[wplug-board] ballots and bylaws revision

[David Ostroske]

Vance, as I mentioned before, I'm copying your message to the -board
list. I'll I've done is intersperse my own comments, and remove
duplicated rule text.

On 9/20/06, Vance Kochenderfer <vkochend at nyx.net> wrote:
> Patrick-
>
> Did you ever get the feeling you were being watched?
>
> > Who is in charge of the creation of the ballots for the board and
> > bylaws revision?  I think we need to get these out ASAP.
>
> See the Absentee Balloting Special Rule of Order at
> <http://wplug2.pghfree.net/tiki-index.php?page=Special+Rules+of+Order>
> (btw, these rules should probably be put on the WPLUG server
> somewhere, don't know why they aren't there now).

Again, the Absentee Balloting rule is here. I'll be putting all of our
rules (and bylaws, and minutes, etc.) on the wiki in the coming weeks.
http://www.wplug.org/pipermail/wplug-board/2005-October/000510.html

[...rule language in Vance's post removed...]
> Note that this is written generically, so it applies both to the
> election and to the bylaws amendments.  Also, the secretary should
> send out a notification soon per the first paragraph of the rule
> above and Section 4.4 of the bylaws (IMO, one notification can
> serve both purposes).

That's my intention. I'm helping out with the Pittsburgh Perl Workshop
on Saturday, and I may find time between duties to work on draft
ballots. I'll be posting drafts this weekend, and I want to send the
ballots out, with complete descriptive language and procedures, by
Tuesday at the latest.

> > The issue is that right now anyone can send in a ballot and say
> > they're someone else.  Well, an easy way to prevent this problem
> > is the way that GNOME handles elections, through the use of a
> > token.
>
> Last year, I simply handled this by opening the outer envelope of
> each ballot received by mail and e-mailing the registered address
> of the member whose name appeared on the inner envelope, as in the
> following:
>
> } From: Vance Kochenderfer <vkochend at nyx.net>
> } Subject: Your WPLUG ballot was received
> } To: jdoe at example.com
> } Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 08:59:06 -0700 (MST)
> }
> } Dear John Doe:
> }
> } Your ballot for the 2005 WPLUG Board of Directors election,
> } postmarked October 31, 2005, has been received.  The inner
> } envelope will be kept sealed until the annual meeting, where
> } all ballots are to be opened and tallied.
> }
> } Thank you for voting in this year's election and helping to
> } make WPLUG a stronger organization.
> }
> } Vance Kochenderfer <vkochend at nyx.net>
> } WPLUG Secretary's designated vote collector
>
> If someone didn't mail in a ballot, or if they mailed it on a
> different day, this should be enough to alert them.  I guess
> there are possible attacks the token method defends against that
> this one doesn't, but this was simple and (IMO) effective enough.
>
> Since the membership hasn't given specific guidance on this
> point, it's up to the Secretary or the Board to decide how to
> handle this.

I've made a case for having Mike O'Connor, or one of the other
"tellers," receive the ballots and send confirmation to the
membership. I can provide the ballot collector with the list of valid
email addresses that we'd accept ballots from. I'll have the collector
contact me when a ballot was received, and I'll check that member's
name off the list. I'll bring that list to the annual meeting, or
carry it with me when I receive the sealed ballots from the collector,
and check off everyone who has voted prior to the meeting.

> Let me know if there's anything else I can answer.

Actually, Vance, did you have any other procedures that you followed
last year when you collected the ballots? You seem to have set a good
precedent that we could follow.

> Later,
> Vance

-- 
David Ostroske <eksortso at gmail.com>