User:CZ Elections December 2011

Notice to all Citizens

As the term of office of four Editorial Council members is due to expire, the Management Council has called an Election, as per the rules of the Citizendium Charter.

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Editorial Council election

All Citizens in good standing are eligible to be nominated for the Editorial Council seats. The elected officers will complete the terms of office of the members who vacate their particular seat as specified by the Management Council.

The Editorial Council seats to be filled by this election include two Editor positions and two Author positions, namely those of:

• Editor: Aleta Curry
• Editor: Peter Schmitt
• Author: Hayford Peirce
• Author: Ro Thorpe

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Timetable

The timetable for the elections is as follows:

• Begin accepting nominations and referenda on November 24, 2011;
  
• Stop accepting nominations and referenda at the end of December 8, 2011;
  
• Have the ballot prepared by December 15, 2011;
  
• Begin accepting ballots from eligible voters on December 15, 2011;
  
• Stop accepting ballots at the end of December 22, 2011
  

NB: All dates referred to above will be counted as starting at midnight UTC.

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Nominees (in alphabetical order) and links to their statements: Author positions

Name of nominee	Acceptance of nomination	Statement
David Finn	Accept - David Finn 09:00, 1 December 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Brian P. Long	Accept - Brian P. Long 02:57, 30 November 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Hayford Peirce	Accept - Hayford Peirce 20:33, 25 November 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Joe Quick	Accept - Joe Quick 15:07, 8 December 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
John Stephenson	Accept - John Stephenson 12:44, 8 December 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Ro Thorpe	Accept - Ro Thorpe 18:27, 27 November 2011 (UTC)	Statement.

Nominees (in alphabetical order) and links to their statements: Editor positions

Name of nominee	Acceptance of nomination	Statement
Robert Badgett		Statement.
Maria Cuervo	Accept Maria Cuervo 22:31, 30 November 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Aleta Curry	Accept Aleta Curry 08:30, 30 November 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Jaume Cañellas Galindo	Accept Dr. Jaume Cañellas Galindo 07:38, 2 December 2011 (UTC)	Statement.
Peter Schmitt	Accept -- Peter Schmitt 22:43, 1 December 2011 (UTC)	Statement.

All candidates who accept their nominations should write a Statement about themselves, their beliefs, their background at Citizendium, their programs, etc. To do so, simply click on the word "Statement" at the far right of their user line, fill in the blank space with their Statement, and click "Save page".

Referenda

Three referenda to amend the Charter are also being held, with voting also taking place between December 15, 2011 and December 22, 2011. The three referenda listed below are all citizen-initiated and have the support of the requisite three citizens.

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Referendum 1: Election of unopposed candidates

Proposed by User:John Stephenson

Article 25, section 3, subsection 1 of the Citizendium Charter shall have the following text added immediately after the existing text:

• If the number of candidates is equal to or less than the number of seats with the same term lengths being contested in the election, then any candidates who have been legitimately nominated shall be elected unopposed, with no ballot taking place. A ballot is still required when vacant seats have different term lengths. For a by-election, an unopposed candidate shall be allowed to take the seat immediately.

The above referendum is further discussed at CZ:Referenda (Citizen-Initiated)/Election of unopposed candidates, December 2011. As this referendum modifies the Charter, it shall be ratified if accepted by a qualified majority of two thirds of the votes validly cast.

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Referendum 2: Election procedure

Proposed by User:Peter Schmitt

1. Voting: Citizens are asked to list -- in order of preference -- all candidates whom they approve (and only those).

This list may contain all candidates or may be empty, too.

1. Approval threshold: In a first step all candidates are removed from the ballot who have not gained minimum support (25 percent).

The threshold is to be calculated from the number of ballots cast.

1. Election result: The remaining candidates are ordered according to the number of votes gained. If seats remain vacant they shall be filled in a special election (three months later). Remaining candidates may serve as reserve members.

The above referendum is further discussed at CZ:Referenda (Citizen-Initiated)/Elections.

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Referendum 3: Managing Editor sysop powers

Proposed by User:John Stephenson

Should the Citizendium Managing Editor be considered for sysop rights on the main wiki according to the procedure, restrictions and responsibilities set out at 'Managing Editor sysop powers'?

Rules of procedure

Awarding of sysop rights

1. The Management Council shall hold a vote on whether to formally offer sysop rights on the main Citizendium wiki to the Citizendium Managing Editor not more than 90 days after that person enters office following election.

2. The Management Council's deliberations and reasons for their votes shall be restricted to whether the activities and background of the new Managing Editor qualify that person to accept the responsibility of sysop powers.

3. The Managing Editor shall be automatically entitled to claim sysop rights only if more than 90 days have elapsed since election or re-election and any of the following conditions are satisfied:

a) the Management Council has not held a vote; or

b) the vote did not satisfy the Management Council quorum; or

c) the Management Council has voted against the award but it is clear that at least one vote against the award was due to reasons related to any issue other than the suitability of the officer-holder to exercise sysop rights. In such a case, the Ombudsman shall adjudicate.

4. If the Managing Editor has been re-elected and already holds sysop rights by virtue of that office, no vote shall take place.

5. If the Managing Editor already holds sysop rights by virtue of holding any other status, the vote shall be held to extend the legitimate use of those powers to official activities as Managing Editor.

Removal of sysop rights

6. Managing Editor sysop powers awarded shall only be removed:

a) on or after a Managing Editor's final day in office; or

b) if the officer-holder ceases to be a project member in good standing; or

c) by a majority vote of the Combined Councils at any time; or

d) at the office-holder's request.

Use of sysop powers

7. The Managing Editor's use of sysop powers is authorised only for official activities within that office, in accordance with Article 36 of the Citizendium Charter.

8. 'Official activities' may include the inspection of deleted pages or media.

9. The Managing Editor is prohibited from making any use of Citizens' private information gained via sysop privileges, including but not limited to registered email addresses and internet protocol (IP) information.

10. The Managing Editor may block accounts and delete pages or media in clear cases of vandalism or other obvious violations as listed under 'offenses that will result in an immediate ban'.

11. The Managing Editor may block or unblock accounts and delete or republish pages or media on an interim basis only where no other officials have taken up the issue concerned within 30 days of it coming to the attention of the community or that of relevant parties.

12. Following the Managing Editor's official use of sysop powers, any subsequent ruling, vote or decision by the appropriate official(s) may overturn or modify the Managing Editor's action.

13. Any Citizen may refer any use or suspected use of sysop powers by the Managing Editor to the Management Council and/or Constabulary for investigation and/or appeal.

14. Any individual whose account has been blocked by the Managing Editor may appeal the block to the Management Council and/or Constabulary.

15. Use of sysop powers may be revised but not revoked altogether at any time by vote of the Management Council.

The above referendum is further discussed at CZ:Referenda (Citizen-Initiated)/Managing Editor sysop powers, December 2011. This proposal began as a forum discussion.

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Voting

Voting in the Elections and Referendum runs from midnight UTC, December 15, to 23:59 (UTC) December 22, 2011.

Voting instructions

First, make sure you are logged in to Citizendium, then:

1. Copy the text of the "Ballot paper" from the next section.
2. On the menu on the far left of this page, under Toolbox, you will see a menu item, E-mail this user. Click on that link.
3. This will take you to a page where you can enter the text of your email.
4. Paste in the text of the "Ballot paper" that you previously copied.
5. Under the heading EC Authors, type the name of your preferred candidate(s), in the order of your preference, one name per line. (You may also abstain by not filling in anything in this section).
6. Under the heading EC Editors, type the name of your preferred candidate(s), in the order of your preference, one name per line. (You may also abstain by not filling in anything in this section).
7. Under the heading Referendum 1, type "Yes" if you wish to vote in favour of the referendum, or type "No" if you wish to vote against the referendum. (You may also abstain by not filling in anything in this section).
8. Under the heading Referendum 2, type "Yes" if you wish to vote in favour of the referendum, or type "No" if you wish to vote against the referendum. (You may also abstain by not filling in anything in this section).
9. Under the heading Referendum 3, type "Yes" if you wish to vote in favour of the referendum, or type "No" if you wish to vote against the referendum. (You may also abstain by not filling in anything in this section).
10. Check what you've entered to make sure it accurately reflects your preferences.
11. Click on the Send button.

That's it - you've just cast your ballot. Thank you for participating!

Ballot paper

EC Authors

EC Editors

Referendum 1

Referendum 2

Referendum 3

Results

Results will be announced on this page once tallied and audited.