Wbai.net and CdPNY (Coalition for a democratic Pacifica - NY) supports the KPFA model for elections. It is a working elections procedure developed through a lot of very hard work and applied successfully in 2 elections in the KPFA area resulting in a diverse and engaged local station board. There is room for improvement, but the KPFA model with it's use of Proportional Representation (more specifically "Single Transferable Voting Method" or "Choice Voting") is the best elections procedure with regard to achieving the goals of all parties involved in Pacifica bylaws revision including those concerned with self determination and making sure the under-represented achieve seats on local boards.

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From the KPFA bylaws revision subcommitee draft
(Note: The term "delegates" refers to members of the local station boards)

ARTICLE FOUR
ELECTION OF DELEGATES

SECTION 1. DELEGATES DEFINED

Delegates shall be any eligible natural persons elected by the Members, or class of Members, and is serving as such. Delegates shall serve as the Members' representatives in electing Foundation Directors. Delegates may only act personally at a meeting or by written ballot and may not act by proxy.

SECTION 2. NOMINATION OF DELEGATES

A. NOMINATION PROCEDURES

Nominations for the office of local station Delegate shall open on September 1st of each year and close on November 1st ¹. Nomination papers shall be delivered to an independent and neutral elections coordinator, who shall not hold any elective Foundation office and who shall not be an employee of the Foundation, who shall be chosen by each Local Station Board, by majority vote, to oversee and certify the fairness of the elections and conformity with these bylaws. Nomination papers shall consist of the required number of signatures on a form to be provided by the election coordinator, a statement of whether the candidate is running for election as a Listener-Sponsor Member or a Staff Member, and a statement up to 500 words in length by the candidate which shall be mailed to the voting members. The names of up to ten (10) nominators may be listed at the end of a candidate's statement. The candidate shall also indicate his/her gender, and racial or ethnic heritage, i.e., European, African, Latin American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Arab, or declines to state.

B. ELIGIBILITY
 1. Listener-Sponsor Member Delegates: Any Listener-Sponsor Member in good standing may be nominated for the position of Delegate by the signatures of ten (10) Listener-Sponsor Members in good standing, provided that no person who holds any elective or appointive public office at any level of government - federal, state or local - or is a candidate for such office, or who has held such elective or appointive office within the preceding 3 years, shall be eligible for election to the position of Delegate, and further provided that no Pacifica national or radio station management personnel shall eligible. A Delegate shall be deemed to have resigned the position of Delegate if s/he becomes a candidate for public office or receives a political appointment during his or her term as a Delegate. This restriction shall not apply to civil service employment by governmental agencies.

 2. Staff Member Delegates: Any Staff Member in good standing may be nominated for the office of Delegate by the signatures of five (5) Staff Members in good standing, provided that no person who holds any elective or appointive public office at any level of government - federal, state or local - or is a candidate for such office, or who has held such elective or appointive office within the preceding 3 years, shall be eligible for election to the position of Delegate. A Delegate shall be deemed to have resigned the position of Delegate if s/he becomes a candidate for public office or receives a political appointment during his or her term as a Delegate. This restriction shall not apply to civil service employment by governmental agencies.

SECTION 3. ELECTION OF DELEGATES

A. LISTENER-SPONSOR DELEGATES

The Listener-Sponsor Members for each station area shall elect twelve Delegates who shall sit on the Local Station Board. One third of the Listener-Sponsor Delegates shall be elected annually by mail ballot by the Listener-Sponsor Members of each radio station ³ , subject to the diversity criteria specified below. [ Voting method section amended 11-24-02 to state that: The Proportional Representation "Single Transferable Voting Method" shall be utilized. If PR not permitted by CA law, which will be determined during the legal review of the final bylaws draft - Cumulative Voting will be used. ] There shall be a 30-day period for return of ballots after mailing, and the ballots shall be counted and the election results certified by the Elections Coordinator not later than December 29th of each year ⁴.

B. STAFF DELEGATES

The Staff Members for each station area shall elect six Delegates who shall sit on the Local Station Board. One third of the Staff Delegates shall be elected annually by the Staff Members of each radio station area by mail ballot ⁵ , subject to the diversity criteria specified below. [ Voting method section amended 11-24-02 to state that: The Proportional Representation "Single Transferable Voting Method" shall be utilized. If PR not permitted by CA law, which will be determined during the legal review of the final bylaws draft - Cumulative Voting will be used. ] There shall be a 30-day period for return of ballots after mailing, and the ballots shall be counted and the election results certified by the Elections Coordinator not later than December 29th of each year.

SECTION 4. DIVERSITY GOALS

It is the goal of the Foundation that a minimum of 50% of the Delegates shall be racial/ethnic minorities and a minimum of 50% of the Delegates shall be women. To that end, in any election of Delegates half the number of seats to be filled shall be filled by the top vote-getters who are racial/ethnic minorities and half the number of seats to be filled shall be filled by the top vote-getters who are women, regardless of whether or not they are among the top vote-getters overall. However, for purposes of applying this rule, no person shall be elected a Delegate who does not receive at least one-half (½) [ ammended to 1/3 11-24-02 ] the number of votes as the last person who would have been elected were it not for the diversity goals. After all the ballots are counted, the election coordinator shall examine the results to determine whether the diversity goals for the Local Board have been met in the aggregate and not just incrementally, and if they have not been met, then s/he shall look to see if there are candidates who are minorities and/or women who received at least half the number of votes of the lowest vote-getter who would otherwise be elected, and s/he shall declare them elected in order of highest number of votes received, replacing the candidates who would have been elected in order of lowest number of votes received. For example: if there are 4 seats to be filled and the top 4 vote-getters are 3 non-minority men and one minority woman, the non-minority man with the least votes who would have been elected will be replaced with the next highest votegetter who is either a minority or a woman provided s/he has obtained at least half of the votes of that non- minority man being replaced. The elections coordinator will then examine the results again to see if the diversity goals for both minorities and women has been met in the aggregate, and if not, s/he will replace the next lowest non-minority man who would have been elected with the next highest minority or woman with the minimum required number of votes who will fulfill the diversity goals.

SECTION 5. FAIR CAMPAIGN PROVISIONS

No Foundation or radio station management or staff may use air time to endorse or campaign or recommend for or against any candidate for election to Station Board Delegate, or give air time to some candidates but not others. All candidates for election shall be given equal opportunity for air time, and such air time shall be specially set aside for candidates statements and questions and answers from the listeners. No Foundation or radio station management or staff may give written endorsements to any listener-sponsor delegate candidates. Neither the Board of Directors nor any Local Station Board may, as a body, endorse any candidate(s) for election to the Local Station Board(s), however individual directors and Local Station Board Delegates who are members in good standing may endorse or nominate candidates.

SECTION 6. DELEGATES' TERMS, LIMITATION OF TERMS

The term of a Delegate shall be three (3) years. A Delegate may serve two (2) consecutive three-year terms. A Delegate shall not be eligible for further service as a Director until one year has elapsed after the termination of a Delegate's second consecutive three- year term.

• How the KPFA elections model works
• Proportional Representation - made easy