Sorry, Joan, it IS possible.

If you don’t believe we should do it, I am open to reasons why. But do not say it is not possible, because it is

This is the first day and people can vote all week, so there is nothing “impossible” about fixing a defective ballot



--MM



From: NCSG-Discuss [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joan Kerr

Sent: Monday, August 22, 2016 10:17 AM

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Re: *Important* NCSG 2016 Annual Elections - voting has started



Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the great discussions around the election, certainly the NCSG EC needs to address for the next election.  This is not possible for this election as it has already begun as noted by Tapani.  So clearly some work to be done for future elections.

Thanks again for your ongoing input and let's work on this together for next time.

Joan



On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 9:58 AM, Tapani Tarvainen <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:

Dear all,



Good arguments have been made about how NOTA should be treated and how

it should have been presented in the ballot.



But the text of the ballot is clear, and after the election is already

under way, it cannot be changed or explained or reinterpreted to mean

anything but what it explicitly says.



So the rules are simple:



If you want to vote for any candidates for council you cannot

simultaneously vote for NOTA. If you do, your ballot will be

considered invalid.



Likewise, you cannot both vote for a Chair candidate

and NOTA for Chair at the same time.



So: if you have already voted and marked both NOTA and some

candidates, please vote again lest your ballot be considered invalid.



There's nothing in the charter that precludes this, even if other,

arguably better alternatives exist. But we cannot change rules when

the election has already began.



As for what voting NOTA would mean: absent anything in the charter

or any predetermined rule, it can only mean same as abstaining,

in the sense that it would not affect the election outcome.



NOTA votes would be counted and counts published, just like

blank votes are counted separately from invalid votes in

many national elections, nothing more.



Anything else would be changing the rules mid-election,

and we can't do that.



I agree that the procedure could be better and it definitely should

have been made clear in advance. It should also have been explicitly

codified by the EC, and I will take it upon myself to do that before

next election.



But now, let's vote.



--

Tapani Tarvainen