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

[Avri Doria <avri@xxxxxxx>]

hi,

> "I cannot attend and am not allowed
> to vote using alternative means, therefore, I must abstain." 

i do not see the logic of this at all.  how could this possibly be an 
obligatory abstention?  if it is, then our definitons are too loose and need to 
be reviewed.

I think that a preferable solution would be one of the other alternatives - 
some form of the proxy.  or rather get to the meeting if you want to have a 
vote with rare exception for really important matter like initiating a PDP or 
electing someone chair.

if we feel that 100% is required for all votes, then i am almost included to 
say meetings are for discussion only, but all votes will be offline.  

a.




On 27 Mar 2010, at 01:17, Ken Bour wrote:

> 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.
>> 
> 
>