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ELECTION PROCEDURES
FOR THE
WBAI STATION BOARD

PREAMBLE:

In recent years, an unaccountable majority appointed to the Pacifica Foundation's Board of Directors has repeatedly violated the founding principles of the Pacifica Network, as articulated by Lewis Hill and the other Pacifica founders in the Articles of Incorporation. This majority is steering individual stations, including WBAI in New York, and the network as a whole, in a direction unacceptable to those who support Pacifica and believe in the necessity of the network to the health of our society.

As a number of lawsuits against the hostile Board majority proceed toward conclusion, it will not be sufficient simply to replace the individuals at the top of Pacifica's power structure with others who pledge to do a better job. We who love, value, and depend upon Pacifica as much as it depends upon us must do everything in our power to ensure that such a transgression never occurs again.

At this time in Pacifica's history, it is necessary to build democratic accountability and transparency into the governing structure of foundation from the bottom up, from the local to national, from the hitherto voiceless listeners up to the powerful members of the foundations' Board of Directors, and to entrust the ultimate responsibility for protecting Pacifica's vital founding principles to the network's many thousands of loyal listeners.

These Election Procedures describe a method for conducting regular, democratic elections for all Listener and Staff seats on the WBAI Local Advisory Board and reconstituting it as a more powerful Station Board, representative of the needs of the WBAI community. Granting listeners the power to vote in the reconstruction and protection of WBAI and Pacifica is a crucial first step toward true empowerment and democracy in the network.

ARTICLE I: WBAI STATION BOARD FUNCTION and COMPOSITION

Section 1: The elected WBAI Station Board (hereafter "Board") shall replace and assume the duties of the current, appointed Local Advisory Board (hereafter "LAB") upon the conclusion of the first election in 2001. The Board shall have all duties and powers consistent with future revisions of the LAB/Board or Pacifica Foundation by-laws.

Section 2: The Board shall comprise twenty-one (21) elected seats, seventeen (17) of which shall be Listener seats, and four (4) of which shall be Staff seats. Of the Staff seats, two (2) shall represent the unpaid station staff and two (2) shall represent paid station staff. The right to vote shall be reserved for only these directly-elected members of the Board.

Section 3: The length of a term on the Board shall be three years, except in the case of the first election in which some elected candidates shall receive, by the method described in Section 4 herein, terms of one or two years for the purposes of implementing annual staggered elections. Board members shall be limited to serving for a total of two consecutive or non-consecutive terms. If re-elected, Board members who receive shorter terms in the first election shall be permitted to serve one additional three-year term.

Section 4A: After the first election, elections shall be staggered to occur every year, with either six (6) or five (5) Listener seats and either two (2) or one (1) of the Staff seats being filled in each election.

Section 4B: For the first election only, the entire Board shall be elected. The seventeen (17) elected Listener candidates to the Board, once seated, shall devise a method of determining which five (5) candidates shall receive full three-year terms, which six (6) shall receive two-year terms, and which six (6) shall receive one-year terms. While vote tabulation results may be taken into account and there may be seated candidates who volunteer to receive shorter terms, the final decision should balance these considerations with the goal of the Board representing the diversity of the WBAI audience with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, listener-area geography, and class, as stated in Article II, Section 4 herein. The staff members seated on the Board, shall employ similar criteria in determining which elected candidate shall receive a three-year term, which shall receive a two-year term, and which two (2) shall receive one-year terms. The elected Board shall report the length of all members' terms to the Election Committee, as determined by a majority vote of Board members, within three months of being seated. If the Board fails to report such a vote to the Election Committee, the Election Committee shall assign terms solely on the basis of the results of vote tabulation. Members who acquired the necessary "threshold" vote in the earliest rounds of balloting, as described in Appendix I herein, shall be seated for three-year terms, while members who acquired the threshold in the second-most rounds shall be seated for two-year terms, and those who acquired the threshold in the greatest number of rounds of balloting shall be seated for one-year terms. Ties shall be broken in the manner described in Appendix I herein.

Section 5: Elected Board members shall be seated within one month of the official announcement of election results.

ARTICLE II: ELECTION COMMITTEE and ELECTION COORDINATOR FUNCTION

Section 1: These election procedures shall be implemented by the WBAI Station Board Election Committee (hereafter "Election Committee") and the WBAI Station Board Election Coordinator (hereafter "Election Coordinator").

Section 2A: Any member of the member of the community shall be eligible to attain voting member status on the Election Committee in accordance with the standing rules of voting membership of the Election Committee found in Appendix II herein, except that, in a given election cycle, new voting members shall not be added to the Election Committee between the start of the Nomination Period and the close of the Election Period. All voting members of the Concerned Friends of WBAI Elections Committee, as defined by the standing rules of voting membership of that committee adopted May 11, 2001, shall be eligible to immediately become voting members of the Election Committee, if they so choose. Among the standing rules of the Election Committee shall be those listed in Appendix II herein. Meetings of the Election Committee shall be regular and publicly announced, and minutes of these meetings shall be publicly available. Any member of the community shall be welcomed at meetings and encouraged to participate in discussion in any manner consistent with standing rules of the body.

Section 2B: Voting members of the Election Committee shall neither stand for election to the Board nor publicly endorse, either as individuals or as an entity, any candidate seeking election to the Board from the start of the Nomination Period to the close of the Election Period in a given election cycle.

Section 3: The Election Committee shall appoint an Election Coordinator to aid it in implementing these election procedures and to function as an arbiter of disputes. The Election Coordinator shall serve as a voting member of the Election Committee for the duration of his or her appointment, which shall be from the start of the Nomination Period until the announcement of the results in a given election cycle. The Election Coordinator shall not be a current or former member of the WBAI or Pacifica staff or a current or former member or affiliate of the WBAI Local Advisory Board.

Section 4: The Election Coordinator and Election Committee shall strive to the best of their ability to ensure, through outreach efforts, a slate of candidates representing the diversity of the WBAI listening audience with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, listener-area geography, and class.

Section 5: Neither the Election Coordinator nor members of the Election Committee shall be compensated in any manner for their services.

ARTICLE III. ELECTION METHOD

Section 1: Votes for Listener seats shall be cast only by qualified voters for Listener seats, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 2.

Section 2: Votes for Unpaid Staff seats shall be cast only by qualified voters for Unpaid Staff seats, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 3.

Section 3: Votes for Paid Staff seats shall be cast only by qualified voters for Paid Staff seats, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 4.

Section 4: Voters for all seats on the Board shall rank the candidates on the ballot in order of preference using the method of proportional representation voting commonly known as Choice Voting, also known as Single Transferable Vote or the Hare-Clarke System, the methodology of which is explained in detail in Appendix I herein.

ARTICLE IV: VOTER QUALIFICATIONS

Section 1: Qualified voters for both Listener and Staff seats must reside, work, or attend school in the WBAI signal area.

Section 2: Qualified voters for Listener seats on the Board must also meet the requirements of one of the following six categories:

A: Subscribing Listener Voter: Any natural person (as opposed to a group or organization) who has contributed the minimum subscription amount of twenty-five dollars ($25) to WBAI during the three years prior to the closing date of the Nomination Period.

B: Volunteer Listener Voter: Any natural person who has performed three (3) or more hours of volunteer work at the station during the five (5) years prior to the closing date of the Nomination Period.

C: Young Adult Listener Voter: Any natural person under twenty-one (21) years of age on the closing date of the Nomination Period.

D: Low-Income Listener Voter: Any natural person who is a listener of WBAI and is unable to donate time or money to the station.

E: Boycotting/Protesting Listener Voter: For the first election only, any natural person who, in protest of WBAI/Pacifica Foundation policies and politics, has decided to boycott the station fund drives and/or to contribute time or money to any group or organization involved in the struggle to reclaim Pacifica locally or nationally (i.e. the "Free Pacifica" movement).

F: Former Subscribing Listener Voter: For the first election only, any natural person who has contributed the minimum subscription amount of twenty-five dollars ($25) to WBAI between three (3) and ten (10) years prior to the closing date of the Nomination Period.

Section 3: Qualified voters for Unpaid Staff seats on the Board must meet the requirements of Section 1 herein as well as the requirements of one of the following two (2) categories:

A: Unpaid Staff Voter: Any natural person holding an unpaid staff position at the station as of the closing of the Nomination Period of a given election cycle.

B: Terminated Unpaid Staff Voter: For the first election only, any member of the staff terminated from an unpaid position between December 22, 2000 and the closing of the Nomination Period.

Section 4: Qualified voters for Paid Staff seats on the Board must meet the requirements of Section 1 herein as well as the requirements of one of the following two (2) categories:

A: Paid Staff Voter: Any natural person holding a paid staff position at the station as of the closing of the Nomination Period of a given election cycle.

B: Terminated Paid Staff Voter: For the first election only, any member of the staff terminated from a paid position between December 22, 2000 and the closing of the Nomination Period.

ARTICLE V: CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

Section 1A: Any candidate for a Listener seat on the Board must not be a current member of paid or unpaid station staff, must not have been an on-air producer within one year of the close of the Nomination Period, and must be a qualified Listener Voter, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 2.

Section 1B: Any candidate for an Unpaid Staff seat on the Board must be a qualified Unpaid Staff Voter, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 3.

Section 1C: Any candidate for an Paid Staff seat on the Board must be a Paid Staff Voter, as defined in Article IV, Sections 1 and 4.

Section 2A: To be nominated, a candidate for a Listener seat on the Board must present a nomination petition endorsed by at least 20 other qualified Listener Voters to the Election Committee by the close of the Nomination Period.

Section 2B: To be nominated, a candidate for an Unpaid Staff seat on the Board must announce his or her candidacy to the Election Committee by the close of the Nomination Period.

Section 2C: To be nominated, a candidate for a Paid Staff seat on the Board must announce his or her candidacy to the Election Committee by the close of the Nomination Period.

Section 3A: Any member of the LAB serving at the closing date of the Nomination Period of the first election, who has occupied his or her seat for a period or periods totaling less than six years but more than three years in duration on that date, shall be encouraged to stand for election to the Board either in the first election or in a subsequent election, provided he or she meets the other qualifications of a candidate specified herein, and shall be limited to serving one (1) term, if elected.

Section 3B: Any member of the LAB serving at the closing date of the Nomination Period of the first election, who has occupied his or her seat for a period or periods totaling less than three years in duration on that date shall be encouraged to stand for election to the Board either in the first election or a subsequent election, provided he or she meets the other qualifications of a candidate specified herein, and shall be permitted to serve up to two (2) consecutive or non-consecutive terms, if elected and re-elected.

Section 3C: Current or former members of the LAB who have been seated for a period or periods totaling six or more years in duration prior to the closing date of the Nomination Period shall not be permitted to stand for election to the Board.

Section 4: The Station General Manager, who shall continue to be an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the Board, shall not be permitted to run for an elected seat on the Board.

ARTICLE VI: NOMINATION PERIOD

The Nomination Period shall last thirty (30) days, during which time the Election Committee shall arrange regional signature-gathering events throughout the WBAI signal area.

ARTICLE VII: CAMPAIGNING PERIOD

Section 1: The Campaigning Period shall commence exactly one week after the close of the Nomination Period, in order to allow candidate validation time, and shall last forty-five (45) days, until the commencement of the Election Period.

Section 2: While any natural person, as opposed to a group or organization, may publicly endorse one or more candidates seeking a seat on the Board, the following are prohibited, as entities, from issuing statements in any form about individual candidates or their positions: the staff of WBAI; the staff of any other Pacifica station; the staff of the Pacifica Foundation; the current WBAI LAB/Board, the LAB/Board of any other Pacifica station; and any group or organization involved in the struggle to reclaim Pacifica locally or nationally (i.e. the "Free Pacifica" movement). Station staff shall not endorse or discuss the candidacy of any listener or staff candidate on the air outside of the on-air forums outlined in Section 3A herein.

Section 3: WBAI management shall allot at least four segments as on-air question-and-answer forums during the Campaigning Period. These forums shall be at least two hours each on different days and shall occur at different times of day between eight o'clock A.M. (8:00 AM) and eleven o'clock P.M. (11:00 PM). All candidates for Listener seats on the Board shall be invited, and participation in at least one of these forums shall be mandatory. An individual assigned by a candidate may stand in to represent a candidate's positions. Each forum shall be moderated by a different individual, if possible. Moderators shall not be current or former members of the WBAI staff and shall be appointed by the Election Coordinator.

Section 4: Any community group or organization, if it so desires, may host an additional public forum or forums, provided that all of the candidates for Listener seats are invited to attend and participate equally. A candidate's participation in these forums shall not be mandatory.

Section 5: Any other on-air discussion of the election must be confined to encouraging listeners to vote for their candidates of choice. Any on-air programmer who is a candidate for a Staff seat on the Board shall be immediately disqualified for discussing his or her candidacy on-air. Any candidate for a Listener seat who appears on-air to discuss his or her candidacy outside of the official on-air forums shall be disqualified immediately. The Election Coordinator shall be the arbiter of disqualifications, subject to a possible two-thirds override vote of the Election Committee.

Section 6: Each candidate shall provide answers to a set of questions in a candidate questionnaire as well as a short statement about his or her candidacy and vision for the station prior to the close of the Nomination Period. The questions on the candidate questionnaire shall be determined by the Election Committee, after soliciting input solicited from the community. The candidates' responses to the questionnaire and candidate statement shall be mailed along with ballots to all registered voters, shall be used as a basis for discussion in the on-air forum, and shall be posted on an official election website or websites established or designated and publicized by the Election Committee.

Section 7: All candidates shall pledge to obey the following campaign rules: to campaign only using above-described official methods (on-air and community forums, questionnaire, and official election website); to spend no money, or allow to be spent such money on one's behalf, above a Campaign Spending Limit to be established by the Election Committee, the purposes of advertising one's candidacy in any form, including but not limited to disseminating flyers or buttons, or taking out advertisements. The Election Committee shall facilitate obtaining and distributing funds in the amount of the established Campaign Spending Limit to candidates of lesser means to allow them the same access to promotion of their candidacy as other candidates. The Election Committee shall solicit this pledge from all candidates in writing prior to the close of the Nomination Period. Any candidate who refuses to sign the campaign pledge shall not appear on the ballot and shall be disqualified as a write-in candidate. The Election Coordinator shall be the arbiter of disqualifications regarding the campaign pledge, subject to a possible two-thirds override vote of the Election Committee.

ARTICLE VIII: ELECTION PERIOD, MECHANICS and VALIDATION

Section 1: The Election Period shall be thirty days in duration, and shall commence immediately after the close of the Campaign Period.

Section 2: An impartial and reputable organization/firm(s) whose primary purpose is not related to WBAI or Pacifica shall be appointed/hired by the Election Committee to manage and/or oversee the mechanical aspects of the production and mailing of campaign statements, ballots, and the tabulation of the vote. Candidates and other members of the WBAI community shall be granted access to monitor every step of the election process in a fair and equal manner, the mechanics of which shall be determined by the Election Committee and Election Coordinator.

Section 3A: Paper ballots shall be mailed to the home addresses of all registered and qualified Listener voters, shall be available at regional registration/pick up locations throughout the WBAI signal area, shall be emailed to registered voters for whom only email addresses are available, and shall be available for download from an official website or websites designated by the Election Committee, provided all these methods are determined to be fair and feasible. The Election Committee shall ensure that campaign materials of all types, including candidate nomination sheets, candidate questionnaires, candidate statements and ballots, shall be available in both English- and Spanish-language versions, and in as many additional languages as is feasible.

Section 3B: Paper ballots for the election of Paid and Unpaid Staff seats shall be distributed to all members of the station staff at the commencement of the Election Period by a member of the staff designated by the Election Coordinator to run the staff election, and shall be returned to the third-party balloting manager by this designee for counting.

Section 4A: Ballots shall provide space for write-in candidates, and votes for write-in candidates shall be counted in the manner specified in Appendix I herein.

Section 4B: Ballots shall not provide the option to vote for "none of the above."

Section 5A: If access to the station subscriber list is forthcoming, the Election Committee shall, with the aid of a third-party database specialist who is not a member of the Committee or of either WBAI or Pacifica staff, work with the station staff or its delegate in charge of the subscriber list to compile a list of Listener voters qualified to vote under the provisions of Article IV, Sections 1, 2A, and 2F herein. This list shall then be supplemented by widespread outreach efforts to register voters who qualify to vote under the provisions of Article IV, Sections 2B-2E herein.

Section 5B: If access to the station subscriber list is not forthcoming, the Election Committee shall, with the aid of the aid of the third-party database specialist referred to in Section 5A herein, rely on widespread outreach efforts, in conjunction with an array of community groups in the signal area, to register voters who qualify to vote under the provisions of all subsections of Article IV, Section 2 herein.

Section 6: Each voter determined to be qualified by the Election Committee, under the provisions of Article IV herein, shall be assigned a unique voter registration number to ensure that the voter completes only one ballot. Any duplicate ballots arising from the implementation of Sections 4A or 4B herein shall be detected with the aid of the database specialist discussed in Section 5 herein, and only one ballot from each qualified voter shall be accepted, in accordance with procedures to be determined by the Election Committee.

Section 7: By the close of the Election Period, voters shall mail in completed ballots to an address designated by the Election Committee or hand-deliver completed ballots to designated regional ballot drop-off locations throughout the signal area.

Section 8: Each voter shall mail or drop off the completed ballot in an envelope with return address and voter name(s) clearly indicated, and accompanied by his or her assigned unique voter identification number. A ballot not accompanied by a unique voter identification number shall be disqualified. The Election Coordinator shall be the arbiter of disqualifications, subject to a possible two-thirds override vote of the Election Committee.

Section 9: A two-thirds vote of the LAB/Board must validate any election. For an election to be valid, the LAB/Board shall consider the minimum voter turnout to be ten percent (10%) of total subscribers. If the required number of ballots has not been received after the close of the Election Period, the Election Coordinator shall continue to accept ballots for an additional thirty (30) days and, with the help of the on-air personnel and/or other methods, publicize this Extended Election Period until an adequate number of ballots is received. The Extended Election Period shall continue even if the ten percent threshold is reached before thirty days have passed. At the close of the Extended Election Period, the LAB/Board may, with a two-thirds majority vote, validate the election regardless of total voter turnout. If the required two-thirds vote of the LAB/Board is not acquired, the election is not validated. In such a circumstance, the current LAB/Board shall continue to serve, and another election shall be held within six months.

Section 10: The third-party overseeing the balloting procedure, described in Section 2 herein, shall determine the winning candidates in accordance with the Choice Voting methodology described in Appendix I herein.

Section 11: The Elections Coordinator shall officially announce the names of the candidates seated on the Board as well as the balloting results of the election both on the air and on a web site or sites designated by the Election Committee.

ARTICLE IX: VACANCIES

Section 1: In the occasion that a Board member resigns or otherwise vacates a seat before the conclusion of his or her term, the member's seat shall be filled by recounting the ballots from the election in which that seat was filled, in the manner specified in Appendix I herein, except that the vacating member's name shall be deleted from all ballots. The candidate accruing the most votes in the recount who was not seated on the Board in the original election shall fill the vacancy. For the purpose of filling vacancies on the Board, the Election Committee shall retain all ballots from a given election for a period of at least four years.

Section 2: The candidate filling the vacancy may then stand for re-election at the conclusion of the partial term, provided he or she meets the qualifications for a candidate specified in Article V herein. If the remainder of the appointee's term is less than one year, the appointee may be re-elected to serve two additional terms. If the remainder of the appointee's term is great than one year, the appointee may be re-elected to serve only a single term.

Section 2: Any Board member holding a Listener seat who becomes a member of the station staff shall immediately vacate his or her seat on the Board and in a future election may run for a Staff seat on the Board for a single term, provided he or she meets the qualifications of a candidate specified in Article V herein. The vacated Listener seat shall be filled by the method described in Section 1 and Appendix I herein.

ARTICLE X: RECALL REFERENDUM

Section 1: The Board, in its entirety, may be recalled by the voters through an initiative process called a Recall Referendum.

Section 2: Any qualified voter or voters, as defined in Article IV herein, may collect signatures of other qualified voters for the purposes of initiating a Recall Referendum. If the signatures collected total at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total votes cast in the previous Board election, a Recall Referendum shall be held.

Section 3: Ballots for the Recall Referendum shall be distributed by the same method described in Article VII herein, and shall contain only two possible choices, either to initiate an immediate Board election or to allow the Board's members to continue their terms. The election shall be considered valid only if the number of ballots returned equals at least fifty percent (50%) of the number of ballots cast in the previous Board election. The Election Period of thirty days shall, in no circumstance, be extended for a Recall Referendum.

Section 4: If the Recall Referendum obtains a simple majority in favor of holding a new election, a new election of the entire Board shall be held within ninety days of the announcement of the results. New candidates shall be eligible to stand for election, as in a regular election, and Board members shall be eligible for re-election after completing the normal nomination and campaign process, as described in Articles V-VII herein. A Board seated as a result of a Recall Referendum election shall be seated only for the remainder of the terms of the Board it replaced, and shall serve only until the next regularly scheduled election. For new Board members seated in such an election, the partial term shall only count towards the term limits established by Article I, Sections 3 and 4, if it is greater than one year in length. Otherwise, such Board members shall be eligible to serve two additional consecutive or non-consecutive terms.

ARTICLE XI: RATIFICATION and AMENDMENTS

Section 1: This document shall first take effect once ratified by a majority approval vote of the current LAB, and shall remain in force indefinitely unless modified by future amendment as specified in Section 2 herein.

Section 2A: Prior to the start of the Nomination Period of the first election, these procedures, once approved by a majority vote of the LAB, may be changed in part or in whole only by a two-thirds vote of the Election Committee, subject to possible veto by a two-thirds vote of the LAB.

Section 2B: Following the seating of the Board after the first election, these procedures may be changed in part or in whole only by a two-thirds vote of the Board, subject to possible veto by a two-thirds vote of the Election Committee.

APPENDIX I: CHOICE VOTING METHODOLOGY

Definition: "Choice Voting" (also known as "Single Transferable Vote" and the "Hare-Clarke System") shall be defined as a voting system which achieves proportional representation by allowing voters to rank candidates for the WBAI Station Board in the order of their choice, according to the method described below.

Ballot Specifications: Ballots shall be simple and easy to understand. Sample ballots illustrating voting procedures shall be mailed to registered voters along with the actual ballots, as well as posted in designated polling/ballot drop-off locations. Directions provided to voters shall conform substantially to the following specifications:

Directions to Voters; where X=number of available seats on the Board to be filled in a given election: "Vote for up to X candidates for Listener seats on the WBAI Station Board Indicate your first choice by coloring in the oval in column 1 next that candidate's name, your second choice by coloring in the oval in column 2, and so on up to column X. Do not assign any two candidates the same choice. If you wish, you need not specify choices for all X candidates. Note that ranking all X candidates does not affect your higher-choice candidate's chances to win, but does increase the chances that your ballot will contribute to the election of your lower-choice candidates."

Seating Threshold: For a given election, the minimum number of votes necessary, either before or after transferring of vote surpluses, for a candidate to be seated on the Board shall be termed the "threshold." The threshold is used to determine transferable surpluses as defined below. The threshold is determined as follows:

Number of valid ballots cast in the election divided by (number of seats to be filled +1).

Transferable Surpluses: The following rules regarding vote transfer shall apply to all stages of the tabulation:

(1) Votes acquired by a candidate in excess of the threshold for that election shall be termed his or her "surplus." A candidate's surplus votes shall be transferred according to the following rule: transfer a portion of each vote determined by dividing the surplus of the candidate by the total number of votes cast for that candidate. For example, if a candidate receives 15,000 votes in an election whose threshold is 10,000, that candidate has a surplus of 5,000 votes and one-third (5,000/15,000=.3333) of a vote from each of those 15,000 ballots is transferred to those voters' next choices. Votes case for candidates who are eliminated (as described below) shall be transferred at their full current value to those voters' next choice(s).

(2) Votes may not be transferred to candidates who have already met the threshold, nor may votes be transferred to candidates who have been eliminated. When a voter's next choice is not eligible for receipt of transferred votes, that vote (or portion of a vote) shall be transferred to the voter's next indicated choice until all choices on that ballot have been exhausted.

(3) If a voter omits or mistakenly designates any choice on his or her ballot, the vote shall be transferred to that voter's next clearly indicated choice.

(4) Any votes cast for qualified write-in candidates shall be tabulated in the same manner as those for candidates whose names are printed on the ballots, provided that the voter assigns any such candidate a choice in relation to other candidates appearing on the ballot for that office.

Stages in the Tabulation:

(1) Vote counting shall start with the tabulation of first-choice votes and with the transfer of a proportion of all surplus votes according to the rules specified above. Transfer of surpluses shall commence with the candidate having the largest surplus and proceed successively to the candidates with the next largest surplus.
(2) If the transfer or surplus of votes to voters' next-choice candidates creates a new surplus, then a proportion of these votes shall be transferred to those voters' succeeding choices, until all surpluses have been transferred or all declared choices on a ballot have been exhausted.
(3) When all surplus votes have been distributed in this manner, a tally shall be taken. The candidate with the lowest number of votes after this tally shall be eliminated. Votes for this candidate shall be transferred at their current value to the next-choice candidates named on these ballots. If a next-choice candidate already has been elected or defeated, then the ballot goes to the succeeding choice. Any surpluses created by this transfer shall once again be transferred, and a new tally taken, until all surpluses have been transferred. Then the remaining candidate with the least number of votes shall be eliminated. This process of transferring surpluses followed by eliminating candidates with the least numbers of votes shall continue until the number of candidates remaining matches the number of positions to be filled. Votes of the candidate last eliminated shall be transferred and the election shall be at an end.

Determinations in the Case of a Tie: For ties between candidates occurring at any stage in the tabulation, determinations shall be made based on whomever was credited with the most votes at the previous stage of tabulation.

APPENDIX II: STANDING RULES OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE

The following shall be among the standing rules of the Election Committee. An additional standing rule may be adopted by a majority vote of voting members at any meeting of the Election Committee, provided it is not inconsistent with any current standing rule. An existing standing rule may be deleted or amended only if a motion to do so receives a majority vote of present voting members at an Election Committee meeting, and that notice of the intent to delete or amend a standing rule is communicated to all voting members of the committee at least one week prior to the meeting where the motion is first discussed.

SECTION A: OFFICERS

There shall be annual elections for the following officers of the Election Committee: Two co-Chairs, Secretary, Coordinator of Recruitment and Orientation of New Members, Coordinator of Outreach and Registration of Voters, Coordinator of Communications, Logistical Coordinator. Standing subcommittees of the Election Committee shall be evaluated by the Election Committee semi-annually and shall determine their own chair or co-chair who shall serve as a liaison to the Election Committee.

SECTION B: STANDING RULES OF VOTING MEMBERSHIP

In order to become a voting member of the Election Committee one must satisfy all three of the following requirements:

(1) Must have attended two consecutive Election Committee meetings
(2) Must be continuously engaged in the work on one of the body's standing subcommittees
(3) Must have oriented oneself by reading the minutes of previous meetings

Voting membership on the Election Committee shall be revoked for:

(1) Missing three consecutive meetings, including subcommittee meetings without communicating intended absence to the co-Chairs, and then failing to appear at the next committee meeting.
(2) Ceasing to work regularly on a subcommittee.

Voting membership may be regained by the same procedure as it was initially acquired.

SECTION C: MEETING PROCEDURES OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE

I. Purpose of Procedures
•   These Meeting Procedures are a blueprint for running short, efficient meetings of any size in which at least a majority of present voting members (hereafter "members") make every decision of the body. At the same time, they allow the general body to easily check any abuse of power by the meeting Facilitator or any other member of the body, through simple motions and votes.
•   They derive from the underlying principle that all voting members of the body are equals, each possessing an equal right to be heard and cast a vote in every decision made by the body. The intent of the procedures is to: (1) Allow maximum democratic participation in meetings; (2) Protect the rights of individual members, both present and absent; (3) Balance the rights of individual members with the rights of the body.
•   These procedures exist to facilitate meetings, and are not an end in themselves. The Facilitator and members should allow considerable flexibility in their implementation, in so far as such flexibility does not infringe upon the rights of members to equal participation in decision-making.
•   Flexibility is built into these procedures in the form of: the ability of the body to overrule the Facilitator through a Point of Order, the motion to Suspend a Standing Rule, the Committee of the Whole Motion; and, of course, the ability to easily amend any of these procedures if the body finds any of them is not working well, or there is something missing.

II. Role of Facilitator (or Co-Facilitator)
•   Know the meeting procedures well and apply them effectively.
•   Uphold rights of members and others in attendance to participate and be heard in decision-making.
•   Educate new members and others in attendance about the meeting procedures and how to participate.
•   Avoid making seemingly autocratic decisions (note: Facilitator may be prevented from doing so by a majority vote of the body on a motion to appeal the Facilitator; see Point of Order)
•   Prepare agenda for meeting, unless that job is designated to a different officer by a standing rule of the body.

III. Role of Secretary
•   Take notes and later produce Minutes of meeting (in accordance with guidelines found in Section V.)
•   Read back exact wording of a motion prior to a vote of the body.
•   Disseminate Minutes to voting members and elsewhere in accordance with standing rules of body.

IV. Quorum
•   Quorum for a general or sub-committee meeting is a majority of members of that body, unless defined otherwise by a standing rule of the body.
•   At any point in a meeting a member may ask for a Quorum Call
•   If quorum is not found, the meeting is adjourned.

V. Agenda and Minutes
•   Agenda is prepared by Facilitator (or other elected officer, if standing rule dictates otherwise) generally in this order: (1) Approval of Minutes (from previous meeting); (2) Approval of (proposed) Agenda; (3) Reports of Committees/other reports; (4) Unfinished Business; (5) New Business; (6) Time of Adjournment
•    The preparer of the agenda must incorporate all suggested motions, reports, etc., but has the authority to arrange them in a logical order, provided all Unfinished Business proceeds all New Business on the proposed agenda
•    All aspects of the agenda are subject to amendment and approval before meeting.
•   Minutes are prepared by Secretary and must include the following elements: (1) Identification of body that met; (2) Date and location of meeting; (3) Presiding Facilitator(s) and Secretary; (4) Time meeting was called to order; (5) Recording of any reports that were made and the names and committee affiliations (if applicable) of those who made the reports (No description of the substance of the report, merely a statement that the report was made and that a copy is attached to the official copy of the minutes.); (6) Exact final wording of all main motions or resolutions made voted upon (as amended, if applicable) as well as name of maker of motion and vote or action taken on the motion; (7) Time of adjournment.
•   Minutes do not include any record of debate on main or secondary motions (including amendments), except for an approved motion to refer, postpone, or any other secondary motion resulting in closing of debate on the motion for at least the remainder of that meeting
•    Motions that are not seconded and motions withdrawn either prior to discussion by the maker of the motion or subsequently by the body, are also not recorded in the minutes.
•   Minutes are subject to amendment and approval by a majority vote of the body.

VI. Motions
•   The most common motions used in meetings governed by these procedures are: Main Motion; Amend; Refer; Postpone Debate; Call the Question; Committee of the Whole; Point of Order; Point of Procedure; Point of Information; Fix time to Adjourn; and Adjourn
•    Following is the complete list of motions (23) permitted by these Procedures
•    The purpose of, phrasing of, and rules governing the use of each of these is detailed in the accompanying handout (which shall be available at all meetings, as a guide for members unfamiliar with them.)
•   Secondary Motions: Amend; Amend an Amendment; Refer a Motion, Postpone Debate on a Motion, Limit Debate on a Motion; Extend Debate on a Motion; Fix Time to Close Debate on a Motion; Call the Question (i.e
•   close debate immediately)
•   Other Motions: Objection to Consideration; Withdraw a Motion; Rescind a Motion Previously Approved; Suspend a Standing Rule; Call for Quorum; Committee of the Whole; Point of Order (Appeal Facilitator); Point of Procedure; Point of Information; Recess Meeting; Fix time to Adjourn Meeting (two versions); Adjourn Meeting Immediately (two versions).

VII. Debate/Discussion
•   Non-members may participate in debate on any motion, but may not make motions themselves.
•   All motions must be seconded before being considered.
•   The maker of the motion has the right to speak first to its rationale.
•   Debate must remain focused on the specific motion being considered.
•   Only the merits of the specific motion may be discussed; no ad hominem attacks are permitted against any members, present or absent
•    Whenever possible names of other members should be avoided in discussion.
•   Each speaker is limited to three minutes per turn, and cannot speak twice to the same motion until everyone who wants to has spoken once.

VIII. Voting
•   Only members may vote on any motion.
•   Default method of voting is a voice vote or show of hands vote, depending on size of body.
•   Counted hand vote is used only when vote is close, or when requested by a member.
•   Only votes for ("aye") and against ("nay") are counted towards outcome of vote.

IX. Adjournment
•   Meeting shall adjourn at time specified in the agenda, unless a Motion to Fix Time to Adjourn receives a 2/3 vote to extend it beyond that point.
•   If Quorum is no longer present, the meeting is immediately adjourned
•    The only permissible items of business at such time are non-debatable Motions to Refer pending business, and a motion to set the next meeting time.

X. Amendments of Meeting Procedures
•   Any procedure can be amended by a majority vote, provided the intent to amend the procedure is announced a week or more in advance of the meeting.

ADDENDUM TO MEETING PROCEDURES: COMPLETE LIST OF MOTIONS

The following shall be the only motions used at meetings of the Election Committee:

MAIN MOTION (lowest of all motions in rank)

Debatable, amendable, requires a majority vote to pass; Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose a specific course of action for the body. How to phrase: "I move that (X)"

SECONDARY MOTIONS (in increasing order of rank)

Amend a Motion - Debatable, Amendable, Majority Vote to pass; Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose an amendment to the wording of a main motion on the floor. How to phrase: "I move that the motion be amended to read (X)"

Amend an Amendment to a Motion - Debatable, NOT Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose an amendment to the wording of an amendment to the main motion on the floor. How to phrase: "I move that the amendment be further amended to read (X)"

Refer a Motion - Debatable, Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that the main motion be sent somewhere, such as to a committee -- either standing or ad hoc -- or to an individual, with specific instructions for a course of action to be taken and date or time to be reintroduced to the general body. How to phrase: "I move that we refer the motion (to the X committee/to an ad hoc committee consisting of X and Y) and that Z be considered before bringing the motion back to this body (on date A/at time A)."

Postpone Debate on a Motion - Debatable, Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: To propose that debate on a main motion be postponed until a specific time or until the next meeting. How to phrase: "I move that debate on the motion be postponed (until time X/until the next meeting.)"

Limit Debate on a Motion - Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that debate be limited in a specified manner, such as a per-speaker time limit, or a total time limit on a main motion. How to phrase: "I move that debate be limited (to X minutes per speaker/to one opportunity to speak for each member/to X minutes total.)"

Extend Debate on a Motion - Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that debate be extended until a certain time or according to other specific criteria, despite a previous vote having been taken by the body specifying otherwise. How to phrase: "I move that debate on this motion be extended (until time X/until every member who wishes to has spoken once.)"

Fix Time to Close Debate on a Motion - Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that debate be closed at a specific time and a vote be taken on the question under consideration, either a main or secondary motion. How to phrase: "I move that debate be closed and that we call the question (at time X/in X minutes.)"

Call the Question (i.e. close debate immediately) - NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that debate be closed immediately on a main or secondary motion (question), in the interest of saving time, and that a vote be taken on the question under consideration, even if some members still wish to speak. How to phrase: "I call the question."

OTHER MOTIONS (most are higher in rank than any Secondary Motion)

Objection to Consideration - NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Need not have the floor to make (but the motion must be made before debate has begun.) Purpose: to propose, in the interest of saving time, that a frivolous or contentious main motion not be opened to debate by the body. This objection must be made before debate has begun. Once debate has begun, a motion to withdraw must be made in order to remove the motion from consideration, see Withdraw. How to phrase: "I move that this body not consider the motion."

Withdraw a Motion - Not Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that the main motion on the floor be withdrawn, once debate has already begun. The maker of the motion may unilaterally withdraw it if debate has not yet begun, but otherwise a motion to withdraw and a 2/3 vote is required to remove the motion from consideration by the body. A motion to withdraw does not preclude the same or a similar motion from being introduced at a future meeting. How to phrase: "I move that the motion be withdrawn."

Rescind a Motion Previously Approved - Debatable, Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to rescind (i.e. overturn) a motion previously adopted, or a portion thereof. This motion requires a two-thirds vote because it overturns a previous majority vote of the body. A motion to rescind may not be made until the next meeting or thereafter. The Facilitator shall rule any motion to approve a measure in conflict with a previous vote of the body out of order, unless accompanied by an appropriate motion to rescind all of, or the relevant portion of, that previously adopted motion. How to phrase: "I move that (motion X/portion Y of motion X) adopted on (date Z) be rescinded by this body."

Suspend a Standing Rule - NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to propose that a standing rule of the group, voted by a majority at a previous meeting, be temporarily suspended in the instance of the motion under consideration. By-laws of the body may not be suspended using this motion. How to phrase: "I move that (standing rule X) be suspended for the purposes of this motion."

Call for Quorum - Must have the floor to make. Purpose: to determine if quorum to conduct business still exists at a meeting that began with quorum present. If quorum is found by Facilitator, the body proceeds with business precisely where it was when the call for quorum was made. If quorum is NOT found and cannot be easily produced (e.g. by calling back to the room a sufficient number of members who have strayed away during the course of the meeting) the meeting is immediately adjourned, except for any permissible business. How to phrase: "I call for quorum."

Committee of the Whole - Debatable, Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have the floor to make. Purpose: when the body is considering a main motion which seems to be not well enough formulated to vote upon, any member may move that the general body go into a "Committee of the Whole" for a specified amount of time and with any specific limits on debate in order to discuss the motion more freely than the Meeting Procedures allow for. Essentially a motion to refer to an ad hoc committee that happens to be comprised of all present members of the general body. While in committee, no vote may be taken on the motion as a whole, only on suggested amendments to the motion. No vote may extend the duration of the Committee of the Whole. How to phrase: "I move that this body go into a Committee of the Whole (for X minutes/until time X) to debate this motion, and that while in Committee that each speaker get (one turn to speak on each question/Y minutes total.)

Point of Order (Appeal Facilitator) -- Debatable, NOT amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to put an appeal of the Facilitator's ruling before the body for consideration. The appeal is the body's basic check on the Facilitator's power, and therefore only a majority vote is required to overturn her ruling. How to phrase: "Point of order," followed by, upon being recognized by the Facilitator, "I appeal the Facilitator's ruling that the motion was (in order/out of order)."

Point of Procedure -- Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to ask a specific question of the Facilitator about a Meeting Procedure or to make a procedural suggestion to the Facilitator. How to phrase: "Point of procedure."

Point of Information -- Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to ask a question of the Facilitator about the question under consideration, such as asking for a restatement of the question or an explanation of what it entails. The Point of Information may NOT be used to gain a speaking turn out of order, and a member shall be ruled out of order for attempting to use it in this way. How to phrase: "Point of information."

Recess Meeting -- NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to propose recessing for a period of time. How to phrase: "I move that we recess for X amount of time."

Fix the Time to Adjourn Meeting (when NO other question is pending) - Debatable, Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have floor to make. Purpose: to propose that the meeting be adjourned at a specific time, despite a different time having been specified in the approved agenda. How to phrase: "I move that this meeting be adjourned at (time X.)"

Fix Time to Adjourn Meeting (when another question is pending) -- NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to propose that the meeting be adjourned at a specific time, despite a different time having been specified in the approved agenda. When no other question is pending, see above. How to phrase: "I move that the meeting be adjourned at (time X.)"

Adjourn Meeting Immediately, Ordinary Circumstance (i.e. at or past previously approved time of adjournment) -- NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, Majority Vote to pass. Must have floor to make. Purpose: to propose immediate adjournment of the meeting, if exact time specified in approved agenda or subsequent motion to fix time of adjournment has arrived or passed. How to phrase: "I move that we adjourn."

Adjourn Meeting Immediately, Special Circumstance -- NOT Debatable, NOT Amendable, 2/3 Majority Vote to pass. Always in order (need not have floor to make.) Purpose: to propose immediate adjournment of the meeting at an unapproved time, due to special circumstance, such as an emergency. The motion may not be used to affect the outcome of the motion on the floor and should be ruled out of order if being employed for this purpose. How to phrase: "I move that we adjourn."

APPENDIX III: CONTRIBUTORS The individuals listed below have contributed to work on these proposed Elections Procedures and/or indicated their support and/or criticism for an election by communicating their comments on earlier drafts of these procedures to the Concerned Friends of WBAI Elections Committee, by attending one ore more meetings of the Elections Committee, by participating on the WBAI Elections list-serve, or by otherwise offering their support, criticism and input into the discussion about elections.

Disclaimer: Please note that the contribution of those listed below does not necessarily indicate their support for the document. In fact, it is possible for a contributor to this document not to agree with any aspect of this document.

If you would like your name appear on this list in future revisions of the proposed Procedures, please send your suggestions and comments about this working draft to the Elections Committee via one of the several methods suggested at the top of this document.

Current and former members of the WBAI Local Advisory Board:
Marian Borenstein, Leslie Cagan, Anita Dutt, Gail Golden, Lee Kronick, Ray Laforest, Miguel Maldonado, Andrew Norris.

Current and former members of the Concerned Friends of WBAI Elections Committee:
Mike Beasley, Ruth Benson, Carolyn Birden, Steve Brown, Andrea Cammarata, Hal Charney, Mitchel Cohen, Burt Dallas, Mary Delano, Rob Dickey, Andrea Fishman, Fabio Frank, Patty Heffley, Robert Johnson, Eve Moser, Berthold Reimers, Shawn Rhodes, Bill Ritchey, Sonia Rosen, Steve Salchow, Mary Alice Scully, Abby Smith, Bryan Williams, Sheila Yablon, Paul Zulkowitz.

Other members of the WBAI community:
Shebear, Bob Bender, Patty Bender, John Biello, Bob Bogen, Howard Brandstein, Steffie Brooks, Lenny Charles, David Combs, Jim Dingeman, Bob Fass, Paul Figeroa, Frank Fitzgerald, Tony Geballe, Emmanuel Goldstein, Judy Gorman, Liz Grove, Steve Harding, Rosalie Hoffman, Deena Kolbert, Rudy Kisely, Peter Korakis, Nydia Leaf, Susan Lee, Leslie Lewis, Elizabeth Liberty, Liz McLellan, Larry Miller, Joel Myers, Marcia Newfield, Fred Nguyen, Naomi Sager, Peg Rap, Pascale Reimers, Kenneth Robinson, Larry Romsted, Ursula Ruedenberg, Mark Sandborne, Max Schmid, Albert Solomon, Paul Surovell, Mark Twyne, Joshua Wolinsky, Nickie Wood.

 

ELECTIONS PROPOSAL FEEDBACK FORM first name last name borough, city, or town  state email comments, suggestions, proposals regarding the elections procedure proposal information entered on this form will be sent to: elections@wbai.net