Affiliate-selected Board seats/Resolution

This page contains the most current resolution governing the affiliate-selected Board seat process, adopted by the chapters and thematic organizations on 1 March 2014 and amended 18 March 2014. On 2 February 2016 it has been edited to reflect the June 2015 Board resolution setting the term length to three years. If the resolution is amended or a new one is adopted, please post it here. Translations are welcome, but the English language version shall prevail in the event of a discrepancy.

Note: updates for Affiliate-selected Board seats/Resolution 2019 needed.

Resolution

Whereas the Wikimedia chapters and thematic organizations (collectively, "the affiliate organizations") are responsible for selecting two members of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees,

Whereas it is necessary for the affiliate organizations to agree on a process by which such Board members are selected, and

Whereas the Foundation's bylaws require that the selection process be determined by the Board of Trustees and a majority of the affiliate organizations,

We, the affiliate organizations, resolve that:

1. There shall be an election among the affiliate organizations to determine the two Board members selected by the affiliate organizations.

2. There shall be three Election Facilitators who are jointly responsible for overseeing and carrying out the election. Election Facilitators shall not be candidates in the election and shall not endorse any candidate nor shall they participate in any public discussions of candidates' merits. Where they are Board members of organizations voting in the election they are expected to recuse themselves from any decision about how the organization's vote is cast.

3. James Hare, Chris Keating, and Laurentius shall serve as Election Facilitators until the conclusion of the 2014 election process. For subsequent elections, the Election Facilitators shall be selected by the consensus of the affiliate organizations no later than March 1 of each selection year. Those who wish to serve as Election Facilitators shall indicate their interest on a designated Meta-Wiki page.

4. The Election Facilitators shall determine the dates of each election, provided that there is a nomination period of at least 30 days, a nomination finalization period of at least 15 days, and a period for discussion and voting of at least 45 days.

5. Candidates shall post their names and nomination statements on a designated Meta-Wiki page. For a candidate to be listed on the ballot, he or she must submit a nomination statement during the nomination period and shall have secured the written endorsement of at least one affiliate organization. Endorsements may be posted until the time that nominations are finalized and the ballot is prepared.

6. The Election Facilitators shall conduct voting through a designated page on the private Chapters Wiki in the form of a table. The Election Facilitators shall ensure that each organization has access to this wiki. Each organization is responsible for determining by what process it casts its vote, as well as who has the authority to cast the vote on behalf of the organization; a statement shall accompany each vote describing such process. A majority of organizations voting during the election period shall constitute a quorum. Votes cast following the conclusion of the election period are invalid.

7. Each organization shall rank candidates in order of preference, with a vote of "1" indicating the strongest preference. If the same number is used to rank more than one candidate, it shall be deemed a statement of equal preference, with the organization's vote split equally among the candidates selected. An organization leaving a candidate unranked shall not count as a vote for or against such candidate.

8. Within 15 days of the conclusion of the voting period, the Election Facilitators shall calculate the outcome of the election in the manner of the single transferable vote, using the Droop quota to determine the number of votes needed to be elected. The Election Facilitators shall announce the results to the Board of Trustees and to the Wikimedia community, and publish the calculations used to determine the outcome of the election to allow others to check the results.