_2019) for many of the candidates' views on a variety of questions concerning i3Detroit. More candidates will likely fill it out soon, and you don't have to vote immediately. The voting period will end at 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, September 3, 2018. There will be reminder emails every three days to help you not forget.
To vote, you may rank all candidates or as many as you like in order of your preference. Votes will be counted as described in the [Standing Rules](https://www.i3detroit.org/wiki/Standing_rules#Board_of_Directors.2C_Officers.2C_and_Elections) (see 3. Elections). Members may only submit their ballot once, and votes cannot be changed after the ballot is submitted.
Click on this button to vote:
Vote
Do not forward this email to others, and please contact me with any questions at the email address below.
Best regards,
i3Detroit Secretary
secretary@i3detroit.org

After the Election

Once the suckers new board members are elected, update the following things:

Wiki

Mailing Lists

  • Board email list
    • This automagically updates the google shared drives
  • Leadership email list

Slack

  • Update the Slack user group @board
  • Make a new slack channel for the board, i.e. #board2021
  • Update access to other private channels that may exist, such as one for board and advocates.

Others

  • Infrastructure should change the password for the board user in the camera system and give that to the new board. Pin it in the board slack or something to not lose it.
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