Elections and Vacancies

Elections

Election Calendar

Both Secretaries and Core Committee members are elected for two year terms with votes staggered eight months apart. One election is held in January of even numbered years, one election is held in August of even numbered years, and one election is held in May of odd numbered years. For example there would be elections in January 2018, August 2018 and May 2019. Each regular election includes a single Secretary and four (4) Core Committee members, plus any potential unplanned vacancies.

The election calendar will be established by the Secretaries at least one week before the start of the election month. Nominations must run for a minimum of seven (7) days. The vote will open immediately upon the end of the nomination period and must run for fourteen (14) days. The new Secretary and Core Committee members will take office at 5pm UTC time on the last Sunday of the month, and the voting period must conclude at least 24 hours prior to that.

The election process will be overseen by either of the Secretaries whose term is not expiring, and both the Secretary and Core Committee elections may be overseen by the same Secretary or different Secretaries.

Eligibility

Any individual may run for election as Secretary, including the outgoing Secretary. If they are a Core Committee Member or PSR Editor and are elected they must resign between the vote ending and taking office.

Any individual may run for election as a Core Committee member, including the outgoing Core Committee member. If they are a Secretary and are elected they must resign between the vote ending and taking office.

Nomination

Candidates for Secretary or the Core Committee must be nominated/proposed by an existing Project Representative or FIG Secretary to be considered, and must publicly accept their nomination in order to be valid. Prospective candidates may seek nominations in any way they see fit.

Electorate

Any Project Representative or Core Committee member is eligible to to vote on Secretary candidates.

Any individual that has posted a non-trivial message in the official FIG venue (mailing list, forum, etc.) at least five (5) times within the past calendar year as of the start of nominations or any Project Representative is eligible to vote on Core Committee candidates.

The Secretaries whose terms are not expiring have final jurisdiction to determine eligibility.

Voting

The election will be conducted using Single Transferable Vote with specific algorithms being maintained by the Secretaries. If multiple seats are open (either for Core Committee membership or due to a vacancy) then the open seats with the longest term will go to first candidate(s) to reach the required quota.

Recall Votes

Should a Secretary or Core Committee member be determined to be acting with gross negligence or in a way that undermines the FIG's mission or good standing, a Recall Vote may be called by any two of a Secretary, Core Committee member, and Project Representative. Any such vote must be preceded by at least a two week discussion period. The vote will be overseen by a Secretary other than the subject of the Recall Vote. Should the vote pass the individual in question is removed immediately. If it does not pass the matter is considered closed and a new vote may not be called for the same incident, if applicable.

Vacancies

Editor Vacancies

Should the Editor of a PSR under consideration resign or become inactive for a period of 60 days, the Sponsor may select a new Editor subject to rejection by the Core Committee. Current members of the Working Group should be given preference. If no new Editor is named within 30 days from the vacancy notice then the PSR can be marked as Abandoned.

Sponsor Vacancies

Should the Sponsor of a PSR under consideration resign or become inactive for a period of 60 days, the Editor may select a new Sponsor subject to rejection by the Core Committee. If no new Sponsor is named within 30 days from the vacancy notice then the PSR can become Abandoned.

Secretary Vacancies

Should a Secretary resign or be removed due to a Recall vote, an existing Secretary shall call a special election for a new Secretary following the same protocols as for a normal election. The newly elected Secretary will serve out the remainder of the term for the seat filled.

Should the vacancy occur less than four months before the next regular election month, the seat may be left vacant until the next election at the discretion of the other Secretaries and Core Committee. In that case, the second-highest voted candidate will assume the available seat with less time remaining in its term. Should two Secretary positions become vacant simultaneously a special election must be called immediately for both seats.

Core Committee Vacancy

Should a Core Committee member resign or be removed due to a Recall Vote, the Secretaries shall call a special election for a new Core Committee member following the same protocols as for a normal election. The newly elected Core Committee member will serve out the remainder of the term for the seat filled.

Should the vacancy occur less than four months before the next regular election month, the seat may be left vacant until the next election at the discretion of the Secretaries and Core Committee. In that case, the fifth-highest voted candidate will assume the available seat with less time remaining in its term.