Voting Procedure
2. Participating in the Executive Board Elections
2.1 Physically Attending the General Meeting
2.2 Remotely Attending the General Meeting
3. Registration for Electronic Voting
1. Introduction
Votes cast for the upcoming RIPE NCC Executive Board elections and resolutions taking place during the RIPE NCC General Meeting May 2013 in Dublin can be cast electronically. The RIPE NCC has engaged BigPulse, an external company that specialises in web-based voting solutions, to conduct the poll.
More information is available on the General Meeting and the Executive Board Elections in May 2013.
2. Participating in the Executive Board Elections
All RIPE NCC members with full member status can participate in the RIPE NCC Executive Board elections and vote on the GM resolutions.
2.1 Physically Attending the General Meeting
Members who are attending the GM in person are required to:
- Register for the GM
- Upon request, provide proof of identity at the GM registration desk
Members physically attending the GM can vote electronically or by paper ballot. If they wish to vote electronically, they must register to do so by 14 May 2013.
2.2 Remotely Attending the General Meeting
Webcasting will enable members to follow the GM from a remote location. Registering for electronic voting will automatically register a member to attend the GM remotely via webcasting. All RIPE NCC members will receive instructions on how to attend the GM remotely.
3. Registration for Electronic Voting
In order to register for electronic voting, you need to submit your registration via the BigPulse application and provide proof of your identity.
3.1 Registration via BigPulse
In February 2013, an invitation for registration will be sent by the BigPulse voting application to all registered contacts of RIPE NCC members with full member status. By following the instructions in the invitation, registration with BigPulse is submitted.
For those registries with multiple registered contacts, only the first registration will be accepted, as there can only be one registration per member. If you represent more than one member, you can select all these members in the BigPulse application.
Once the registration is submitted, the system will create a confirmation with a reference, which can be used by the members to verify that the registration was received.
3.2 Proof of Identity
The registration process will only be completed when proof of identity is submitted. A copy of a passport or ID card should be sent either by email to agm@ripe.net or by fax to +31205354445.
The RIPE NCC respects the privacy of your personal information and is committed to protecting the personal information that you provide. This information will be processed only for the purpose of the RIPE NCC electronic voting procedure. Your personal information will be safely stored and will be destroyed after the GM.
The RIPE NCC is the only party that will receive your personal information. It is not shared with anyone else.
NOTE: If you submitted a passport or ID for a previous general meeting and completed the registration process, you only need to email agm@ripe.net to let the RIPE NCC know this. The RIPE NCC has a record of those who were entitled to vote previously, so it is not necessary for these people to send their identification again.
Only when the above two steps are completed will the registration process be completed. By registering for electronic voting at the GM, you agree to the RIPE NCC Voting Procedure as set out in this document. Note that the registration process is not anonymous and will be monitored by the RIPE NCC meeting administrator.
The registration process for electronic voting closes on 14 May 2013. If you have not completed the registration process by this date, you will not be able to vote electronically in the Executive Board elections or on GM resolutions on 15 May 2013. However, you will be able to vote in the Executive Board elections by paper ballot if you attend the GM in person.
4. Voting
The RIPE NCC Executive Board elections will take place during the General Meeting on 15 May 2015. This year, there is one seat on the Executive Board to be filled and so one voting round will be held.
The voting round will take place during the General Meeting. Members will be able to vote electronically until 14:00 (UTC +1) on 16 May 2013.
Instant run-off voting is the voting method used for Executive Board elections. Voters rank candidates in order of preference (first, second, third, etc.). If no candidate achieves an absolute majority (majority from remote and onsite voters), the candidate with the least number of votes is dropped and the next preferences of all ballots assigned to that candidate are added to the other totals. The process is repeated until a candidate achieves an absolute majority.
4.1 Electronic voting
The RIPE NCC has selected the BigPulse electronic voting system for the Executive Board elections and GM resolutions of May 2013. This system ensures that all voting data is anonymous, as votes cast cannot be associated with the voter's identity.
Only members that have previously completed the registration process, as described under Section 3, will be able to vote electronically in the RIPE NCC Executive Board elections. Before the GM, all members that completed the registration process (registered to vote electronically with BigPulse and submitted proof of identity) will receive a separate email inviting them to vote for each vacant seat to be filled. Each email will contain instructions and a unique link that will redirect users to a secure page on the BigPulse voting portal. For elections and resolutions, the voting portal will only be open during the voting period indicated above.
Each member who has completed the registration process for electronic voting will have one vote to cast for each resolution and for the Executive Board seat.
4.1.1. Electronic voting process for the election of first Board seat
Once logged in, members can select the chosen candidate by rank in order of preference, following the method of instant run-off voting, as described above.
If a person is registered to represent several members, multiple votes will be granted to this contact person. It is up to the registered contact to select how the votes should be distributed: whether the chosen candidate(s) combination should receive all the votes or if they should be distributed among different combinations.
Once the votes are submitted, the system will create a confirmation with a voting reference, which can be used by the member to verify that the vote has indeed been cast.
Once the voting period is closed, the system will calculate the results according to the instant run-off voting method and the RIPE NCC Articles of Association. The Chair of the GM will announce the results of the voting on 16 May.
4.2 Ballot voting
Members who attend the GM as well as proxy voters can vote with paper ballot at the GM. For each seat, a different voting slip will be distributed. Members who register to vote electronically by 14 May will have the option to either vote electronically or with paper ballot.
Voting slips will be distributed to those who will vote by paper ballot. Each voting slip will represent one vote. Proxy voters and/or those members than have more than one vote will receive a quantity of voting slips that equals the number of members represented. These persons will then need to fill in each individual slip per vote cast.
Once the votes are submitted, the votes will be manually entered into the BigPulse system, supervised by an impartial party in order to guarantee the correct input of the votes. Furthermore, the anonymity of the votes is in this way guaranteed.