Ballot 85 – Governance Reform

Ballot overview

• Ballot 85 – Governance Reform was passed unanimously.
• The motion set out a governance selection process involving:
  • A seven-day review period, then a vote on the motion
  • A seven-day voting period for an instant run-off ballot to eliminate all but two proposals
  • A final ballot between the two remaining proposals
  • A ratification ballot after the governance policy is selected and refined

Voting and review timeline stated in the ballot

• The ballot review period came into effect at 2100 UTC on 10 August 2012 and closed at 2100 UTC on 17 August 2012.
• Unless withdrawn during review, voting on the motion was to commence immediately and close at 2100 UTC on 24 August 2012.
• If the motion passed, the voting period for the three ballots would proceed as follows:
  • Instant run-off voting period closing on 31 August 2012
  • Two-week modification period for the final two proposals closing on 14 September 2012
  • Seven-day review period for the final two proposals closing on 21 September 2012
  • Seven-day voting period closing on 28 September 2012
  • Refinement period of undefined duration
  • Seven-day review period closing on date TBD
  • Seven-day voting period closing on date TBD

Adoption threshold and process details

• The instant run-off ballot would use ranked preferences from 1 to 5.
• The final ballot would be decided by a simple majority of votes in favor.
• The ratification ballot required:
  • Two thirds or more of votes cast by members in the CA category in favor
  • One half or more of votes cast by members in the browser category in favor
• Votes on Ballot 85 were to be cast by posting an on-list reply to the thread.