Founding appointment voting policy

Proposed Charter amendment: all-qualified-candidate seat elections. Formal Council adoption is required before using the new system. An individual appointment ballot cannot be used to bypass a contested field.

Effective October 1, 2026. This published founding exception supplements Appendix A, Sections A8 and A9, for appointments while the Council is being constituted.

Council service scope, expected time, and membership review rules. Council appointment votes select unpaid program advisers and reviewers; they do not appoint corporate directors or officers.

1. While fewer than five voting seats are filled

   Current seated members vote on founding appointments. Quorum is a majority of filled, eligible seats, excluding recusals. The five-category quorum minimum does not apply to these founding appointment votes.

2. Once five or more voting seats are filled

   The Appendix A quorum applies: a majority of filled, eligible voting seats, including at least five distinct stakeholder categories. Recused members are excluded; vacancies and advisers do not vote.

3. One member, one recorded vote

   Every seated member receives an individual voting invitation. Available responses are approve, decline, abstain, and recuse. Abstentions count toward quorum but are excluded from votes for or against. Recusals require a reason and do not count toward quorum.

4. Majority and tie rules

   With quorum, approval requires more votes for approval than decline. A tie does not approve an appointment; the Chair has no additional or tie-breaking vote. Final publication also requires completed application materials, identity verification, qualification review, and permission to publish.

5. Review period and reconsideration

   Voting remains open for seven days unless every member responds sooner. A failed motion may be reconsidered only after material new information, documented when a new round is opened. Changes to Council membership or candidate review materials require a new round. Prior votes remain in the audit record.

This exception applies to founding Council appointments only. It does not replace the charter’s higher thresholds for changes to core protections or other reserved matters.