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Voting Procedure
2. Participating in the General Meeting voting
2.1 Physically attending the General Meeting
2.2 Remotely attending the General Meeting
3. Registration for electronic voting
1. Introduction
At the RIPE NCC General Meeting (GM) October 2009 in Lisbon, the RIPE NCC Articles of Association (AoA) were amended, and approved, to allow for electronic voting for the RIPE NCC Executive Board elections and GM resolutions.
For the RIPE NCC General Meeting May 2011 in Amsterdam, the RIPE NCC Executive Board decided that, for the first time, votes on resolutions could 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 November 2011.
2. Participating in the General Meeting voting
All RIPE NCC members with full member status can 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 19 October 2011.
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. The webcast will also be made available for all members to view after the GM.
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
Five weeks before the GM, the registration for electronic voting will open. 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 LIRs with multiple registered contacts, only the first registration will be accepted, as there can only be one registration per LIR. If you represent more than one LIR, you can select all these LIRs in the BigPulse application.
Once the registration is submitted, the system will create a confirmation with a reference number, 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 fax to +31205354445 or by email to agm@ripe.net. You should include your LIR RegID with the copy of your ID.
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.
NOTE: If you submitted a passport or ID previously for a RIPE NCC Executive Board election 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 in 2010 and 2011, so it is not necessary for these people to send their identification again.
Only when you have registered with BigPulse and sent your identification to the RIPE NCC 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 General Meeting administrator.
The registration process for electronic voting closes on 19 October 2011. If you have not completed the registration process by this date, you will not be able to vote electronically on the resolutions at the forthcoming GM. However, you will be able to vote on the resolutions by paper ballot if you attend the GM in person.
4. Voting
The RIPE NCC General Meeting will take place on 2 November 2011. Five resolution will be voted on during the GM after all resolutions are presented to the membership.
Voting on the resolutions will take place during the General Meeting and will be as follows:
- The voting will open on 2 November during the GM once all resolutions have been presented to the membership.
- The voting will close the next day, 3 November, at 14:00 (UTC +1). The results will be announced by the Chairman of the GM on 3 November at 15:45 (UTC +1)
Members will vote on the resolutions with the following options:
- Yes
- No
- Abstain
A resolution needs more than 50% of the votes to pass. It should be noted that abstentions and invalid votes will be considered as not having been cast, although they will be recorded in the GM minutes.
4.1 Electronic voting
The RIPE NCC has selected the BigPulse electronic voting system to facilitate voting on the GM resolutions in November 2011. This system ensures that all voting data is anonymous, as votes cast cannot be associated with the voter's identity.
Only members that have completed the registration process before the deadline of 19 October 2011, as described under Section 3, will be able to vote electronically. 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 all resolutions. Each email will contain instructions and a unique link that will redirect users to a secure page on the BigPulse voting portal. The voting portal will only be open during the voting times indicated above.
Each Member who has completed the registration process for electronic voting will have one vote to cast for each resolution.
4.1.1. Electronic voting process
Once logged in, members will be presented with all resolutions and the voting options for each resolution.
If a person is registered to represent severalLIRs , 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 a resolution should receive all Yes votes, all No votes or a combination of both.
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.
The voting period for this GM will begin when all resolutions have been presented to the membership and will extend until the next day at 14:00 (UTC +1). The Executive Board is extending the voting period for this GM to allow members in different time zones in the RIPE NCC service region to have time to cast their votes. The webcast recording of the GM will also be available so that members can see the discussions on the resolutions.
Once the voting period is closed, the system will calculate the results according to the AoA. The Chairman of the GM will then announce the results of the votes at 15:45 (UTC +1) on 3 November .
4.2 Ballot voting
Members and proxy voters who attend the GM can vote with paper ballots. For each resolution, a different voting slip will be distributed. Members who register to vote electronically by 19 October 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 who represent more than one LIR will receive a quantity of voting slips that equals the number of members represented. These members 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 correctness of the input of the votes. Furthermore, the anonymity of the votes is in this way guaranteed.
For each resolution, the RIPE NCC will publish an audit report online provided by BigPulse so that members that have voted electronically can verify that their votes were properly cast.