ICANN to use IRV for worldwide election of board members
At a July board meeting, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to use instant
runoff voting to elect five members of its board of directors, with each
board member from a different continent. ICANN is the non-profit global
corporation that was formed to govern the internet. Any Internet user can
join ICANN, but the registration deadline has passed for participating in
the first instant runoff voting (IRV) election this fall.
**Check out the results
of the ICANN election.**
To become a member and participate in a global IRV election
in the future, go to:
http://members.icann.org/
and click on "JOIN NOW."
Note that the 5 at-large members will be elected from 5 regions: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America. (They
are called "at-large" because they are elected by the general membership.)
Even though instant runoff voting is a very sensible way to elect a single person in these elections (see [IRV page} for more
information on IRV) , the use of single member districts will will lead to highly disproportionate results, of course, as 80% of the voters live in 2 of the 5 districts, but
ICANN will establish a study committee to assess the results of these elections and to make recommendations for filling 4 additional at-large
seats. A coalition that included Common Cause earlier this year recommended
that a proportional representation system be used in these elections.
For more information on ICANN, see: Common Cause recommends PR for ICANN.
Here is the official announcement of use of IRV:
http://www.icann.org/minutes/prelim-report-16jul00.htm
At Large Director Selection Plan
Resolved [00.66], that the Board endorses the overall plans for the Year 2000 "At Large" Director selection process recommended by the staff and Election Committee (in the documents entitled "ICANN At Large Election: Proposed Rules for Member-Nomination," posted May 19, 2000 as updated July 6, 2000, and "Draft Recommendation on Election Procedures," posted June 23, 2000) subject to the revisions and clarifications in resolutions 00.67 and 00.68 below; adopts them as so revised and clarified as part of a selection plan for "At Large" Directors under Article II, Section 2 of the bylaws; and directs the President to implement the At Large election schedule substantially in accord with the staff's proposed dates and deadlines; and
Resolved [00.67], that the Board endorses and accepts the Election Committee's recommendations, with the following clarifications:
The Board approves the use of Alternative/Preferential Voting to conduct the election.
The Board directs the President to appoint a number of suitably qualified individuals to monitor the election process in accordance with the scope of responsibilities defined in the Election Committee's Recommendation 6.
Resolved [00.68], that the Board adopts the following rules for the member-nomination phase:
1. An individual seeking to be nominated by the membership must notify ICANN by email of his/her wish to do so. The email must include the following information:
Name
Country of citizenship
Place of residence
Physical address and phone number
Email address
Employer(s)
A statement not to exceed 250 words addressing the individual's qualifications and experience specifically relevant to (a) ICANN's technical and administrative responsibilities, and (b) his/her leadership and policy-level roles.
Information indicating material ICANN-related interests, including an identification of:
Employment and consulting relationships
Ownership or investment interests in any ICANN-related businesses
Official positions in any ICANN-related businesses or organization
Any background information, personal statement, URL, or other information the candidate would like posted in connection with his/her name on the ICANN website.
Whether the individual is an official of a national government or a multinational entity established by treaty or other agreement between national governments, such as an elected official or employee of a government or multinational entity.
2. The deadline for an individual to notify ICANN of her/his wish to be nominated by the membership will be August 14.
3. For each individual seeking to member-nominate, ICANN will provide a web page listing the information in Rule 1, except for physical address, phone number, and email address (unless requested by the individual). The pages will be indexed on a common page, grouped by geographic region.
4. ICANN will provide a cgi interface that will allow any At Large Member to indicate support for a given candidate for member-nomination, by entering her/his membership number, password, and PIN number.
5. Each At Large Member will be able to indicate support for one candidate in his/her geographic region for member-nomination.
6. ICANN will send periodic email notifications to the At Large Membership, listing the names of individuals seeking to member-nominate and pointing members toward the web pages for candidates.
7. To obtain a place on the final ballot, an individual seeking member-nomination must meet the following conditions:
Support from 2% of the At Large Members in her/his geographic region, or 20 members, whichever is greater;
Support from residents of at least two (2) countries;
Subject to an absolute limit of 7 candidates per region, including both Nominating Committee-nominated and member-nominated candidates, except that in the event of a tie in which the number of threshold-exceeding tied candidates exceeds the number of available nominations, all tied candidates will be placed on the ballot.
8. The member-nomination process will conclude upon the announcement of the final ballot, which will include the candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee and any candidates who have met the conditions for member-nomination.