Revision as of 23:02, 31 January 2012

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FAmSCo Election Policy

FAmSCo elections help to keep the leadership of the project in touch with the ambassadors who make up the project.

Digest

FAmSCo elections will be held twice a year, as part of the Fedora Project combined election process.
There will be 7 seats on FAmSCo.
7 seats were up for the F16 and earlier elections, the F17 election will have 3 seats up for vote. The 3 seats that will be up for election will be the bottom 3 vote-getters from the prior election. The 4 seats not up for election in the F17 election, will be up for election in F18. After that, the seats up for election will alternate based on the seats up for election in the prior election.
The elections will be announced in public lists. A reminder mail to eligible voters will be sent three days before the close of the election.
Candidates may be any member of the ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System.
Candidates must self-nominate at least three days before the election opens by writing their information onto the wiki.
A minimum number of candidates are necessary in order to hold an election. This will be the number of open seats + 25%.
If not enough candidates have signed up by the deadline, the election may be delayed waiting for more candidates to appear, in coordination with the schedule for combined Fedora elections. If there are still not enough candidates, the candidates who are present will be voted upon (or merely confirmed if there are less candidates than open seats.)
If there are not enough candidates to complete the ballot, all the contributors listed in this section will be added to the ballot.
If FAmSCo does not have the full number of seats filled at this point, the vacant seats will attempt to be filled by the following methods:
1. If there are runner-up candidates from the previous election that did not have the opportunity to be on FAmSCo, they will be offered a seat according to their rank in the voting.
2. If those candidates have been exhausted, FAmSCo will ask Fedora community members that they think would do a good job if they would be willing to hold the open seats.
3. If the open seats are still not filled, FAmSCo will operate with less members until the next FAmSCo election.

The voting is as follows:

A voter receives a ballot listing all the candidates.
For each candidate the voter assigns from 0 to number of candidates points.
At the close of the election, the points for each candidate are tallied and the ones with the most points win a seat.

There are no term limits imposed by this policy. If FAmSCo chooses to impose term limits for its internal positions (Chair, VP, etc.), those should be specified in the FAmSCo by-laws.

Schedule

FAmSCo elections will be held twice a year, as part of the Fedora Project combined election process.

The elections will be announced in public lists. A reminder mail to those who are eligible to vote but haven't done so will be sent three days before the close of the election. - Do we really do this? --Cwickert 23:02, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

The election results will be announced in the ambassadors@lists.fedoraproject.org and other public lists.

Seats on FAmSCo

There will be 7 seats on FAmSCo. 7 seats were up for the F16 and earlier elections, and the following election will have 3 seats up for vote. The 3 seats that will be up for election will be the bottom 3 vote-getters from the prior election. The 4 seats not up for election in the F17 election, will be up for election in F17. After that, the seats up for election will alternate based on the seats up for election in the prior election.

Candidates

Candidates may be any member of the ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System. This helps ensure FAmSCo members have some experience with the processes of Fedora but still allows relatively new contributors to sit on FAmSCo and bring fresh ideas to the table.

Candidates must self nominate at least three days before the election opens by writing their information onto the wiki (Fedora account, email and irc nick, statement of past contributions and what they hope to accomplish while a member of FAmSCo.) In addition, candidates must not be a citizen of an export-restricted country (see Legal/Export#Embargoed_Destinations for the list of export restricted countries).

In order to hold an election, a minimum number of candidates are necessary. This will be the number of open seats + 25%. If there are 4 seats available, there will need to be at least 5 candidates. If not enough candidates have signed up by the deadline, the election may be delayed waiting for more candidates to appear, in coordination with the schedule for combined Fedora elections. If there are still not enough candidates, the candidates who are present will be voted upon (or merely confirmed if there are less candidates than open seats.) If FAmSCo does not have the full number of seats filled at this point, please see Filling Vacant Seats below.

Contributors who want to nominate themselves only if there are not enough people to fill the seats may put the same information on a separate section of the wiki page. If there are not enough candidates to complete the ballot, all the contributors listed in this section will be added to the ballot. No special considerations will be made for candidates elected through this process to resign their seats after the election. If you really do not want to be on FAmSCo, please withdraw your name from this list at least three days before the election so your name does not go on the ballot.

Voters

Any member of the Ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System is eligible to vote in the FAmSCo elections.

Members

Members of FAmSCo are elected for 2 cycles.

Members can step down at any time for any reason by notifying the rest of the committee as well as the Fedora Ambassadors community of their decision.

In the event of repeated absence without contact, or other serious misconduct or negligence, a FAmSCo member may be subject to removal. Before any other process occurs, the FAmSCo member in question will be personally contacted by the FAmSCo Chair to try to resolve the situation. If this contact does not successfully resolve the situation, the FAmSCo member in question may be removed by unanimous vote of the other members of FAmSCo. Any resulting open seat will be filled as described in Filling Vacant Seats below. The term of the interim member will be the remainder of the original term for that seat.

Members can be removed from the committee for misconduct by the Fedora Project Board or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo. If an election becomes necessary upon member removal, the member cannot run for this election, but the removed member CAN run for the next orderly election.

Election of the Chairperson

Once an election is completed, the committee must elect a Chairperson. This will be done by the end of the first FAmSCo meeting that is held after the election. Until a new Chairperson is elected, the current chair will continue in that role. The FAmSCo Chairperson can be removed by the Fedora Project Board or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo. If this happens, a new Chairperson must be elected within one week.

Appointment of Vice-Chairperson

No later than one week after election, the FAmSCo chairperson will appoint the Vice-Chairperson. The FAmSCo Vice-Chairperson can be removed by the Fedora Project Board or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo. If this happens, a new Vice-Chairperson must be appointed within one week.

Filling Vacant Seats

If FAmSCo does not have all its seats filled due to members leaving or other lack, the vacant seats will attempt to be filled by the following methods:

If there are runner-up candidates from the previous election that did not have the opportunity to be on FAmSCo, they will be considered and offered a seat.
If those candidates have been exhausted or FAmSCo does not consider them eligible, FAmSCo will ask Fedora community members that they think would do a good job if they would be willing to hold the open seats.
If the open seats are still not filled, FAmSCo will operate with less members until the next FAmSCo election.

Voting System

The Fedora Elections Guide provides information about the voting system for all Fedora elections.

Notes

There are no term limits imposed by this policy. If FAmSCo chooses to impose term limits for its internal positions (Chair, VP, etc) those should be specified in the FAmSCo by-laws rather than this document.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{draft}}
-== Introduction ==
+{{Message|Previous contents of this wiki page was moved over to [[User_talk:Cwickert/Proposed_FAmSCo_election_rules | talk page]] }}
-[[FAmSCo]] currently suffers form a few organizational problems and some of them are caused be the way how FAmSCo is constituted. We need to change the [[FAmSCo election rules]] to address them.
+= FAmSCo Election Policy =
-== Problems overview ==
+FAmSCo elections help to keep the leadership of the project in touch with the ambassadors who make up the project.
-# FAmSCo does not have enough (active) members
-# Lack of consistency
-# When a new FAmSCo is elected, it needs time to catch up with business and become fully operational
-# Missing announcements
-== Proposed changes ==
+== Digest ==
+<onlyinclude>
-=== Not enough members ===
+<!-- INCLUDEPOLICYFRONTSTART
+-->
+* FAmSCo elections will be held twice a year, as part of the Fedora Project combined election process.
+* There will be 7 seats on FAmSCo.
+* 7 seats were up for the F16 and earlier elections, the F17 election will have 3 seats up for vote.  The 3 seats that will be up for election will be the bottom 3 vote-getters from the prior election.  The 4 seats not up for election in the F17 election, will be up for election in F18.  After that, the seats up for election will alternate based on the seats up for election in the prior election.
+* The elections will be announced in public lists. A reminder mail to eligible voters will be sent three days before the close of the election.
+* Candidates may be any member of the ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System.
+* Candidates must self-nominate at least three days before the election opens by writing their information onto the wiki.
+* A minimum number of candidates are necessary in order to hold an election. This will be the number of open seats + 25%.
+* If not enough candidates have signed up by the deadline, the election may be delayed waiting for more candidates to appear, in coordination with the schedule for combined Fedora elections. If there are still not enough candidates, the candidates who are present will be voted upon (or merely confirmed if there are less candidates than open seats.)
+* If there are not enough candidates to complete the ballot, all the contributors listed in this section will be added to the ballot.
+* If FAmSCo does not have the full number of seats filled at this point, the vacant seats will attempt to be filled by the following methods:
+*# If there are runner-up candidates from the previous election that did not have the opportunity to be on FAmSCo, they will be offered a seat according to their rank in the voting.
+*# If those candidates have been exhausted, FAmSCo will ask Fedora community members that they think would do a good job if they would be willing to hold the open seats.
+*# If the open seats are still not filled, FAmSCo will operate with less members until the next FAmSCo election.
-'''Problem:''' FAmSCo does not have enough (active) members
+The voting is as follows:
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+* A voter receives a ballot listing all the candidates.
+* For each candidate the voter assigns from 0 to number of candidates points.
+* At the close of the election, the points for each candidate are tallied and the ones with the most points win a seat.
-''"There are 7 seats on FAmSCo, of which 5 must be filled at all times."''
+There are no term limits imposed by this policy. If FAmSCo chooses to impose term limits for its internal positions (Chair, VP, etc.), those should be specified in the FAmSCo by-laws.
-"Below 5" means 4. For 7 seats, this is just the number to constitute a quorum.  If one of the 4 remaining members then misses a meeting, FAmSCo is no longer quorate.
+<!-- INCLUDEPOLICYFRONTEND
+-->
+</onlyinclude>
-'''Proposed solution:''' Don't wait until FAmSCo becomes quorate but fill seats as needed with the people who ran in the last elections but did not make it.
+{{Anchor|afterinclude}}
+== Schedule ==
-===  Inactive members don't step down ===
+FAmSCo elections will be held twice a year, as part of the Fedora Project combined election process.
-'''Problem:''' Inactive members don't step down.
+The elections will be announced in public lists.  ''A reminder mail to those who are eligible to vote but haven't done so will be sent three days before the close of the election. - Do we really do this? --[[User:Cwickert|Cwickert]] 23:02, 31 January 2012 (UTC)''
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+The election results will be announced in the ambassadors@lists.fedoraproject.org and other public lists.
-''"A supplementary election must be called immediately if number of active committee members drops below 5 in order to fill the committee's size back up to 7."''
+{{Anchor|NumberOfSeats}}
-A supplementary election is quite a lot of work and takes time. Nobody wants to be responsible for another election, so inactive members remain part of FAmSCo.
+== Seats on FAmSCo ==
-'''Proposed solution:''' Fill seats with the as needed with people who didn't make it in the last election.
+There will be 7 seats on FAmSCo. 7 seats were up for the F16 and earlier elections, and the following election will have 3 seats up for vote.  The 3 seats that will be up for election will be the bottom 3 vote-getters from the prior election.  The 4 seats not up for election in the F17 election, will be up for election in F17.  After that, the seats up for election will alternate based on the seats up for election in the prior election.
-=== Lack of consistency ===
+{{Anchor|Candidates}}
+== Candidates ==
-'''Problem:''' Lack of consistency.
+Candidates may be any member of the ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System.  This helps ensure FAmSCo members have some experience with the processes of Fedora but still allows relatively new contributors to sit on FAmSCo and bring fresh ideas to the table.
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+Candidates must self nominate at least three days before the election opens by writing their information onto the wiki (Fedora account, email and irc nick, statement of past contributions and what they hope to accomplish while a member of FAmSCo.) In addition, candidates must not be a citizen of an export-restricted country (see [[Legal/Export#Embargoed_Destinations|Legal/Export#Embargoed_Destinations]] for the list of export restricted countries).
-''"FAmSCo members are elected for a term of two (2) major releases of Fedora, unless an election is called early by the Chairperson of the committee, an absolute majority vote of FAmSCo, or by the Fedora Project Board."''
+In order to hold an election, a minimum number of candidates are necessary.  This will be the number of open seats + 25%.  If there are 4 seats available, there will need to be at least 5 candidates.  If not enough candidates have signed up by the deadline, the election may be delayed waiting for more candidates to appear, in coordination with the schedule for combined Fedora elections. If there are still not enough candidates, the candidates who are present will be voted upon (or merely confirmed if there are less candidates than open seats.)  If FAmSCo does not have the full number of seats filled at this point, please see [[#FillingVacancies|Filling Vacant Seats]] below.
-'''Proposed solution:''' Don't elect all 7 seats once a year but have two elections a year where only 3 or 4 seats are up for election.
+Contributors who want to nominate themselves only if there are not enough people to fill the seats may put the same information on a separate section of the wiki page.  If there are not enough candidates to complete the ballot, all the contributors listed in this section will be added to the ballot.  No special considerations will be made for candidates elected through this process to resign their seats after the election.  If you really do not want to be on FAmSCo, please withdraw your name from this list at least three days before the election so your name does not go on the ballot.
+{{Anchor|Voters}}
+== Voters ==
-=== New FAmSCo not operational ===
+Any member of the Ambassadors group in the Fedora Accounts System is eligible to vote in the FAmSCo elections.
-'''Problem:''' When people get elected, they need time to find their way into FAmSCo.
+== Members ==
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+''Members of FAmSCo are elected for 2 cycles.''
-''"FAmSCo members are elected for a term of two (2) major releases of Fedora [...]"
+Members can step down at any time for any reason by notifying the rest of the committee as well as the Fedora Ambassadors community of their decision.
-'''Proposed solution:''' By electing half of the seats every 6 months we make sure that only half of FAmSCo can get replaced. NEw members will be introduced to their work by old members.
+In the event of repeated absence without contact, or other serious misconduct or negligence, a FAmSCo member may be subject to removal. Before any other process occurs, the FAmSCo member in question will be personally contacted by the FAmSCo Chair to try to resolve the situation. If this contact does not successfully resolve the situation, the FAmSCo member in question may be removed by unanimous vote of the other members of FAmSCo. Any resulting open seat will be filled as described in [[#FillingVacancies|Filling Vacant Seats]] below. The term of the interim member will be the remainder of the original term for that seat.
+''Members can be removed from the committee for misconduct by the [[Board|Fedora Project Board]]  or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo.  If an election becomes necessary upon member removal, the member cannot run for this election, but the removed member CAN run for the next orderly election.''
-=== Not enough candidates ===
+{{Anchor|Chair}}
+== Election of the Chairperson ==
-'''Problem:''' FAmSCo elections require a large number of candidates and if this number cannot be reached, the elections are delayed.
+Once an election is completed, the committee must elect a Chairperson.  This will be done by the end of the first FAmSCo meeting that is held after the election. Until a new Chairperson is elected, the current chair will continue in that role.  The FAmSCo Chairperson can be removed by the [[Board|Fedora Project Board]] or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo.  If this happens, a new Chairperson must be elected within one week.
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+{{Anchor|ViceChair}}
+== Appointment of Vice-Chairperson ==
+No later than one week after election, the FAmSCo chairperson will appoint the Vice-Chairperson.  The FAmSCo Vice-Chairperson can be removed by the [[Board|Fedora Project Board]] or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo.  If this happens, a new Vice-Chairperson must be appointed within one week.
-''"In order to hold an election, a minimum number of candidates are necessary. This will be the number of open seats + 25%.  If there are 7 seats available, there will need to be at least 9 candidates."''
+{{Anchor|FillingVacancies}}
+== Filling Vacant Seats ==
-'''Proposed solution:''' Don't elect all 7 at a time but only a maximum of 4. With an extra of 25% we then need 5 candidates.
+If FAmSCo does not have all its seats filled due to members leaving or other lack, the vacant seats will attempt to be filled by the following methods:
-=== Misconduct ===
+# If there are runner-up candidates from the previous election that did not have the opportunity to be on FAmSCo, they will be considered and offered a seat.
+# If those candidates have been exhausted or FAmSCo does not consider them eligible, FAmSCo will ask Fedora community members that they think would do a good job if they would be willing to hold the open seats.
+# If the open seats are still not filled, FAmSCo will operate with less members until the next FAmSCo election.
-'''Problem:''' Not sure if this is really a problem, because we didn't have to remove anybody form FAmSCo until now. Nevertheless the fact that the [[Board]] can remove an elected member from FAmSCo is a problem with the constitution.
+{{Anchor|VotingSystem}}
+== Voting System ==
-'''Cause:''' Current election rules state:
+The [http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora_Contributor_Documentation/1/html/Fedora_Elections_Guide/index.html Fedora Elections Guide] provides information about the voting system for all Fedora elections.
-''"Members can be removed from the committee for misconduct by the Fedora Project Board or by an absolute majority vote of the FAmSCo."''
+{{Anchor|Notes}}
+== Notes ==
+There are no term limits imposed by this policy.  If FAmSCo chooses to impose term limits for its internal positions (Chair, VP, etc) those should be specified in the FAmSCo by-laws rather than this document.
-The board is an elected body of Fedora, so is FAmSCo. The board should not be in the position to remove an elected member from FAmSCo, only FAmSCo should be able to do so. Currently it is unclear what happens if FAmSCo disagrees with the board.
+<!--
+The voting application needs to be enhanced in the following ways to support this policy:
-'''Proposed solution:''' The board should only be able ''request'' the removal from FAmSCo and if a person really misbehaves, it shouldn't be hard to reach a consensus between FAmSCo and the board.
+* Web based administration to create a new election.
+* Creation of a new election needs to trigger generation of a script that will interact with the accounts db and election db to send out a reminder to vote message three days before the close of the election.
+* The interface will show the voter ballots for all the elections that they can vote in.
+Other enhancements:
+* List upcoming elections.
+* List results for current and previous elections.
+-->

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