ICANN | Proposed Rules for Self-Nomination

ICANN At-Large Election

Proposed Rules for Member-Nomination

Posted: May 19, 2000; schedule updated July 6, 2000
Deadline for Public Comments: July 6, 2000

The At Large Membership election process can be broken down into three distinct segments, with several components for each.

Determination of the ballot (now - August 31 )
1. Nominated by the Nominating Committee (now - July 31)
2. Member-nomination (August 1 - August 31)
Campaign period (September 1 - September 30 )
1. Posting of web page for each candidate
2. Notification of At Large Members via email
Vote by the At Large Members (October 1 - October 10)
1. Casting of online ballots by At Large Members
2. Counting of ballots
3. Monitoring and oversight
4. Announcement of results

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.")

Click here to enter the Public Comment Forum on these proposed rules.

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

Staff Comments

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.

Under the current schedule, this means that the member-nomination process will last from approximately July 20 to August 20, 2000.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Personal data like physical addresses and phone numbers should be kept private.

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.

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.

6. Each At Large Member will be able to indicate support for one candidate for member-nomination.

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.

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.

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.

8. At the close of the member-nomination process, ICANN publish a list of the names of supporters for each individual seeking member-nomination.

Publication of the list is consistent with openness and transparency, and will help to guard against fraud.

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.

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.

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.

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

.

Proposed Rules for Member-Nomination	Staff Comments
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.	Under the current schedule, this means that the member-nomination process will last from approximately July 20 to August 20, 2000.
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.	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.
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.	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.
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).	Personal data like physical addresses and phone numbers should be kept private.
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.	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.
6. Each At Large Member will be able to indicate support for one candidate for member-nomination.	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.
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.	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.
8. At the close of the member-nomination process, ICANN publish a list of the names of supporters for each individual seeking member-nomination.	Publication of the list is consistent with openness and transparency, and will help to guard against fraud.
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.	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.
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.	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 .