Directors elections

The Cable constitution: 2017 Primary Rules state that at each AGM the 3 most senior directors must stand down, they may stand for re-election. Directors who stand down during a term also count towards this total, so if one director stands down during a term then only two need to stand down at the end.

Voting system

Each member is given multiple votes, they don't have to use them all and cannot give each candidate more than one vote. In the past this has always been 3 votes, but that isn't specified in our primary rules. We also have no upper limit of number of directors so in theory any number of candidates could be elected.

Candidates are required to get a minimum number of votes to be elected. The threshold is currently set to 50% of voters, not votes. This is best explained with an example:

There are 100 members who vote and each has 3 votes, giving a total of 300 possible votes. Only 250 votes are cast.

• Candidate A: 130 votes

• Candidate B: 80 votes

• Candidate C: 40 votes

The minimum threshold to be elected is 50 votes because there were 100 voters, so candidates A and B are elected.

Process

Getting applicants

This can be a long process and should ideally be initiated 2 months before the AGM. Ask coordinators and existing directors for any recommendations. We send an email to all members asking if they want to be a director but this generally yields quite low response rates. At the 2019 AGM we reached out to particular members we felt might bring new skills or experiences to the board. This process is far from perfect.

Online voting

As many members as possible should be encouraged to vote online, this leaves more time at the AGM for discussion and other stuff. Make sure the online voting closes before the AGM starts so it's easier to add the two sets of votes together.

Voting at the AGM

We would rather not have allocated time at the AGM for voting, however you should check how many people who are attending the AGM have voted online and if it looks high this might need to change.

Give people who haven't voted a voting slip when they sign in at the AGM, an announcement should be made at the start of the AGM that they are expected vote before a certain time, then voting slips will be collected.

Template for voting slip: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FIgPSq_11fW9vWhOyKNXw38z9IBISNFL1LQW_M90kk0/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=116319029991244097474

Results and announcement

You will generally need 3-4 volunteers to help collect any remaining voting slips, then 15-20 minutes to add those slips to the online votes to get the results. Generally we ask 2 existing directors to announce the results.