Organization Member Advisory Council (OMAC) Officer Elections

Responsibilities

All three OMAC Officers act to fulfill the OMAC’s purpose to serve as an advisory body to Internet Society senior management and board on matters affecting the general welfare and effectiveness of the global Internet and its users. The full list of responsibilities can be found in the OMAC Charter.

Period

Elections for OMAC officers will take place at an interval of 24 months after the election results announcement of the prior OMAC officer election. Officers have the flexibility to organize the elections within two months of either side of this time frame to accommodate exigent circumstances and if agreed by documented plurality member consent.

Participation

1. Only OMAC members representing organization members in good standing may nominate, run for office and vote. An organization member is deemed to be in good standing if their membership dues are paid in full at – or beyond the voting open date.
2. OMAC members may nominate themselves.
3. Only one voting delegate may cast the ballot from an organization member.  This delegate must be identified to the Secretariat and will be documented in the Internet Society Association Management System (AMS).
4. If for any reason the voting delegate is unable to cast the ballot, the organization member shall designate an alternate who will be validated as the only individual from that organization member who may vote.
5. The OMAC officer elections will not be weighted according to membership level as delegates have the opportunity to nominate themselves.

Nominations

a. All nominees for OMAC officers must represent an organization member in good standing. An organization member is deemed to be in good standing if their membership dues are paid in full at – or beyond the voting open date.
b. Nominees must be willing and able to commit to the hours per month required for a well-functioning OMAC, and to the responsibilities as listed in the OMAC Charter.
c. Nominees should be nominated for their qualifications and commitment to engage organization members to be active in the OMAC.
d. Nominations will be made using the electronic form provide by the Internet Society
e. Nominations will be published in the OMAC e-list and the Organization Member Corner once they are validated and accepted by the nominees.

Communications

a. The sitting OMAC Co-Chairs announce the election timetable.
b. Any OMAC delegate from an organization member in good standing may nominate an individual for office, including themselves.
c. Nominations are made via the ISOC OMAC voting system.
d. Nominations received after the Closing of Nominations will not be considered.
e. Candidates will post a biography in the Organization Member Corner for all the OMAC delegates to review. Candidates may also make statements regarding why they should be elected and what they would do if elected to lead the OMAC.
f. OMAC members may comment and ask questions using the OMAC e-list until the day prior to the opening of the vote.  Candidates will have the opportunity to respond in the OMAC e-list.

Verification and Validation of nominees and OMAC voting delegates

1. All nominators, nominees and voters must be approved by the OMAC secretariat as an employee of an organization member in good standing.
2. Validation of nominators and nominees must be completed by the closing of the nomination process.
3. All nominees must accept their nominations in writing. It is presumed that those nominating themselves accept their nomination once their candidacy is validated.
4. Validation of voting delegates must be completed five working days prior to the opening of voting.
5. Verification will be via the data record in the Internet Society’s Association Management System (AMS).

Candidate Forum

All candidates for the three positions will submit a written statement why he or she should be considered as a co-chair of the OMAC.  These will be posted on Organization Member Corner. A discussion thread will be opened on the OMAC e-list where all OMAC delegates will have the opportunity to engage with the candidates until the candidate forum closes.  

Ballots

1. Ballots will be developed by the Secretariat and reside on a webpage with secure access for Secretariat Staff only.
2. Ballots will be provided to all validated voting delegates by the opening of voting. Ballots will provide secure access for the email address of record of the voting delegate into the ISOC election application.

Voting

1. Voting will take place via the Organization Membership electronic form.
2. The primary email address of record in the AMS of the voting delegate will be used as the unique identifier for voting integrity and protection.
3. Candidates are not limited to the number of times they vote, but only the last vote of any delegate will be counted.
4. Ballots may be cast at any time during the period established in the OMAC Officer Election Timetable.
5. Delegates may vote for up to three candidates.

Election Results

1. Votes will be automatically tallied via the ballot system.
2. Results will be validated by Internet Society IT in coordination with the OMAC Secretariat.
3. Results will be announced and published within one working day of results validation.

Challenge to the Results

1. Members have three working days to challenge the announced results.
2. Challenges may be based upon violations of the process stated herein including:

• Standing of the member
• Qualifications of the Elected officer
• Proven mistake in the mechanics of the voting system

Appendix of Definitions

1. Member in good standing – any organization that has its membership dues paid in full on the day the OMAC Officer voting opens.
2. Member  – for the purposes of this document ‘member’ will refer to an organization member in good standing
3. Delegate – an employee of a member designated to participate in the Advisory Council
4. Voting Delegate – an employee of a member designated to vote on behalf of the member in the OMAC officer elections.
5. Secretariat – ISOC staff who are assigned administrative responsibility for OMAC support
6. Association Management System (AMS) – the database application that holds the definitive data regarding the Internet Society members and delegates.

2024 OMAC Officer Election Timetable

Date	Activity
25 May 2024	Call for Nominations opens.
23 June 2024	Nominations period closes.
24 June 2024	Candidate slates announced.
24 June 2024	Candidate forums open.
1 July 2024	Candidates Forums close.  Ballots mailed. Voting opens.
21 July 2024	Voting closes. Ballots counted.
22 July 2024	Results announced. Challenge period opens.
27 July 2024	Challenge response period ends.
28 July 2024	Election results finalized and announced.