SI MONTHLY NEWS May 2007 Distant voting, Quick Reference Guide
From SI Exco News
This is a brief outline of the Distant Voting process that was added to the Servas International Statutes at the General Assembly held at Latina in April 2006.
The Distant Voting process means the member groups of Servas International (SI) can make decisions affecting Servas International between meetings of the General Assembly. The Distant Voting process enables every member group to participate in this decision making process without being disadvantaged by geographical location or lack of funds.
Preparation for the first Distant Voting, to be held in 2007, is underway.
The first step was the General Secretary’s mail-out to National Secretaries in December asking member groups to advise:
• the name and contact details of their “Authorised Voter”
• the preferred methods of communication for the Distant Voting process
• language preferences for written material.
What is Distant Voting used for?
A Distant Vote is required each year between each General Assembly to vote on the annual accounts, auditor’s report and any changes to the SI budget.
The Distant Voting process may also be used to vote on:
• matters to be decided before the next General Assembly meeting
• motions arising from decisions of the General Assembly
• a motion to suspend or remove from office any SI officer
• the election of SI officers to fill vacancies (by secret vote.
The Distant Voting process cannot be used to amend the SI Statutes.
Which National Groups can vote?
All National Groups (Servas countries) having 10 or more hosts (including day hosts) that have been accepted as Member Groups of Servas International by a General Assembly and that fulfil their membership obligations as defined in the SI Statutes (as amended) can vote.
Note: An updated list of Member Groups which have fulfilled their obligations and have voting rights will be brought out by the General Secretary before each Distant Vote.
Who votes for the Member Group?
Each Member Group (voting country) appoints an “Authorised Voter” to receive and cast the vote on behalf of that country. The Authorised Voter is the primary contact for the Distant Voting process and will also receive information on the issues to be voted on.
Note: Who will be their “Authorised Voter" is decided locally by each Member Group. A National Secretary can also be the Authorised Voter for his/her Member Group.
How does a country vote under the Distant Voting system?
Distant Voting system permits several ways of voting, for example, by ordinary mail, express courier service, fax, E-mail or through an Internet Web site. After considering various options, it has been decided to adopt a Web site based voting system. The voting process will ensure that only Authorised Voters can vote on behalf of their Member Groups and that they can only vote once on each issue.
Note: The detailed steps of the voting process will be advised to Authorised Voters and Member Groups.
What information will we get?
The text of each of the motions to be voted on, background information on the motions, details of the voting procedure and the date by which votes must be cast.
Note: Only the Authorised Voters will receive the passwords, which will enable them to vote on behalf of their Member Groups.
Who decides how our country’s vote is used?
It is the responsibility of each Member Group, in accordance with their local statutes or practices, to determine the decision making process for deciding what they want their country’s vote to be on each issue. This will include deciding who will be the Authorised Voter and may include directing them how the vote is to be entered on each issue.
Note: The Authorised Voters are the primary contact points for the Distant Voting process. This means they are technically responsible for sending back the vote on behalf of their Member Group. This may or may not include deciding how the vote is used.
When do we vote?
The timetable for the Distant Vote will set down the closing date for the vote as well as the date when the resolutions to be voted on and the voting procedures will be sent to Member Groups.
Note: The closing date for the Distant Vote must be at least three months after the motions to be voted on and the voting information are sent to Member Groups.
What are the voting options?
For each motion (the resolution to be voted on), there will be three options for each vote:
• Support/yes
• Against/no
• Abstain.
What happens to my vote?
The votes will be received, by mail or electronically, by the Distant Vote Administrator who will also count the votes after it has been confirmed that they are from Authorised Voters.
When are the results available?
The results are to be sent to Member Groups within two months of the closing date for the vote. The results are available on request to all Servas hosts and travellers.
How many votes are needed to pass a motion?
Generally, Distant Vote motions are passed when a majority of the votes cast are “support/yes”, that is by a simple majority.
However, motions that have been passed by a double majority are adopted as if they had been passed by a meeting of the General Assembly. A motion is passed by a double majority when:
a/ the majority of votes cast are “support/yes”
b/ AND when the “support/yes” vote is at least four tenths of the number of Member Groups allowed to vote in the Distant Vote.
This means that Distant Voting can be used to make decisions that in the past had to wait for the next General Assembly – but only when there is wide support for the motion.
Note: Motions only passed by a simple majority provide Executive Committee and other groups with an indication of the thinking of Member Groups, that may guide further work on the proposal leading to a decision at another Distant Vote or at the next General Assembly.
What does Servas do with the results of the Distant Vote?
Normally, motions passed by a Distant Vote will act as instructions to the Executive Committee from the Member Groups of Servas. Votes passed by a double majority are the same as a motion passed by a vote at a General Assembly. This will allow the Executive Committee to develop policies and projects with the support of Member Groups between General Assembly meetings.
Who is responsible for the Distant Voting process?
The President is responsible for ensuring the Distant Voting process is conducted in accordance with the Servas International Statutes and the Servas Regulations for Distant Voting – these documents are available from the Servas website.
The Distant Vote Administrator is responsible for the organisation of the Distant Voting process, including setting the timetable, distribution of the voting information, the voting process and reporting the results. The Distant Vote Administrator was appointed by Executive Committee and holds no other position in Servas International.
The General Secretary is responsible for advising Member Groups of the timetable, recording the Authorised Voters and sending the results of the Distant Vote as reported by the Distant Vote Administrator, to Member Groups.
Member Groups are responsible for appointing their Authorised Voter and advising the General Secretary through their National Secretaries. They are also responsible for determining the decision making process for deciding how their vote will be used on each
How can we check our vote was counted?
Look at the Distant Vote Administrator’s report to the Executive Committee, due within two months of the closing date for the vote. This report includes the voting result for each motion, the number of Member Groups allowed to vote, a detailed list of how each Member Group voted on non-secret motions as well as the number of votes received but not counted with the reason they were disallowed.
Is there an appeal or recount process?
Yes, an independent recount and audit of the results of the Distant Vote may be called for by written request to the President. This must be done within three months of the results being sent to Member Groups. [Section 9/ of the Servas Regulations for Distant Voting.]
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