2016 OTW Board Election
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Event: | 2016 OTW Board Election |
| Participants: | Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) |
| Date(s): | July-September 2016, voting 23-26 September, results 27 September |
| Type: | Election |
| Fandom: | panfandom |
| URL: | OTW Elections site, FAQ, Main OTW site |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The 2016 Organization for Transformative Works Board of Directors election took place between July 31 and September 27 2016.
Candidates were announced on July 31, and OTW members - people who had paid the $10 membership fee - were eligible to vote electronically between 23 and 26 September. On September 27, the Elections Committee announced the 2016 Election Results.
The original candidates were all individuals who had not previously served on the Board: James Beal, Kristina Busse and Priscilla del Cima. Kristina Busse and Priscilla del Cima won the election and started their Board terms on November 1, 2016.
Candidates' Platforms
Issues raised by the candidates included retention of volunteers in the OTW, the possibility of hiring paid contractors to work on Archive of Our Own, budgeting, rebuilding the Finance committee, and having a means of recalling Board members (e.g. through a vote of no confidence) in order to avoid the issues that had previously arisen of a toxic culture within the OTW Board of Directors.
One of the candidates, James Beal, was outspoken about the fact that he did not want to be elected to the Board of Directors, but was standing as a candidate purely so that the seats would be contested and a full election held. He emphasised that he would still fulfil his Board duties to the best of his ability if elected, but that he didn't believe he was particularly qualified to sit on the Board, and that his time would be better spent focusing on his role as an Archive database admin.
In his Manifesto, he wrote:
I do not want to be a Board member. I hope there are plenty of other people who would make better Board members than I in this election. I have been a manager in my professional career and I find being responsible for people to be much more stressful than being responsible for machines. I decided to run for election to the Board because I want to ensure that there is an election and the only way I can practically do that is to run as a candidate. I believe that having unopposed elections is harmful to the org and I want to help ensure we do not get into the situation where the Board is completely out of touch with the membership. If I was elected and it is possible to allow the seat to be contested at the next election and still stand as a candidate, given that the term would not be complete (to reduce the likelihood of having an unopposed election) I would do so. If I do become a member of the Board I would endeavour to bring the relevant skills I had to bear to do the best job I could.[1]
(See the 2016 OTW Elections Candidates Announcement for full candidate bios and manifestos).
Tone of the Election
Following the dramatic events of the OTW 2015 Board Election, the 2016 Election was notable for its friendly tone and lack of controversy or drama.
Tumblr user Wrangle Tangle wrote a satirical post entitled OTW Gothic, 2016 Edition which highlighted the recent changes in OTW culture to a more co-operative and productive working environment, and contained the line:
"3 candidates run for the Board. They all say nice things about each other. They seem to actually like each other."[2]
Issue with Closing Date in Ballot Email
After voting for the 2016 election closed on September 26, it was pointed out to the Elections Committee that there had been an incorrect closing date specified on the ballot email sent out to voters.
While the voting instructions post and email, as well as the tweets, tumblr post, website post, and graphic all contained the correct closing date, the ballot email specified a closing date and time of September 29 at 11:59pm UTC. The Elections Committee addressed this issue in a post on the Elections website, writing:
In the process of reformatting our ballot email to address questions submitted by members and to make it shorter and easier to read, the error was introduced and not caught during the review process. We’re very sorry for this oversight.[3]
While it was not technically possible to reopen the election (and indeed the results of the election had already been announced), the Elections Committee felt strongly that "any eligible member who wants to vote should get to do so". They therefore introduced a workaround in which those who had been affected by the typo and had been unable to vote in time could email the Elections Committee before 11:59pm UTC on September 29 to cast their vote.
Nine additional members submitted their ballots during this time,[4] although this did not appear to affect the overall outcome of the election.
Timing of the Election
A decision was made to move the timing of OTW Board Elections to earlier in the year, beginning with the 2016 election, in order to avoid conflicts with OTW events taking place later in the year. Prior to the 2016 election, OTW Board Elections had traditionally taken place between September and November of their respective year, with new Board members beginning their terms on December 1.
In 2016, the election process began in July, with voting taking place in the last week of September, and new Board members beginning their terms on November 1.
The OTW Elections Committee highlighted the change in timing in their news post announcing the timeline and membership deadline for the 2016 election, noting that the timing change would take place in two stages:
If you’re familiar with the timing of elections in the past, things have changed a bit. In order to avoid conflicts with other OTW events, the Elections Committee is moving the election forward, and this will occur in two stages. This year the election will take place on September 23-26. Our plan is for next year’s election to be held in August, where it should stay for the foreseeable future.[5]
Election Statistics
The 2016 Election had a total of 6,302 eligible voters, of which 951 voters cast a ballot (including those who voted during the additional period from September 26 to 29), representing 15.1% of the total eligible voter base. The voter turnout in 2016 was nearly double that of 2015, which had a turnout of 7.8%.
The number of ballots cast also rose more than 50%, from 621 in 2015 to 951 in 2016.[4]
For more detail on the election statistics from 2016 and other years, see the Election Statistics for 2016 post.
References
- ^ James Beal's Bio & Manifesto, published July 31, 2016 (accessed March 25, 2017).
- ^ OTW Gothic, 2016 Edition, published August 22, 2016 (accessed March 23, 2017).
- ^ Important Message from Elections Committee, published September 27, 2016 (accessed March 25, 2017).
- ^ a b Election Statistics for 2016, published October 4, 2016 (accessed March 25, 2017).
- ^ 2016 Timeline and Membership Deadline, OTW Elections, published July 3, 2016 (Accessed April 17, 2017).