At-Large Study Committee (ALSC) -- Proposed At-Large Election Guidelines

Draft guidelines for an At-Large election based on the ALSC's final report (and building on the 2000 Election Committee's recommendations)

1. At-Large Representation/Leadership

To select six ICANN At-Large Directors, the ALSC recommends that global elections be held based on six geographic regions. In each region, the At-Large Supporting Organization (ALSO) membership (At-Large members) would elect one Director to serve on ICANN's Board for a three-year term. In addition to the "winner" in each region serving as a Director, the five geographically diverse candidates who received the next highest number of votes in each region would form the Regional At-Large Council. Each region's Director also would serve as an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the Regional At-Large Council.

2.Oversight Committee

Initially, prior to an ALSO, the entire At-Large registration and election process should be overseen by an independent ICANN Committee (an ALSO Organizing Committee or an Election Committee) and conducted by a vendor. The Board should create the Committee by appointing 7-9 well-qualified, impartial individuals from diverse geographic regions, a majority of whom are not Directors. Committee membership should come from non-ICANN-affiliated persons with delegated authority to act on election matters. It is intended to be like the ALSC rather than 2000's Election Committee that was chaired by an ICANN Director and had affiliated and non-affiliated members. The Committee would need independent decision-making authority on election matters, however, rather than just recommendations for Board mandates such as the ALSC. The Board should reserve only ultimate authority while giving the Committee broad authority to implement the elections.

Note: See http://www.atlargestudy.org/final_report.shtml for additional information on the ALSC recommendations.

3. Electorate

Recommendations on creation of an At-Large electorate, including membership criteria and registration process, are addressed in the ALSC's Implementation Report.

4. Regional Voting

The vote for six At-Large Directors and members for six Regional At-Large Councils should be conducted by region, building on the regional diversity requirements found in ICANN's bylaws. A candidate would run in the region in which he/she is a citizen. An At-Large member would vote in the region in which he/she resides. Thus, the At-Large election would be 6 separate elections in 6 distinct regions, with one Director and five Regional Council members emerging as the winners in each region.

Note: The ALSC proposed that the five regions used in the last At-Large election be amended by creating a sixth "Central/West/South Asia" region. If creation of a new region threatens to significantly delay At-Large implementation, the ALSC recommended the elections proceed on the basis of five regions and that two At-Large Directors from two different countries be elected in the existing Asia/Pacific Region, and that five Regional At-Large Councils be created. Both approaches will ensure that the At-Large Directors and Council members meet ICANN's geographic diversity requirements, and having separate electoral regions will make capture more difficult and contribute to global representation and inclusiveness.

5. Ballot Creation - Nominating Committee and Member Nomination

Nine candidates should be listed on each region's ballot - four selected by a Nominating Committee, and five selected by member nominations. The ballot should not identify the nominating source of candidates, but candidates would be free to show it on their web pages.

Nominating Committee

Prior to creation of an ALSO, the Nominating Committee should be appointed by ICANN's Board and be comprised of 7-9 well-qualified, impartial individuals from diverse geographic regions, a majority of whom are not Directors. (If an ALSO is established, ALSO leadership would be responsible for creating the Nominating Committee.)

The Committee would issue a call for recommendations and expressions of interest, and consider key factors, such as those developed for the 2000 At-Large election (reputation for integrity and hard work; ability to exercise independent judgment; willingness to disclose obligations and potential conflicts of interest; professional/volunteer roles and accomplishments; understanding of the Internet's architecture and history; experience with the Internet's architecture; specific experience with the domain name and IP address systems; experience in international and/or multicultural environments; educational background; the extent to which the individual would bring relevant skills or experience that are otherwise absent from the ICANN Board; available time, energy, and interest; and indications that the individual will find broad support in the At Large membership).

Member Nomination

An individual seeking to be nominated by the membership would notify the independent ICANN Committee (ALSO Organizing Committee or Election Committee) of his/her wish to do so and submit the requisite information. Each At-Large member would be able to indicate support for 5 candidates in his/her geographic region for member-nomination. To obtain a place on the final ballot, an individual seeking member-nomination would need to meet the following conditions: (a) Support from 2% of the At Large Members in her/his geographic region, or 20 members, whichever is greater; and (b) Support from residents of at least two (2) countries; (Subject to an absolute limit of 9 candidates per region, including both Nominating Committee-nominated and member-nominated candidates).

If a candidate drops out, those endorsing the candidate should be allowed to change their endorsement, which would be processed by an election vendor with Committee oversight.

If the Nominating Committee fails to nominate four candidates, those slots left open should be available for member-nominated candidates up to the ceiling of nine.

6. Candidate Information, Voter Education, and Candidate Communication Practices

Under the direction of an independent ICANN Committee (ALSO Organizing Committee or Election Committee), the election vendor should post informational, standardized web pages about each candidate. Each candidate should be provided with an At-Large Candidate Questionnaire by which the candidate may submit information to be included on his/her web page, including biographical information, a statement of interest, required candidate disclosures, and a link to a single web site of the candidate's choice.

The election vendor also should facilitate communication by all candidates on an equal basis. During the scheduled period for Voter Education, a public question and answer forum should be provided for each candidate enabling At-Large members to pose election-related questions to the candidates. Each candidate should be the moderator of his/her own forum, choosing which questions to answer and how to answer them.

Candidates should have managed access to an alias At-Large membership communication list (email addresses) on a regional basis. During the voter education period, the candidates should have the opportunity to send weekly emails to At-Large members in their region. The list would be kept by ICANN or by a subcontracted vendor, but the names and addresses of those on the list would not be released to members. The frequency with which the membership is sent messages from candidates would be controlled by this central or vendor process, but not the content, per se. Content would be regulated, however, by the Committee in case of necessity, but only under very narrow limitations such as obscenity or hate language or product advertising.

The ALSC did not entirely agree with the approach taken in the last election on creating a highly restricted (election-only) list. In addition to the election, the list also should be used for ALSO communication, and the ground rules should be clear at the inception of the At-Large membership.

7. Balloting System

At Large members would cast their ballots online, via a secure interface provided by the election vendor. ICANN should use a preferential voting system to conduct the election. Voters should rank the candidates in order of preference. ("1" for their first choice, "2" for their second, etc.) Voters may rank as many or as few candidates as they choose. The votes are then tallied according to the first preferences (the "1"s). If at that point one candidate has an absolute majority (50% + 1) of the vote, he/she is elected Director. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The eliminated candidates votes are redistributed to the next ranked candidates (the "2"s). The votes are counted again to determine whether any candidate has a majority. If not, the elimination process is repeated until one candidate gains a majority and, thus, is declared the Director. Five candidates from different countries with the next highest votes are declared Regional Council members. The cut-off point for the winning six comes after three candidates have been eliminated through application of the preferential reallocation formula, rather than by the results of the first ballot.

8. Code of Conduct, Monitoring and Oversight

An independent ICANN Committee (ALSO Organizing Committee or Election Committee) should draft, seek public comment on, and finalize a "code of conduct" for the At-Large election. It should include rules for membership registration, candidate nominations, voter education, voting, and a process for addressing potential violations. All candidates and voters should be asked to commit to complying with the code of conduct.

The Committee should monitor and oversee the election process, and have access to all necessary information to validate its reliability and integrity. They would receive and investigate inquiries and complaints from At-Large members regarding the validity of the election process and make public their information and observations.

In 2002 and subsequently, if an ALSO conducts the election, it should be required to meet minimum standards of due process (including transparency, conflict of interest, minutes, records of voting in the ALSO, etc.), and an ICANN Election Committee or the equivalent should have the authority to enforce these standards and take control of the process, if necessary, if the standards are not being met.