2016-11-24 AGM Agenda/Special Resolution: Elections

It is proposed that the following clause is added to the Constitution:

 1.7 Standing Down
   1.7.1 A trustee wishing to stand down part way through their term must give 42 days notice, to allow for the election of a replacement.
   1.7.2 The departing Trustee must formally notify the remaining Trustees via email.
   1.7.3 The departure of a Trustee must be announced publicly by the remaining Trustees first.
   1.7.4 Trustees who have reached the end of their term do not need to formally announce their intention not to re-stand for election.

And section 5 is replaced in its entirety with:

 5 Elections
   5.1 Trustee positions become vacant when trustees either reach the end of their term of office, or decide to stand down part way through their term.
   5.2 Normal Elections for vacant trustee positions must happen within May, and will include all positions that will become vacant in that month.
   5.3 Mid-term elections
     5.3.1 A replacement trustee serves the remainder of the retiring trustees term.
     5.3.2 Elections for vacant trustee positions as a result of a trustee standing down part way through their term must happen around the end of a trustee's notice period, and no later than 2 weeks after.
     5.3.3 If a trustee stands down in the last six months of their term, the remaining trustees can choose not to replace the outgoing trustee through an N-1 Majority.
     5.3.4 There should only be one vacant position at any time. If another trustee stands down, an election for both positions should be run. 
     5.3.5 Deviations from these points can be made, but must have the agreement of all remaining trustees. The decision and reasoning behind them must be made public.
   5.4 Nominations
     5.4.1 Any member can nominate themselves to stand for election by giving notice to the trustees during the nomination window.
     5.4.2 The nomination window will normally begin 28 days prior to the elections and end 7 days before elections begin.
     5.4.3 The number of nominations must be at least the same as the number of open positions.
     5.4.4 If an insufficient number of nominations are received during the initial window, it can be extended to up to 42 days, 7 days at a time.
     5.4.5 If there remains an insufficient number of nominations after 42 days the trustees should engage with the membership and wider Hackspace community to decide what to do next. 
   5.5 Running an Election
     5.5.1 Elections shall be conducted using electronic means which must be secure and fair.
     5.5.2 The board shall invite offers for a member to act as Returning Officer. This member must be agreed by an N-1 Majority of the trustees and cannot stand for election. If no offer is received the trustees can approach a current member or an external party if needed.
     5.5.3 The Returning Officer shall provide a means for offline voting.
     5.5.4 Elections will use Single Transferable Vote.
     5.5.5 Members may abstain from voting.
     5.5.6 A Re-open Nominations (RON) Candidate will be included. Any candidates that win before RON will be elected. If positions remain open (RON is elected), a new election will be run for the remaining positions.
     5.5.7 If an election contains positions with different terms the positions will be ordered by length of remaining term, longest first, and awarded in order as each candidate passes the winning threshold.  
   5.6 Ties
     5.6.1 In the event of a tie, a new election will take place immediately amongst the tied candidates. Voting must happen within a 7 day window.
     5.6.2 If one of the tied candidates decides to withdraw and the remaining candidate has passed the winning threshold a new election will not be required.