This page sets forth a proposal developed by the ICANN
staff for the rules to item 1(b): member-nomination of individual candidates.
We encourage you to review the proposal and provide your comments and suggestions
for improvement. Click here
to go to the Public Comment
Forum for these proposed rules.
After public comment, the Board plans to adopt and implement
a set of rules for member-nomination. Comments
should be submitted by July 6, 2000, so that they reach the Board in time
for consideration at its July 16 meeting in Yokohama. Also in July , the Board
expects the Election Committee to
post for public review and comment its proposals for the campaign and voting
segments, along with its recommendations for the online voting system, so
that the Board can finalize those components at its Yokohama meetings.
For more information on the duties and responsibilities of At Large
Directors
click here.
(NOTE - (6-July-2000) - At the suggestion of the Election
Committee, the self-nomination phase has been retagged "member-nomination.")
Proposed Rules for Member-Nomination
As noted, the first phase of the election process is the
determination of which names will appear on the final ballot to be presented
to the At Large Members. There will be two avenues for a name to appear on
that ballot: (a) by nomination of the Nominating
Committee; (b) by member-nomination.
The following proposed rules are intended to create a
structure for the member-nominations process that meets the following basic
criteria:
- Candidates who demonstrate a certain minimum threshold
of support among the At Large Members in their geographic region* should
appear on the ballot, together with the set of candidates nominated by the
Nominating Committee.
- Candidates seeking to member-nominate should be supported
by At Large Members from more than one country.
- At Large Members should be informed of the individuals
seeking to member-nominate, and should have access
to background information about them.
- Individuals seeking to member-nominate should not be
given access to the email addresses or other personal information of the
At Large Members.
- Candidates seeking to member-nominate should not be able
to flood the At Large Members with unsolicited email appeals for their support.
* Background Note: Under the current election
plan, the At Large Members will elect five (5) Directors to the ICANN
Board. Each of those five must be the citizen of a different geographic
region, as defined by the ICANN Bylaws: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe,
Latin America/Caribbean, and North America). Voters in each geographic
region will cast votes only for the candidates in that region, meaning
that candidates will be elected only by voters in their region.
In light of the foregoing basic criteria, the ICANN staff
proposes the following rules for the member-nomination process:
Proposed Rules for Member-Nomination
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Staff Comments
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1. The member-nomination process will begin no later
than ten days after the announcement of the Nominating Committee's nominations,
and will last one month in duration.
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Under the current schedule, this means
that the member-nomination process will last from approximately July 20
to August 20, 2000.
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2. An individual seeking to member-nominate must notify
ICANN by email of his/her desire 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
- Information indicating potential conflicts
of interest, including:
- Employment and consulting relationships
- Ownership or investment interests in any
Internet-related businesses
- Official positions in any businesses or
Internet-related organizations
- Any background information, personal statement,
or other information the candidate would like posted in connection
with your name on the ICANN website.
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The rationale behind item (7) is the membership's
right to know some basic and information indicating potential conflicts
of interest. Determination of conflict of interest is intrinsically
difficult, and standards vary internationally; the information requested
is to allow At Large Members to make their own decisions based on accurate
information.
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3. The deadline for an individual to notify ICANN
of her/his desire to member-nominate will be two weeks after the start
of the member-nomination process.
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This will ensure that At Large Members have at
least two weeks in which to decide among the entire list of candidates
for member-nomination. Under the current schedule, the deadline for notification
would be approximately August 5, 2000.
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4. For each individual seeking to member-nominate,
ICANN will provide a web page listing the information in Rule 2, except
for physical address and phone number. The pages will be indexed on
a common page, grouped by geographic region as defined by the ICANN
Bylaws (Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, North
America).
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Personal data like physical addresses
and phone numbers should be kept private.
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5. ICANN will provide a cgi interface that will
allow any At Large Members to indicate support for a given candidate
for member-nomination, by entering her/his membership number, password,
and PIN number.
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ICANN assigns to each At Large member a membership ID, a password
(distributed by email), and a PIN number (distributed by surface mail).
For purposes of validating member-nomination support, ICANN will require
members to authenticate themselves.
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6. Each At Large Member will be able to indicate
support for one candidate for member-nomination.
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Because there will be one single winner in each
geographic region, and because of the interest in keeping the ballot
to a manageable size, At Large Members should be required to limit themselves
to a single preferred candidate for member-nomination. Since members will
have at least two weeks in which the full list of individuals seeking
to member-nominate will be known and posted, it should not be burdensome
for members to select the candidate for whom they would ultimately like
to vote.
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7. 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.
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This step is essential to a fair and open member-nomination
process. The periodic email will remind members about their option to
support a candidate for member-nomination, and point them to the relevant
web pages. It ensures that the membership is properly informed, but
not flooded with unsolicited candidate emails.
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8. At the close of the member-nomination process,
ICANN publish a list of the names of supporters for each individual
seeking member-nomination.
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Publication of the list is consistent with openness
and transparency, and will help to guard against fraud.
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9. To obtain a place on the final ballot, an individual
seeking member-nomination must meet the following conditions:
- Support from 10% of the At Large Members in her/his
geographic region, as defined by the ICANN Bylaws; and
- Support from residents of at least two (2) countries.
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These are the two basic conditions for member-nomination.
The first condition is drawn from analogous member-nomination
procedures in other election contexts, which typically require the support
of 5-15% of the relevant electorate. It is designed to ensure that candidates
appearing on the final ballot have demonstrated some indication of broad
support among the membership -- i.e., candidates who have some discernable
chance of winning. The ballot should be manageable in size, and should
not include a large number of candidates with no chance of winning.
The second condition is intended to promote the
principle that ICANN Directors must be trans-national in outlook.
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10. 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.
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Upon the conclusion of the member-nomination process, the campaign
process will begin. The Election
Committee will be working to propose rules for the campaign and
voting phases of the At Large Membership elections
.
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