i-church :
Council Election Rules

Last updated: 13 December 2006

1. Membership of the i-church Council: The Web Pastor is an ex officio member of the i-church Council. Formally appointed Assistant Pastors of i-church are also ex officio members. There are nine elected members, drawn from the ranks of Community Members, who are elected to serve for three years. The Council may co-opt up to 2 further members at any time, whose term shall be until the next election. Co-opted members are treated exactly the same as any other member of Council for purposes of voting etc. The Council may petition the Board of Trustees to permit a variation in the number of elected members; a variation in the number of permitted co-opted members; and/or additional ex officio members.
2. Notice and Timing of Elections: An election shall be held in each calendar year, concluding by 30th April of that year. There shall be at least one month’s notice of the closing date of the election, made by the Council secretary or a deputy, and published within i-church. The same notice will announce the period during which nominations will be accepted, being a period of time not less than fourteen days. The same notice will announce the period during which voting may take place, being a period of time not less than seven days. The same notice will give the contact details of the Returning Officer, whose identity will have been agreed by the Web pastor and Council. The same notice will confirm how many places are to be filled at the election, which will be sufficient to replace those elected Council Members coming to the end of their term and any others who have resigned or announced their intention to resign after the election.
3. Emergency elections: At their discretion, the Council may resolve to petition the Board of Trustees to permit an additional emergency election, for the purposes of replacing Council members who have retired or resigned.
4. Resignation of Officers: Members of the Council may resign by giving notice to the Web Pastor or Council secretary by email or Private Message.
5. Eligibility to vote: All active (that is, not formally resigned from the Community) Community Members are eligible to vote in an election, regardless of lay or ordained status.
6. Eligibility of candidates: All active (that is, not formally resigned from the Community) Community Members are eligible to stand for election to the i-church Council so long as they have been baptized and subscribe to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, regardless of lay or ordained status. Candidates must be Community Members at the time that the notice is published giving the date of the election. However, Council Members are not eligible immediately to stand again when their term of elected Council Membership comes to an end. (They may still be co-opted.)
7. Procedure for nominations: During the nomination period, anyone eligible to vote may propose or second as many eligible candidates as they wish. To propose or second a candidate, a message to that effect should be send by email or Private Message to the returning officer. At the conclusion of the nomination period, the returning officer shall publish within i-church a list of all candidates along with the user names of those who have proposed and seconded them. (No one is to be considered a candidate for the election if they were not both proposed and seconded during the nomination period).
8. Supporting Statements: Each candidate will be permitted to provide one supporting statement which will be published in the “How i-church works” forum.
9. Procedure for voting: If there are more candidates than places to be filled, an election shall be held. At the beginning of the voting period, the returning officer shall publish within i-church instructions for Community Members on how to vote. Each Community Member may vote no more than once. A vote consists of ranking any or all candidates in order of preference, i.e. 1 next to the first preference candidate, 2 next to the second preference candidate, etc.
10. Procedure for counting votes: Votes are counted by the returning officer according to the Single Transferable Vote system, specifically the British Columbia STV rules, which can be read at http://www.citizensassembly.bc.ca/resources/TechReport(full).pdf
11. Publication of the results: The returning officer shall publish the results of the election within 3 days of the close of the election (or the date at which the election would have closed, if there has been no election), and shall inform all candidates individually of the results. The returning officer shall also contact the Board of Trustees for ratification of the membership of the Council. The Web pastor shall arrange to introduce the newly elected members of the Council to the Council at a specified point within the following seven days, and those whose term on the Council has ended shall be retired from the Council during that same period. Any Community Member may ask the returning officer for a detailed breakdown of the vote counting.
12. Dispute: In case of disputed interpretation of the rules, the Web Pastor shall indicate the interpretation that is to be followed. In case of a procedural anomaly, the Web Pastor shall arbitrate (if the Web Pastor is the returning officer, then an Assistant Web Pastor shall arbitrate). If disputes cannot be resolved, the matter shall be referred to the Board of Trustees whose decision is final.