> -----Original Message----- > 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. That's just not true, Tapani. When you make a mistake, you fix it. You made a mistake. It has been done before. We had to withdraw a ballot some years ago Indeed, on all of our ballots we have allowed people to alter their vote before the deadline. Please send out a properly designed ballot. Otherwise the election shall be contested and we will go before the ombudsman and the whole thing will be delated. --MM > > 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