[gnso-osc-ops] GCOT Documents: Voting, Term Limits, and Absences

["Ken Bour" <ken.bour@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Avri and GCOT Members:

Avri raised a point of view I had not previously considered.  

Given the GCOT's strong preference to never change the voting denominator,
it strikes me that making absentee voting a "rarity" will only increase the
need for abstention remedies, that is, "I cannot attend and am not allowed
to vote using alternative means, therefore, I must abstain."  Given what the
team has recommended in GOP Section 4.5, an abstention would be the next
best option, which would call into play a remedy (e.g. voting direction,
proxy, or temporary alternate).   

I do understand Arvi's concern about delaying Council action, but will it be
preferable to incur an abstention remedy vs. an absentee ballot for every
occurrence of incidental absence?  

Although meeting attendance is always preferred, I initially thought that
absentee voting should be allowed whenever a Councilor could not be present
at a regular session, but was otherwise able to vote in a timely manner --
thus avoiding the need for an abstention.  If timing is at issue, we could
shrink down the absentee ballot duration from 72 hours to as little as 24
except for those "important" votes when it is critical have all opinions
registered.  

Ken Bour

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Avri Doria
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 8:55 PM
To: gnso-osc-ops
Subject: Re: [gnso-osc-ops] GCOT Documents: Voting, Term Limits, and
Absences

Hi,

I tend to prefer absentee voting as a rarity.  Something done on only the
most important votes.  If not, it means no vote will ever be completed in a
council meeting as there is rarely ever a meeting that everyone attends.  i
think this is  a bad result and slows down a slow council even further.

so I do not support the option listed below.

a.

On 26 Mar 2010, at 16:30, Ken Bour wrote:

> Wolf-Ulrich, Ken, and GCOT Members:
>  
> I think I understand the objection raised by Wolf and seconded by Ken.
Based upon feedback that I received from other Council Members, there may be
circumstances when absentee voting is not appropriate and we might want to
provide an option to handle such conditions -- even if rare.   Suppose we
try restructuring the language so that the default condition is that
absentee voting is allowed exceptin a rare circumstance, which would then
require the agreement of the Chair and all Vice-Chairs present.  See new
version of 4.4.1 below (the others are presented for context). 
>  
> 4.4.1  Council Members who are absent from a meeting at the time of a vote
will be extended the opportunity to cast a ballot using alternative means
(see 4.4.3) except in a rare circumstance when its use is deemed
inappropriate.   If such an inappropriate circumstance arises, the rationale
for suspending absentee balloting must be announced in advance of the vote
by the Chair and any decision to suspend requires verbal confirmation by all
Vice-Chairs present.  In such a circumstance(s), and only for the affected
vote(s), absentee voting will be temporarily disallowed. 
>  
> 4.4.2  Absentee votes must be submitted within the announced time limit,
which shall be seventy-two (72) hours from the meeting?s adjournment.  In
exceptional circumstances, announced at the time of the vote, the Chair may
reduce this time to twenty-four (24) hours or extend the time to a maximum
of seven (7) calendar days, provided such amendment is verbally confirmed by
all Vice-Chairs present.  
>  
> 4.4.3  The GNSO Secretariat will administer, record, and tabulate absentee
votes according to these procedures and will provide reasonable means for
transmitting and authenticating absentee ballots, which could include
telephone, e- mail, web-based interface, or other technologies as may become
available. 
>  
> The above solution is much more in keeping with my original reason for
recommending an alteration to this section of the GOP and I thank Wolf and
Ken for raising their concerns.   
>  
> Does it satisfactorily resolve the essence of the objections?   
>  
> Ken Bour
>  
> From: KnobenW@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:KnobenW@xxxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 12:11 PM
> To: ken.bour@xxxxxxxxxxx; gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx
> Subject: AW: [gnso-osc-ops] GCOT Documents: Voting, Term Limits, and
Absences
>  
> Thanks, Ken.
>  
> I don't feel comfortable with the modified 4.4.1 leaving it up to the
Chair / VCs to "grant" an opportunity for absentee voting. What in case if
they don't find consensus on that? I'd rather prefer to allow absentee
voting in any case - iterative voting seems a bit artificial - or keep it
restricted to the cases as before.
> The other modofications of Chapter 4 are ok to me.
>  
> Section 2.1 - Council member term limits: agreed
>  
> Section 3.8 - Absences and vacancies: separate comment shall follow
>  
>  
> Regards 
> Wolf-Ulrich
> 
>  
>  
> Von: owner-gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx] Im
Auftrag von Ken Bour
> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 24. März 2010 23:32
> An: gnso-osc-ops@xxxxxxxxx
> Betreff: [gnso-osc-ops] GCOT Documents: Voting, Term Limits, and Absences
> 
> GCOT:
>  
> I have modified three documents and present them to the Work Team for
review.    I suggest taking them up in the order presented below... 
>  
> 1)      Section 2.1-Council Member Term Limits
> a)      Changes to 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 per GCOT?s teleconference on 24 March
(redlined).
> 2)      Chapter 4-Voting  [Revised 24 March 2010 and marked as OSC Version
#2] 
> a)      4.3-Motions and Votes:  added language to clarify that a
reason/explanation may be provided when entering Y and N votes in addition
to abstentions when it is always required.   This matter was raised by Steve
Metalitz at the OSC meeting in Nairobi. 
> b)     Section 4.4-Absentee Voting:  replacement language to permit
alternate voting mechanisms (e.g. electronic) when approved by the Chair and
ratified by all Vice-Chairs present. 
> c)      Section 4.5-Abstentions:  added a new clause (see 4.5.3-c-vi) that
occurred to me when writing the Absences material (below).   A Temporary
Alternate, if/when it affects a Council officer (e.g. Chair or Vice-Chair),
should not imply that the TA assumes that officer?s responsibilities.   I
wanted to make that explicit to avoid any potential confusion. 
> 3)      Section 3.8-Absences and Vacancies
> a)      Complete replacement for the original 3.8 to include handling:
incidental absences, leaves of absence (planned and unplanned), and
vacancies.   The vacancies material was drafted in response to Steve
Metalitz? question at the Nairobi OSC session as to whether a vacancy would
result in a reduction to the voting denominator.   The procedures were
previously silent on that matter, so I thought it should be addressed.   
>  
> Note:  the above revisions have not been reviewed by Legal. 
>  
> Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do to assist the
GCOT in completing these remaining sections. 
>  
> Ken Bour
>  
> P.S.  I will begin drafting the generalized Board Seat Elections material
which will go into Section 2.4 of the GOP replacing Annex 1.
>