Q U1.
Q. Is there any disadvantages to giving the same ranking to several candidates?

A. No, it is fine to give multiple candidates the same ranking. That can be just as effective a ballot as ranking each candidate separately. Basically, your single vote can be divided equally among the candidates you give the same ranking to when that ranking is reached on your ballot, but those fractions of your vote can re-combine on the strongest candidate in that batch.

For example, a voter may rank three candidates as "1", another as "2" and then three more as "3" and be finsihed. (There is no reason to worry about ranking 18 candidates, since each voter only has one net vote.) The rankings are just contingency instructions for how your one vote should be divided or transferred if your more preferred candidate has already won a seat or gets eliminated. The ballot described above will be counted initially by giving one third of a vote to each of the candidates ranked "1". If one of those candidates gets eliminated in the next round of the tabulation, the other two remaining "1"s would then each get a half of the third of a vote sitting in that eliminated candidate's pile (which is 1/6 of a vote) bringing them to a half vote each. If one of them then gets elected (by reaching the winning threshold) the surplus fraction of that half vote (let's say 1/ 240 of a vote, as an arbitrary example) would then transfer to the other "1" candidate giving her just a bit over a half vote. If that candidate then ends up being eliminated in the next tabulation round, the entire 1/2 plus 1/240 of a vote will transfer to the candidate ranked "2", and so on.

This is confusing to describe in words, but the point is that the logic of the system allows voters to honestly rank candidates as they see them, with no strategizing or "gaming" giving any advantage. Votes can re-coalesce on the strongest preferred candidate so that vote splitting is not a problem. If you like five candidates equally well, there is no advantage to YOU to rank them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 as compared to 1, 1, 1, 1, 1. It will matter to the CANDIDATES in terms of WHICH of them in particular might win, but the voters intent is carried out.

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Q U2.
Q. What if I didn’t get a ballot in the mail, but think I am eligible to vote?

A. Here is the late ballot procedure Pacifica is using for all station elections.

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Q 1.
Q. Who runs the election for the new Local Station Boards?

A. The Bylaws empower a National Election Supervisor to appoint Local Election Supervisors to oversee the election process and certify the fairness of the elections and that they comply with the Bylaws. Rules and procedures are adopted by the election supervisors rather than by staff, management, or local advisory boards. Although these part-time Supervisors have ultimate authority, it will still be necessary for station management and staff to cooperate in preparing voter lists, coordinating election programming, etc. Ballots will be prepared, mailed, and counted by neutral volunteers appointed by election supervisors, and not by any station management or staff.

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Q 2.
Q. What is the difference between an “election committee” and “election supervisory panel?”

A. Some Pacifica stations have pre-existing election committees, perhaps set up by the station Local Advisory Board, for example. However, the new bylaws empower the Local Election Supervisor to appoint an election committee exclusively of neutral individuals. In order to distinguish this committee from pre-existing unofficial election committees, we have adopted the term Election Supervisory Panel for this new neutral group. The Election Supervisory Panel is charged with assisting the Local Election Supervisor in verifying petitions, adopting procedures, counting the votes, etc. Unofficial election committees may continue to function doing diversity outreach, voter education, etc.

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Q 3.
Q. How can members learn about candidates?

A. Every voter will receive statements from all candidates with their ballot. There will also be on-air candidate forums. During the nomination period, listeners may volunteer to add themselves to the “please contact list” which prospective candidates will be able to use to seek petition signatures. To add your email or postal address to the “please contact list” click here. Those with access to the Internet can also read candidate statements and responses to a candidate questionnaire CLICK HERE (coming soon). A list of candidates will be posted on the elections web site and at the stations CLICK HERE (coming soon). Most candidates will happily respond to individual questions from voters.

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Q 4.
Q. Can staff or management campaign for listener candidates?

A. There are sharp restrictions on how staff may actively support listener candidates. Paid and unpaid staff, board members and management may not endorse candidates on-air, nor facilitate the use of any station resources, or web sites that utilize station resources, or could be confused for official websites, to benefit some candidates and not others. As purely private individuals, staff may promote listener candidates (such as by an email to a private list not generated with station involvement).

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Q 5.
Q. What is the rule for equal access to airtime for candidates?

A. Absolute. No Listener candidate may be granted more air time than another. Article Four Section Seven of the Bylaws sets out the fair campaign provisions...

"SECTION 7. FAIR CAMPAIGN PROVISIONS
No Foundation or radio station management or staff (paid or unpaid) may use or permit the use of radio station air time to endorse, campaign or recommend in favor of or against any candidate(s) for election as a Listener-Sponsor Delegate, nor may air time be made available to some Listener-Sponsor Delegate candidate(s) but not to others.

All candidates for election as a Listener-Sponsor Delegate shall be given equal opportunity for equal air time, which air time shall include time for a statement by the candidate and a question and answer period with call-in listeners. No Foundation or radio station management or staff (paid or unpaid) may give any on-air endorsements to any candidate(s) for Listener-Sponsor Delegate.

The Board of Directors may not, nor may any LSB nor any committee of the Board or of an LSB, as a body, endorse any candidate(s) for election as a Delegate. However, an individual Director or Delegate may endorse or nominate candidate(s) in his/her individual capacity.

In the event of any violation of these provisions for fair campaigning, the local Elections Supervisor and the National Elections Supervisor shall determine, in good faith and at their sole discretion, an appropriate remedy, up to and including disqualification of the candidate(s) and/or suspension from the air of the offending staff person(s) (paid or unpaid) for the remainder of the elections period.

All candidates and staff members (paid and unpaid) shall sign a statement certifying that they have read and understood these fair campaign provisions."

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Q 6.
Q. What about the Internet? Does this candidate equal-access requirement apply only to on-air time?

A. No. Rules adopted by the National Elections Supervisor with approval from the national board extend the same principle of equal access to all station resources such as use of facilities for meetings, photo-copiers, web sites, etc. These supplemental rules read as follows…

No station resources, including, but not limited to, services, and meeting space may be provided to some candidates but not equally to all candidates.

Website endorsements: All members and programmers that maintain a website utilizing Pacifica or station logos or call letters and/or references to their own Pacifica or station programming that could be mistaken for an official web site, are subject to and shall be bound by these rules:

a. Endorsements of candidates on such web sites are not permitted. Any such Website reference to a specific candidate or slate of candidates is not permitted, either explicitly or via hyperlink to another web-page. This directive includes all programmer Websites linked through official station web sites. Any web site may generically encourage voting and contain links to official election web sites.

b. Endorsement emails (web-based & list serve) using private email lists not from station or Pacifica sources are permitted.

c. Email endorsements shall be fact based, and contain no personal attacks

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Q 7.
Q. Can Program Directors or other staff keep candidates off the air?

A. No. All candidates must have equal access. This must include at least one candidate forum.

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Q 8.
Q. Who must sign the statement that they have read and understood the fair campaign provisions?

A. The Bylaws require every candidate and every member of the station staff, whether paid or unpaid, to sign the statement.

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Q 9.
Q. How will the fair campaign provisions be enforced?

A. Members should send any complaints to the Local Election Supervisor. The Bylaws give the Local and National Election Supervisors the authority to fashion an “appropriate remedy, up to and including disqualification of the candidate(s) and/or suspension from the air of the offending staff person(s) (paid or unpaid) for the remainder of the elections period.”

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Q 10.
Q. Are slates of candidates allowed?

A. While the ballot will simply list individual candidates and have no provision for identifying slates, Listener-Sponsor candidates may certainly endorse other Listener-Sponsor candidates and form slates. Candidates may identify themselves with a slate if they wish in their candidate statement mailed with the ballots and available on-line. Some members, familiar with typical winner-take-all elections have expressed concerns about slates being undesirable. However, slates are not problematic nor something to fret about, because we are using a proportional voting system, rather than a winner-take-all system. In fact, slates may be beneficial for informing voters in an election could possibly have over 50 candidates. In ranking a large number of candidates, voters may be helped by understanding which candidates have similar views or platforms. The fact that we are not using a winner-take-all voting system means that NO slate can possibly make a sweep of the election, and minority voices will necessarily win their fair share of seats proportionate to their support in the electorate.

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Q 11.
Q. Do candidates running as part of a slate have an advantage over those running independently?

A. Not necessarily. Slates can function to organize some voters to concentrate their support, but ironically also may drive away other voters. Candidates who are able to reach out across factional divides may win both first preference votes as well as alternate-choice votes from voters who may lean towards one faction or another. Reaching out for alternate-choice rankings to the supporters of other candidates can be a winning strategy.

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Q 12.
Q. Are there strategic considerations in forming slates?

A. In this transition election there is a unique quirk in Pacifica's bylaws that can impact slate strategy. Imagine a situation where the electorate was evenly divided half and half between just two perspectives, and each group decided to run a slate of candidates. While each group will end up with 9 of the 18 seats, here is the unusual quirk. The bylaws state that in the transition election the first nine seats filled will be given three-year terms, and the next nine seats filled will have the one-year terms. Suppose one slate runs 18 candidates and the other slate runs 10 candidates. The mathematics of the vote tally (counting in rounds, and transferring surplus votes from winning candidates and eliminated bottom candidates) means that the slate that ran only ten candidates is more likely to fill most of the three-year term seats, because their votes will coalesce in winning candidates' ballot piles, more quickly than the slate whose votes are more dispersed at the beginning of the count procedure. Thus, it is likely that the slate running an excessive number of candidates will end up with most (or all) of the one-year seats. Thus, IN THIS TRANSITION ELECTION, a slate would be well advised to NOT try and run 18 candidates, but rather run just a few more candidates than they think their share of support in the electorate can elect. The 18 winners will be proportionate, in any event, but the possibility is that only candidates with one of the perspectives will come up for election next year, creating a temporarily unrepresentative board for two years, until the three-year seats come up in 2006.

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Q 13.
Q. Will there be internet voting?

A. No. Although the Bylaws give the National Election Supervisor the option of providing for voting over the Internet, for this election cycle the National Election Supervisor has concluded that the importance of having a paper audit trail that can be readily recounted if necessary trumps the convenience that might be achieved for some voters using the Internet.

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Q 14.
Q. Is this election much different than winner-take all elections most of us are used to?

A. Yes. This election will be using a method of proportional representation, known as “Choice Voting” or “Single Transferable Vote” (STV). In a winner-take-all election, whether for a single seat or for a group of seats, the dominant group has the possibility of electing every single seat in a sweep. This is not possible under proportional representation. All significant (self-defined) minority groups have the chance to elect a fair share of seats proportionate to their share of support among the voters.

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Q 15.
Q. Why is proportional representation better for electing a representative board than common winner-take-all elections?

A. Proportional representation refers to voting systems in which groups of voters win representation in proportion to their numbers. For example, 10% of the voters will elect approximately 10% of the seats, 20% of voters will elect 20% of the seats, and so forth. The majority wins a majority, but not all of the seats, while minority viewpoints also win their fair share of the seats. The Choice Voting form of proportional representation is a system in which voters rank candidates in order of choice. The method of tallying votes is designed to facilitate each voter having someone elected to the board that is acceptable to him/her. Under winner-take-all voting systems the majority has the potential to elect every single seat on the board, which leaves minority viewpoints unrepresented.

Instead of one dominant group of voters choosing all 18 Listener-Delegates, and all smaller losing groups having no representation, with Proportional Representation, eighteen sub-constituencies of around 6% of the electorate each will elect their favored representative. By voting for your favorite candidate (as well as alternate choices), you determine which candidate will represent you. By ranking candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc.) if your favorite candidate has more than enough votes to win a seat, your vote will not be wasted, but will instead automatically count for your next favorite candidate. Likewise, if your favorite candidate has so little support that she or he cannot win a seat, your vote will also not be wasted, but will instead count for your next choice who is still in the running.

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Q 16.
Q. How does Choice Voting (STV) work?

A. The details are spelled out in Article 15, Section 1 of the Bylaws (click here). But here is a summary of how the winners are determined…

First a ‘winning threshold’ needs to be calculated, which is the minimum number of votes a candidate needs to get elected. To calculate the winning threshold the total number of valid ballots cast is divided by one more than the number of seats to be filled, plus one vote.

Each voter has a single vote, but that vote may end up being divided into fractions of a vote that help elect more than one candidate.

Any candidates who have enough votes (first preferences) to reach the winning threshold are declared elected. If a candidate receives more votes than needed to win a seat, the “surplus” portion of each vote in a winning candidate’s pile will be transferred to each of those voters’ next preference candidate so that each vote can be fully used.

If there are still unfilled places after the first preferences have been dealt with and any surpluses transferred, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and voters who favored that candidate have their votes transferred to the voters’ second preferences. Any candidate who now has more than the winning threshold is declared elected.

This process continues until all of the seats are filled.

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Q 17.
Q. Is this a standard voting method? Where else is it used?

A. Choice Voting (STV) has been used for over a hundred years in thousands of elections for both governments and private associations. For example, it is used to elect the national legislature in Ireland, and the Senate in Australia, and was used by over 20 cities in the United States, including New York City at the time of Mayor LaGuardia. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only U.S. city that uses it today.

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Q 18.
Q. Why did most U.S. cities that adopted it discontinued using it?

A. While each case was unique, as a general rule proportional representation was repealed because it worked exactly as intended. It allowed full diversity on city councils, including racial minorities and third party candidates. The dominant groups in these cities were eventually convinced to repeal proportional representation so that the majority could again exclude minorities.

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Q 19.
Q. What does Choice Voting accomplish?

A. The actual casting of a vote is quite simple, though different than most voters are accustomed to. Instead of entering a number of “check marks,” electors simply enter the numbers 1, 2, 3, ... etc. next to their preferred candidates, in order of choice. Indeed, they need only express as many preferences, or contingency choices, as they desire, i.e. from just one, up to as many as there are candidates running for election.

a. Each elector’s single vote is used to help elect the candidate who is his or her first preference. If that candidate is so popular that he or she does not need all the first preference votes received, the surplus portions of each of those votes are transferred to non-excluded candidates, according to the next available preferences indicated;

b. It can be seen that later preferences are contingency choices only. Because these contingency choices are used only if an earlier preference has a surplus above the winning threshold required for election, or has been excluded because of insufficient support, under no circumstances can they count against an earlier preference;

c. The sorting of voting ballots according to first preferences in effect arranges the electors who voted into groups, each group supporting a single candidate. The transfers of surpluses and exclusions reduce the groups in number according to the number of places to be filled and make the initially unequal groups each approximately equal to the winning threshold. The electorate is thus arranged into the desired number of nearly equal opinion groups, each group with its own representative;

d. Nearly every voter is effective in helping to secure the election of a chosen candidate. The percentage of effective votes in an election is a measure of voter satisfaction, and thus of the validity of an election method. Nearly every voter has an equal effect on the result and is directly represented by someone whom he or she has helped to elect.

In voting, different electors may attach different weight to several criteria simultaneously. The single transferable vote gives proportional representation of this opinion structure of the electorate with an accuracy dependent only on the number of representatives simultaneously elected. The single transferable vote gives freedom of choice to electors and ensures, as far as possible, that that choice is satisfied and not distorted or frustrated.

Using STV, there are fewer wasted votes. Votes cast for candidates who have no chance of winning can still count by a transfer to another candidate. There is also little tactical voting (voting for a less favored candidate because they have more chance of winning) because STV allows electors to vote for their preferred candidates knowing that their vote will transfer if that candidate cannot win.

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Q 20.
Q. What will the ballot look like?

A. While the final design has not been determined, it will likely consist of a column of candidate names, with a space next to each name for the voter to write a number, to rank candidates in order of choice.

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Q 21.
Q. Will candidate names be listed alphabetically randomly or what?

A. Rather than just finding a single name, voters will be asked to rank candidates in order of choice. Because there will be a large number of candidates to look over, a logical organization of names is essential. The National Election Supervisor will pick a beginning name at random, and then place the names on the ballot in alphabetical order starting with that candidate, and wrapping around from Z to A and back to the starting letter. This gives every candidate an equal chance to be listed at the top of the ballot and also allows voters to locate candidates with reasonable ease.

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Q 22.
Q. How do I get a ballot?

A. A ballot will be mailed to every member on January 5th, 2004. Ballots cannot be picked up at the station and replacement ballots will not be available.

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Q 23.
Q. How do I mark my ballot?

A. This election is being conducted using Choice Voting. Rather than just putting a check next to one candidate, voters are allowed to rank as many candidates as they wish in the order of their preference. Voters mark their ballots by putting the figure 1 next to the name of their favorite candidate, the figure 2 next to the name of their second favorite candidate, the figure 3 next to their third choice, and so on. The voter can rank as many candidates as he or she has an opinion about. There is no minimum or maximum number of candidates that can be ranked. The voter may even give the same ranking to more than one candidate, if the voter supports them equally. In that case, the ballot’s voting strength will be divided equally among all candidates given that same ranking who are still in the running.

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Q 24.
Q. What if I only like one or a few candidates?

A. You are only required to rank a single candidate, but you run the risk of not maximizing your vote by doing so. If your favorite candidate already has enough support to win a seat, a portion of your vote can be transferred to your next choice but only if you have indicated a next choice. Likewise, if your favorite candidate has so little support that she or he cannot win a seat, if you have not indicated an alternate choice your vote cannot be transferred to a next choice. The best strategy is always to rank as many candidates as you have an opinion about.

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Q 25.
Q. Will ranking alternate candidates hurt the chances of my favorite candidate?

A. No. Ranking additional choices cannot hurt your favorite candidate. These are just contingency choices, in case your favorite candidate already has enough support to win a seat or has no chance of winning.

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Q 26.
Q. Can I give the same ranking to several candidates if I like them equally well?

A. Yes. If you give the same ranking several candidates your vote will simply be divided equally among those candidates.

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Q 27.
Q. Does a first choice vote count twice as much as a second choice, or what?

A. Choice voting doesn’t work like that at all. Each voter has a single vote, and initially it only counts for the voter’s first choice, with nothing going to any of the later preferences. Only if that first-choice candidate has more than enough votes to win, or if that candidate has so little support that he or she gets defeated, can a ballot count towards the election of a later preference. A voter’s alternate rankings are a contingency vote to make sure a member’s vote isn’t wasted on a sure winner who has a surplus of votes, or a sure loser, who can’t possibly win.

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Q 28.
Q. What if I haven’t ranked any more candidates after all of my ranked candidates are out of the running?

A. Voters who rank only one, or a few, candidates run some risk of having a fraction, or all of their ballot become “exhausted.” An “exhausted” ballot is one that still has at least a fraction of a vote available to be transferred, but has no more candidates who are still in the running ranked on it. However, it is often true that one or more of that voter’s favorite candidates has already been elected by that point.

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Q 29.
Q. For a candidate, how important is getting a first choice vote as compared to a second or lower ranking on a ballot?

A. First choice votes can be key. Candidates who receive few or no first preferences run a greater risk of being eliminated in one of the intermediate rounds of counting, although it is actually possible for a candidate to win exclusively on the strength of alternate choices on ballots that ranked other candidates first.

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Q 30.
Q. Can I deliver my completed ballot to the station?

A. No. Completed ballots must be mailed to the secure box under the exclusive control of the Local Election Supervisor. The ballots must be received (not postmarked) by February 5th, 2004 to be valid.

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Q 31.
Q. What protection is there against fraudulent ballots?

A. All ballots will be printed and mailed by vendors contracted by the National Election Supervisor. Every ballot will have a unique ten-digit bar code verification number. These will be randomized so that nobody can know which number is going on which voter’s ballot. The ballots will be returned to a secure box under the exclusive control of the Local Election Supervisor, rather than to the station. A list of valid numbers for each station will be compared with each returned ballot bar code before counting it.

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Q 32.
Q. How will the ballots actually be tallied?

A. The Bylaws require that the National Elections Supervisor designate where, when, and by whom the ballots will be counted. To avoid any risk of accidental or intentional errors, the ballots will be opened, verified and counted by teams appointed by the neutral Local Election Supervisor. The ballots will be entered into a simple computer program (the same used for elections in Cambridge, Massachusetts), and the ballots will be secured in case of any legal challenges or recounts, and retained by the Foundation Secretary for three years.

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