Voting at the GM

Whether you attend the GM in person or follow remotely, the process for registering to vote is quick and easy.

All votes cast at the GM, whether in person or electronically, are completely anonymous.

Here is a step-by-step guide to voting at the GM:

1. Check your eligibility to vote
2. Register to vote at the GM yourself or nominate someone else to vote on your behalf (proxy vote nomination)
3. If you are attending the GM in person, choose whether you will vote electronically or whether you want to vote with a paper ballot
4. If you are following the GM remotely via webcast you can only vote electronically
5. Cast your vote once voting opens
6. Check the voting results after the GM

Check your Eligibility to Vote

• The person or organisation has to be a member of the RIPE NCC for longer than six months
• If you or your organisation became a member of the RIPE NCC less than six months ago, you will be eligible to vote from the following GM, in May 2019 
• Only one person from each eligible organisation can vote on that organisation's behalf
• For member organisations that have multiple LIR accounts, only the primary LIR account can vote - the secondary LIRs are not eligible to vote

Register to Vote

• Log in to my.ripe.net
• Click the GM Preferences link
• Select the membership organisation(s) that you will represent and which will be published on the attendee list
• Choose whether you will attend in person or participate remotely
• Choose whether you want printed GM materials on the day of the meeting (attendees only)
• Choose whether you will vote by paper ballot (attendees only) or electronically (attendees and remote participants)
• Confirm registration

How to Vote Electronically

• You can vote electronically at the GM irrespective of whether you attend in person or participate remotely.
• You first need to register under your GM Preferences and select either to attend in person or participate remotely.
• Once you have done this, you can choose the organisation(s) you will represent and then select the option to vote electronically.
• Members who have registered to vote electronically will receive an email from the BigPulse voting system prior to the GM.
• The deadline to register for electronic voting is 17 October 2018 at 16:00 local time (UTC+2).

How to Vote with a Paper Ballot

• You can vote using paper ballots only if you are attending the GM in person
• To attend the GM in person, you need to register under your GM Preferences and select the option to attend in person.
• Once you have done this, you can choose the organisation(s) you will represent and then select the option to vote with paper ballot.
• On the day of the GM, you can pick up your voting ballot slip at the GM Registration Desk.

Nominate a Proxy

If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like someone who is attending to vote on your company's behalf, you can nominate a proxy voter. To do this, download the proxy voting form.

When completed, send it to the RIPE NCC.

The deadline to nominate a proxy is 3 October 2018.

Casting Your Vote at the GM

The Chairman of the RIPE NCC Executive Board will open voting during the GM on Wednesday, 17 October.

Resolutions require a majority vote to be approved. Changes to the Articles of Association require a two-thirds majority vote. If you are voting by paper ballot, you simply mark one box beside YES, NO or ABSTAIN for the resolution and hand your ballot to the assigned vote collector.

If you are voting electronically, you use the link on the email you received to access the BigPulse voting pages.

Members can cast their votes electronically until 09:00 local time (UTC+2) on Friday, 19 October.

Results of the Voting

At 09:00 local time (UTC+2) on 19 October, independent observers will oversee the process in which the paper ballots are added to the electronic votes.

At 10:45 local time (UTC+2) on 19 October, the Chairman of the RIPE NCC Executive Board will announce the results of the voting on the resolutions. This announcement will be webcast for remote participants in the GM.

For more details about voting at the GM, please see the RIPE NCC Articles of Association, article 16.4.