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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	765
Proposal	Certification of 2014 Steering Committee Elections
Presenter	Elections Tabulation Committee
Floor Manager	Tamar Yager
Phase	Closed
Discussion	09/01/2014 - 09/14/2014
Voting	09/15/2014 - 09/21/2014
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	30 0.6666
Consens Quorum	32 A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

Report of the Election Tabulation Committee
Green Party of the United States

For the Steering Committee Election of July 26, 2014

Green Party Annual National Meeting
St. Paul, Minnesota

To: Green Party of the U.S. Green National Committee

From: GPUS Elections Tabulations Committee:
Holly Hart (Iowa)
Frank Young (West Virginia)
Rich Zitola (California)
Morgen D'Arc (Maine)
Craig Thorsen (Lavender Caucus)

Date: August 15, 2014

Subject: Final report 2014

We hereby submit this final report in accordance with our responsibilities pursuant to the Bylaws of the
Green Party of the United States, Article VI §6-2, and as further specified in the GPUS Rules and
Procedures Article VII, as amended.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Declaration of Results for Co-Chairs and Treasurer
II. Narrative Report
III. Anomalies and Recommendations
IV. Tabulation of Votes
Appendix I: Steering Committee Election Ballots
Appendix II: GPUS Rules and Procedures: Article VII

I. DECLARATION of RESULTS FOR CO-CHAIR AND TREASURER

We declare that the following candidates for Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Green Party of
the United States were duly elected on July 26, 2014, according to the rules specified in Article VII of
the Green Party Rules and Procedures:
Audrey Clement (Virginia)
Karen Young (New York)
Charles Ostdiek (Nebraska)

We declare that the following candidate for Treasurer of the Green Party of the United States was duly
elected according to the rules specified in Article VII of the Green Party Rules and Procedures:
Jeff Turner (Hawaii).

We recommend that the Green National Committee certify the candidates named above as having been
elected to the positions indicated.

II. NARRATIVE REPORT

Prior to the 2010 Steering Committee and Treasurer elections, the Steering Committee authorized Hugh
Esco to perform several modifications to the online voting page software to establish a “secret ballot,
open upon close” option for Steering Committee co-chair elections.

One modification told the voting software to send electronic “ballot keys” to a generic email address as
well as to the voter. The second step involved installing a program into the vote software that would
automatically fetch the ballot keys from that email account, re-connect voters with their ballots, and
display them on the Vote Results page. The third step involved installing a “cron job” that would close
the election at 5 PM instead of the default closing time of midnight (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time) on
Saturday of the Annual National Meeting.

The software concluding the vote 5:00 p.m. on Saturday of the Annual National Meeting (ANM) did
not function as expected, and for that and subsequent elections, the vote was concluded manually by
having Hugh Esco log into the voting page and manually close the elections.

For the 2013 Steering Committee and Secretary elections, the same voting system software was used.
This time, no one with access to the voting software was available to close the election on time, and
votes were recorded until the default time of 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (1:59 a.m. Central Time).
This year, the election also did not close at the specified time of 5:00 p.m. Hugh Esco and David
Doonan were able to manually close it shortly after 5:30 p.m. Central Time.

After the elections were closed, Tamar Yager, the Floor Manager “certified” the elections, and the
results were then displayed on the online vote page. The results matched with individual voters were
not immediately displayed, however, because that function also requires manual entry into the voting
page to perform a function to release the data so that it will appear on the voting page.

During the following 2 weeks, Frank Young, Holly Hart, Rich Zitola, Craig Thorsen, and Morgen
D’Arc accessed the ballot key inbox and determined that all voters who cast ballots were accounted for.
We also discovered that one extra vote had been cast for the co-chair election; that the second vote was
cast about 1 minute after the first; that both were identical; and that only one vote for that voter had
been recorded and tabulated by the voting page tabulation software. In all, 97 ballot keys had been
generated for the co-chair election; 96 votes were actually tallied by the voting page tabulation
software.

In previous years there were reports of some voters not receiving a voting key, and whose vote did not
appear in the election results. Previous ETCs believed that there was a high probability that the
individuals did not completely confirm their votes, and therefore it was never actually cast However,
in the election at hand (for 2014) the ETC has had no reports of voters not receiving a voting key.

The ETC feels confident that the election results were tabulated correctly by the voting page software,
and that the anomaly that appeared affected only the function that matches voters to their respective
votes at the close of the election.

Our manual tabulation matched the result determined automatically by the voting software. The two
late votes did not change the outcome of the election.

III. ANOMALIES and RECOMMENDATIONS

The following is a list of anomalies that appeared in the 2014 Co-chair and Treasurer elections. These
have surfaced in past elections, and even though they have so far not appeared to affect the actual
election results, the ETC recommends that the steering committee appoint/hire someone with the
capability to investigate, determine the cause(s) and fix the problems.

KNOWN BUGS:
It is possible to cast more than one vote. There was only one instance of this occurring in this election,
with two identical ballots being submitted one minute apart. This was clearly a duplicate and the
committee simply disregarded this vote. The committee has identified the likely cause of this bug, but
chooses not to disclose the details here to avoid exploitation of this bug.

FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Further recommendation would be to modify the voting page to allow from the "front end" a way to
conclude the vote at a different time of day, and to manually release data matching votes with voters at
the conclusion of a "closed, open upon conclusion" ranked choice vote.

Although it did not happen in the 2014 election at hand, previous elections resulted in some numbers of
voters, ballots, and ballot keys not being displayed on the results page.

The committee recommends that the voting page indicates that the voter may rank as many or as few
candidates as she / he desires, and they should only rank candidates they support.

IV. TABULATION of VOTES

DETERMINATION OF VALIDITY OF RECORDED VOTES

The voting software recorded a total of 97 votes. All recorded votes appear in the table in Appendix I
to this report. Two identical votes were cast by the same voter, one minute apart. One of these was
discarded as a duplicate. The committee has no reason to believe this was an intentional action on the
part of the voter.

GPUS Rules and Procedures Article VII §B(2)(d) states that any ranked votes cast for eligible write-in
candidates shall be tabulated in the same manner as those for candidates whose names are printed on
the ballots. Therefore write-in votes were included in this tabulation.

GPUS Bylaws Article VI §6-2.1 states that the Steering Committee election shall end at 5:00pm in the
time zone in which the ANM is held, in this case Central Time. Timestamps in the Appendix table are
in Eastern Time, and therefore the deadline is indicated as “18:00” hours. Two votes were received
after this deadline and were discarded.

All of the remaining 94 votes were deemed valid.

DETERMINATION OF VICTORY THRESHOLD

The first step is to determine the number of votes required in order for a candidate to be elected. As
defined in Article VII §B(1)(b) of the GPUS Rules and Procedures, this threshold is defined as:

(total valid votes cast) / (seats to be filled + 1)

In this election, there were 94 votes cast for 3 available seats, so the threshold for election is:

94 / ( 3 + 1 ) = 23.500

STAGE ONE:

In the first stage, we simply count the first-choice votes for each candidate as follows:

27 Audrey Clement
22 Karen Young
18 Charles Ostdiek
15 Lora Friedenthal
8 Bruce Hinkforth
4 Bahram Zandi (write-in)

ELECTED: Audrey Clement is elected with a surplus of 3.5 votes

STAGE TWO:

Since there are two remaining seats, the count continues with the transfer of surplus votes as
defined in GPUS Rules and Procedures Article VII §B(2)(a). We examine the second choices of each
vote cast for Clement as follows:

15 Karen Young
5 Charles Ostdiek
3 Lora Friedenthal
2 Bruce Hinkforth
2 exhausted (no second choice)

The surplus proportion is 3.5 / 27 = 0.130. Thus the second choice votes are multiplied by this
proportion and added to the remaining candidates:

22 + (15 x 0.130) = 23.950 Karen Young
18 + (5 x 0.130) = 18.650 Charles Ostdiek
15 + (3 x 0.130) = 15.390 Lora Friedenthal
8 + (2 x 0.130) = 8.260 Bruce Hinkforth
4 + (0 x 0.130) = 4.000 Bahram Zandi

ELECTED: Karen Young is elected with a surplus of 0.450 votes.

Since the first transfer created a new surplus, this is then transferred to the next succeeding
choices, as defined in GPUS Rules and Procedures Article VII §B(3)(c). The surplus proportion is
0.450 / 1.950 = 0.231. Thus the third choice votes are multiplied by this proportion and added to the
remaining candidates:

18.650 + (9 x 0.130 x 0.231) = 18.920 Charles Ostdiek
15.390 + (5 x 0.130 x 0.231) = 15.540 Lora Friedenthal
8.260 + (1 x 0.130 x 0.231) = 8.290 Bruce Hinkforth
4.000 + (0 x 0.130 x 0.231) = 4.000 Bahram Zandi

Since there are still two remaining seats, and no one has passed the threshold after all surplusses
have been transferred, we must proceed to Stage 3.

STAGE THREE:

As defined in GPUS Rules and Procedures Article VII §B(3)(d), we now eliminate the
candidate with the least number of votes. In this case, two of Zandi's votes are exhausted (no further
preferences stated), and one each is transferred to Ostdiek and Hinkforth:

18.920 + 1 = 19.920 Charles Ostdiek
15.540 + 0 = 15.540 Lora Friedenthal
8.290 + 1 = 9.290 Bruce Hinkforth

Since there are still two remaining seats, and no one has passed the threshold after the last place
candidate was eliminated, we must proceed to Stage 4.

STAGE FOUR:

Once again, we eliminate the last place candidate, and transfer their votes to their next
succeeding preference:

19.920 + 5 = 24.920 Charles Ostdiek
15.540 + 2 = 17.540 Lora Friedenthal

ELECTED: Charles Ostdiek is elected with a surplus of 1.420 votes.

As defined in GPUS Rules and Procedures Article VII §B(3)(e), we now have filled all
available seats and the election is concluded.

Submitted, August 15, 2014

GPUS 2014 Elections Tabulation Committee
(s) Holly Hart, Frank Young, Rich Zitola, Morgen D'Arc, Craig Thorsen

Timestamp (ET) Voter Name Voter Email Ballot Key AC KY CO BH LF TA HS KC LC BZ *
19.07.2014 00:27 Paul Pipkin fanshapeddestiny64@gmail.com 76244066661cc7c79c93d8f07687d61b6d8651060343870689 1 2 3
19.07.2014 01:05 Susan Chunco ukapole@att.net 762932863f92dc3e226d8001bcd23e2dcdf130305799404596 3 1 2 5 4
19.07.2014 02:16 Bill Kreml billkreml@gmail.com 7626a287ec6660e838fbb6b1456819c2247105269564549717 3 2 1
19.07.2014 10:14 John Rensenbrink john@rensenbrink.com 7623f1b4fa1a4ea8529fc4c7b22a3eb098b127281739052869 3 2 1
19.07.2014 10:35 David Whiteman davidpwhiteman@yahoo.com 762b9ab06a0441dc9ef458b9668081fdb8f952000710234496 5 1 3 4 2
19.07.2014 11:02 Karen Young karenyoung521@yahoo.com 7620bfd9e1683c4353625c8a99f72da795f261237076625709 3 2 1
19.07.2014 11:12 Fina Campbell finacampbell@att.net 762bac34239aebdd40ac479203a9520aae8133792869722854 2 1 3 5 4
19.07.2014 11:49 Tony Affigne affigne@greens.org 762c6c292d09933d44b35278bdbcf2ec9e480140834917407 1 2 3
19.07.2014 12:14 Evan Lyne eblyne@gmail.com 762eddae4c627b8d332cf3c0533be06fbda10763576544281 1 3 2
19.07.2014 15:28 Douglas Campbell NaderLaDuke2000Detroit@yahoo.com 762a0cae9fceedb942038ecbf15a1215ffb810946588013598 2 1
19.07.2014 17:51 Paul Loney blc@hevanet.com 7628c29751979aefbd37f1b05f7df5f1819106848832136418 3 5 1 4 2
19.07.2014 19:38 Lora Friedenthal darkmagess@secretive.name 76221e070fe2fe3249560a5699a934a7088101032517891335 1 3 2
19.07.2014 21:54 Darrel Armstrong dchasa@outlook.com 762c100d6c5fb141c78d81473fc98ee7094125066280019086 1 2 3
19.07.2014 22:22 Bruce Hinkforth bhinkforth@milwpc.com 7622a1d58cd4523a96f62242420d2fb8895128056203973514 3 2 1 4 5
19.07.2014 23:57 Dave Sutliff-Atias greenpmc34@yahoo.com 7621d4621903e32a7d4a8ba5b8b2efcad86105616139235371 3 2 1
20.07.2014 08:18 Henry Lawrence III hnlbicycle@yahoo.com 76205e744fdc2adbf94d42f45de498f0799124347694932067 3 2 5 1 4
20.07.2014 15:40 Dani Liebling daniliebling@yahoo.com 7622ab367c2d567cead07c5016ef224b683502642161739501 2 3 1
20.07.2014 16:01 Angel Torres aatorres29@hotmail.com 762deeb801f03e123df07ce57199251cb31138558675126617 1 2
20.07.2014 18:53 Frank Young frankly@mtparty.org 762c784c06982727e2e7539213aeedeb7f1249670546949288 5 2 1 4 3
20.07.2014 21:08 Elie Yarden yen.yarden@verizon.net 762dd6d9dffc78270c7e4bec5e2269977a7128725626465146 4 2 5 1 3
20.07.2014 22:35 Rich Zitola rich@zeeprime.com 762d86429fdf96a11cf8eaddfe99015accb128787916112862 1 2 3
20.07.2014 23:09 Charles Sherrouse options@critpath.org 7622f5c16b764d9586adbfd078846b0cc99102707565234797 5 2 1 3 4
21.07.2014 01:40 Kent Mesplay kentmesplay@gmail.com 76244651234aec17b7a4d3b7f228a67a768110493075013271 3 2 1
21.07.2014 11:55 Richard Chacker greenhermosa@yahoo.com 762d33d9b220ad8da75f7eafc3fbdc1d1a713562370380854 1 3 2
21.07.2014 11:58 Josefina Aranda jvsla@yahoo.com 7625c6d1d86083393a7d9d8ba6595937365381166192355153 1 2 3
21.07.2014 12:26 Craig Seeman cseeman@optonline.net 762df9f827ca97032dba13c9c9dcdf9d651767359925675024 3 1 4 2
21.07.2014 12:28 Cynthia Santiago Miss.Cynthia.Santiago@gmail.com 7624f43a15cb76a6124351799c16ec6dee2946760898886114 1 2 3
21.07.2014 12:36 Lisa Hsu lisakhsu@gmail.com 762e71d370faeca838b98354d5a53ae47d9711531253041934 1 2 3
21.07.2014 14:29 Doug Barnett doug@bar-nett.com 76298fb4cd0a8ecd84b6807ed4108475c73339321946629947 1 3 2
21.07.2014 14:30 Marla Bernstein marlaismom@gmail.com 762eb39362e5915ca70d473909f82e09365103832519053897 1 2 3
21.07.2014 16:58 Jacqui Deveneau jacquigpus@yahoo.com 762683c3ef4d7b1e9d667cfba07a0252295479410832591823 3 2 1
21.07.2014 19:53 Audrey Clement aclement65@hotmail.com 762ad0ea1570985af82ac66938441a8c186138795692850536 1 2 3 5 4
21.07.2014 21:02 Mike Feinstein mfeinstein@feinstein.org 762405f78e47657b52c5823a567860333ac655291965223921 1 3 2
21.07.2014 21:17 Genevieve Marcus genevieve.marcus@gmail.com 762b7841cfa14b038a292224e2d07af24bf367601061436735 1 2 3
21.07.2014 21:49 David Black DBlack107@aol.com 762ade91767f831b966d89310953769e328806307998122398 2 1
21.07.2014 23:26 Jenefer Ellingston jellygreen3@gmail.com 76236bb59ba809c6047f5d393e693c47d68135391678560116 2 1 3
22.07.2014 11:45 Linda Cree creelinda@hotmail.com 76291fee47875071170ef6e0d013393ffff357609294943185 2 3 1
22.07.2014 12:10 Joanna Herlihy joanna_herlihy@yahoo.com 762478b5e9877ada38fade4b4a69e10a92e569324759474228 5 4 1 2 3
22.07.2014 13:26 Baird Welch-Collins bairdwelchcollins@gmail.com 762be23b684529354370fc4f8f1b724f2ce702248199712109 3 1 2
22.07.2014 14:20 Julie Jacobson jacobs@hawaiianisp.com 7623620d667045caae0cd6e04414405927c301522535801756 1
23.07.2014 12:36 Starlene Rankin greenstarlene@gmail.com 7622f98f1b81992504d7e1562dafd941ac4140156179688881 4 1 3 2
23.07.2014 13:02 Claudia Ellquist ellquist.co.atty@juno.com 76269d1b8e10eb4d31367a542b8d0250b6c106719838330009 3 1 2 4 5
23.07.2014 20:41 Dan Neuspiel dneuspiel@gmail.com 76204f378c05ca06c621d65619fa91ec87a329627581672232 1 4 3 5 2
23.07.2014 23:32 Andy Finko andrewfinko@yahoo.com 762dfde3f0502bcacb6c9d161ecc2f2ae65138086996813464 1 2 4 5 3
24.07.2014 00:17 Paul Krumm pkrumm@rhelectric.net 762a4849dab2455ddd4337dcbb840ef6640101286396436536 3 1 4 2
24.07.2014 05:35 Jason Nabewaniec jason@gp.org 76212bbf71fff9d4935efa13f18af54f185890915021307421 2 4 3 1
24.07.2014 07:13 A J Janssen gpus@washcogreens.org 762804eb8b76d2d29f3cebe469bb11e2787618998644562973 2 1 3 4 5
24.07.2014 08:50 Martin Pleasant martin_pleasant@yahoo.com 7621ae3615f213f591dd9d4e9dad325d1b5138648342559161 3 2 1 5 4
24.07.2014 11:12 Daphne T. Stevens daphnetstevens4@gmail.com 762542fe018b0b6c01d16a736f0f23fcba4103639427903848 1 2
24.07.2014 14:57 Katy Meyer meyera@earthlink.net 762fef9a3cd3d63eb30a188695fba1a9edb211939918743956 5 2 3 4 1
24.07.2014 20:55 Mark Jenkins adamcadmon@aristotle.net 762b3b17c8bd972be75ad8bc3c2b9f966c7761094178476377 1 3 2
24.07.2014 20:58 Barbara Ward adamcadmon@aristotle.net 762c8eaa5cdc70671ff36083cbdf6ec1a78706102157584626 1 2 3
24.07.2014 21:04 Denice Traina denicetraina@gmail.com 762494ceed28ec4f0996af0619e298db232729444786946474 1 2
24.07.2014 21:06 Bahram Zandi bahram@greens.org 7629e9d787ab17da043fe6322ccbb6436a2336053490433015 1
25.07.2014 00:11 Linda Piera-Avila lindap_a@verizon.net 7621f4e534e520e9efdac9e83ea1aeb9914782770484748658 1 2 3
25.07.2014 03:04 Tamar Yager tamar@gp.org 762f53e8addac9023796f4601301a2ea21a219327652021014 5 2 3 4 1
25.07.2014 03:05 Tamar Yager tamar@gp.org 762f53e8addac9023796f4601301a2ea21a536801047578518 5 2 3 4 1
25.07.2014 15:50 David McCorquodale h4fungi@gmail.com 762c9c3e71175387f09914ad86425d38a2a544929424787435 1 3 2
25.07.2014 15:53 Hillary Kane hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu 762d8841b6c851093db06703924b5b2508078672981292104 1 3 2
25.07.2014 16:03 Denise Brush denisebrush1107@comcast.net 762aef0c47b529caedeecf6c4c3d36b69fd127347997435948 3 1 4 5 2
25.07.2014 17:13 Sheldon Schafer sschafer7@comcast.net 762243902b90fa99d1b7fc405584bfeb6c9255064976114761 4 5 3 2 1
25.07.2014 18:33 Craig Thorsen craig.thorsen@gmail.com 7627ecbfc63be6ac7917b154f04c2e0613f150072995173498 1 3 2 5 4
25.07.2014 21:04 Jody Grage jody@gp.org 7629af6a8db011d6e29fcec500b05df17cf100252413889626 4 2 1 3
25.07.2014 21:09 Budd Dickinson budd.dickinson@gmail.com 7629fc23680f8a5f26acfc6be86460e82f1112241145291128 4 2 1 3
25.07.2014 21:35 Tim McKee timmckee321@gmail.com 76208429152ad8b22b0511b647ee3c8578b112285026972601 1 2 3
25.07.2014 22:16 Gene Hunter hunters56@earthlink.net 76292fcea4e0713d73b39e21ee9e98b077d215477997048036 1 2 4 3 5
25.07.2014 23:47 Jack Ailey jjailey-gpus@comcast.net 7620cd81ada08d7b981dd4c4fa95a03fc3a188286773456664 5 4 3 1 2
26.07.2014 00:20 Morgan Moss Jr mmossjr@hotmail.com 762aec468d752b6b1a96b6a5d7b73972824692921870233513 1
26.07.2014 01:56 Suzia Aufderheide souixzan@mind.net 762250ece9b0eccf10bdd84ea74a26d937c132594275781143 1 4 5 2 3
26.07.2014 09:18 Candace Caveny candacecaveny14@gmail.com 762c5a0bb408e0e6d99ddf8731998f457ed11291929149829 1
26.07.2014 10:38 Louis Novak lmn@lppals.com 7620c2b8713a8c1ee6cf0e8a3888ea949e2463692057557486 5 1 4 3 2
26.07.2014 11:03 Sanda Everette sanda@greens.org 7623eb836ee5c10294fc5d41b451b51cbff112044309186629 1 2 3 4
26.07.2014 11:31 Nekita Gandy rubies1111@gmail.com 762965d23b283725b5c7ebaa68090de6165804360509012255 3 2 1
26.07.2014 11:53 Bob Marsh bob@marsh.name 76294ac08e4725f3c5baea4899e10f1e2cb132892026061758 1 2 3
26.07.2014 11:59 Holly Hart hhartus@gmail.com 76205a20afa39e108d0f06dc8dadb226dc215743999949333 2 1
26.07.2014 12:06 Peggy Koteen Pkoteen@aol.com 76242d079eeab7759f19512170f6ef89448116676924848569 2 3 1
26.07.2014 12:13 Jared Laiti jared.laiti@gmail.com 7623ebadc1426b045f0640f19c55d2d3fcf114089519121007 1 4 2 3 5
26.07.2014 12:32 Donald Rucknagle ruckndl@fuse.net 7626adb3d3fda2cf4669c30afbf7a12b63c538483144289016 2 3 1
26.07.2014 12:51 Morgen D'Arc morgen.darc@gmail.com 76258b6033475c36f67ae3b405923cee8b5479418846748924 1 2 3
26.07.2014 13:19 Tim Casebolt timc2@sbcglobal.net 7624cc0f88d4aaa2ea8c2c00ffa8ad1ebe3108335432903651 2 3 1 4
26.07.2014 14:26 Charles Ostdiek iconofcharles@gmail.com 762889fa4f01b20c2875bbe356ce2075dbd200415855928156 4 3 1 5 2
26.07.2014 14:28 Joe Fulga zeromate1@yahoo.com 76228edf905b94611f8aa3a55595a58c15c119786856282902 5 1 3 4 2
26.07.2014 15:05 Sasha Karlik sasha@greens.org 76287d589ba3551678c5da0bb1955eacc42360662877994062 1 3 2 4
26.07.2014 15:45 June Brashares june.brashares@gmail.com 762a7d64cf96ae4dd36c9df15aad3780585400766648986855 5 2 6 3 4 1
26.07.2014 16:09 Woody Hastings woodyhastings@gmail.com 762f55abe843b1153fe052f9db38c9c34e4138264283378865 6 1 4 3 5 2
26.07.2014 16:34 Vito Mastrangelo VitoAMastrangelo@gmail.com 762f2557291608a38186b2f6f1336cd14cc920359850500445 6 1 5 3 2 4
26.07.2014 16:47 Jesse Townley jt02@mindspring.com 7624b9a3b0ff78a6f82561c416100a57542595702805938771 2 1 4 5 3
26.07.2014 17:01 Richard Gomez richardgomez136@yahoo.com 7625a6b012f192d33fe35d5ca62193afc7f669014694045806 1 2 3
26.07.2014 17:23 Don Cook zenblews@hotmail.com 762789b4272283deb31aa2e7ee3c20aed8f856886571308291 5 4 3 2 1 6
26.07.2014 17:36 Katey Culver katey@gp.org 762499e07409150d8f37432f4616d823017965678654161365 2 1 3
26.07.2014 17:43 Greg Jan gregjan4@yahoo.com 762e146457ce8619dacc7ec98847a494a9e851158241947883 1 2 4 3
26.07.2014 17:47 Deborah Shafto debshafto@gmail.com 76243ee3dce26c062f149dcd5d65f47b9cf117633722811555 3 2 1
26.07.2014 17:50 Darryl Moch nubianphoenix1@gmail.com 7621837b85f4696cf59f23dbd5def5b0f41774560446491048 2 3 4 1
26.07.2014 17:57 MariaElena Castellanos castellanoslaw1@gmail.com 762a8120f833a6121394029e67357fe7aaf115946704270251 3 2 4 1
26.07.2014 17:58 George Reiter greiter10@gmail.com 76299808a5684eaa4cd2b58fc6c38f44a8c128663663919923 2 3 1
26.07.2014 18:07 David Strand lavgrn@gmail.com 76220c40bd0ba25ff599546d3a6052027fe162769476034225 1 3 2
26.07.2014 18:31 Nic Freeman nicolas.freeman@gmail.com 762ceb0c0282cb8eb18a453e3b65e98a634127016971849579 2 1 3 4 5

Proposal

The Green National Committee hereby certifies the results of the 2014 Steering Committee elections for Co-chairs and Treasurer.

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References

Source: http://gp.org/rules-and-procedures-of-the-green-party-of-the-united-states#07

ARTICLE VII: PREFERENCE VOTING RULES FOR STEERING COMMITTEE
ELECTIONS: .

A. DEFINITION

"Preference Voting" shall mean a voting system which achieves representation in deliberative bodies
proportional to the support such representation enjoys among the voters by allowing voters to rank
candidates for the internal Party offices in the order of their choice, according to the method described
and by tabulating votes pursuant to the rules provided in this Article.
Preference Voting tabulates votes based on the principle that any vote cast which would not otherwise
help elect a voter's most preferred candidate(s), shall be used to help elect that voter's next most
preferred candidate(s). Thus, if a voter's first choice among the candidates receives more than enough
votes to win, the surplus proportion of that vote will be transferred to that voter's second or succeeding
(next-highest ranking) choice. Alternatively, if a voter's first choice candidate is eliminated, that vote
instead will be cast for the voter's second or succeeding (next highest ranking) choice.

B. TABULATION OF VOTES

Two months before each Annual National Meeting (reduced to one month for 2006), the Secretary of
GPUS shall post to the GNC a request for nominations for an Election Tabulation Committee. The
Election Tabulation Committee will consist of five members of the GNC and will be elected by the NC
using the current system of Single Transferable Voting employed by the Green Party website: Multi-
Seat Ranked-Choice Voting http://lobitos.net/voting/
Ballots shall be counted by the Election Tabulation Committee according to the following rules:

1. Determination of Victory Threshold

(a) In order for a candidate to be elected, the number of votes for that candidate to be an elected shall
surpass the "threshold" or "winning threshold".

(b) The threshold determines transferable surpluses as defined below. The threshold is determined by
dividing (the number of valid votes cast) by (the number of seats + 1). In an election to name a single
individual to fill an office, the winning threshold shall be a simple majority of the ballots cast and these
rules may be referred to as instant run-off voting.

2. Rules regarding the transfer of votes at all stages of tabulation:

(a) Votes acquired by a candidate in excess of the threshold for that election shall be termed their
"surplus". A candidate's surplus votes shall be transferred according to the following rule: transfer a
portion of each vote determined by dividing the surplus of the candidate by the total number of votes
for that candidate, rounded to the third decimal place, to each voter's next choice. Votes cast for
candidates who are eliminated (as described below) shall be transferred at their full current value to
those voter's next choice(s).

(b) Votes may not be transferred to candidates who have already surpassed the threshold, nor may
votes be transferred to candidates who have been eliminated. When a voter's next
choice is not eligible for receipt of transferred votes, that vote (or portion of a vote) shall be transferred
to the voter's next indicated choice until all choices on that ballot have been exhausted.

(c) If a voter fails to designate a candidate to a ranking, the vote shall be transferred to that voter's next
clearly indicated choice.

(d) Any ranked votes cast for eligible write-in candidates shall be tabulated in the same manner as
those for candidates whose names are printed on the ballots.

(e) If a ballot has no more available choices ranked on it, that ballot shall be declared "exhausted."
Ballots ranking two or more candidates as the voter's first ranked choice shall be declared "exhausted".
Ballots with two candidates sharing the same rank shall be declared exhausted when a transfer of a
surplus would put in doubt which candidate would next be eligible for the transfer, unless all but one of
the candidates with the shared ranking have already been defeated or elected making them ineligible to
receive a transfer.

3. Stages in the Tabulation for multi-seat positions:

(a) Any candidate whose total votes at any stage of the tabulation exceeds the winning threshold shall
be declared to have won a seat.

(b) Vote counting shall start with a tabulation of first choice votes and with the transfer of a proportion
of any existing surplus votes according to the rules specified above. Transfer of surpluses shall
commence with the candidate having the largest surplus and proceed successively to the candidates
with the next largest surplus

(c) If the transfer of surplus votes to voters' next choice candidates creates a new surplus, then a
proportion of these votes shall be transferred to those voter's succeeding choices, until all surpluses
have been transferred or all declared choices on a ballot have been exhausted.

(d) When all surplus votes have been distributed in this manner, a tally shall be taken. Any remaining
surpluses created by any transfer shall once again be transferred, and a new tally taken, until all
surpluses have been transferred. Then the remaining candidate with the least number of votes shall be
eliminated.

(e) This process of transferring surpluses followed by eliminating candidates with the least number of
votes shall continue until every available seat has been filled by a candidate whose support has
surpassed the winning threshold, or until no candidate remains to be eliminated. Any seat not filled by
a candidate surpassing the winning threshold shall be declared vacant and a new election shall be called
to fill such vacancies.

4. Tabulation for single seat positions:

If a candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes, then that candidate shall be declared elected.
If no candidate receives such a majority, then the candidate with the fewest first choices shall be
declared defeated. Ballots cast for this defeated candidate shall be transferred at full value to the next
choice candidate marked on each ballot. Last-place candidates are eliminated and their supporters'
ballots transferred to next-choice candidates who are still in the race in a similar manner until a
candidate receives a number of votes surpassing the winning threshold. Should no candidate enjoy
sufficient support to surpass the winning threshold, a vacancy is declared and a new election shall be
held to fill the vacant seat.

5. Determinations in the case of a Tie:

For ties between candidates occurring at any stage in the tabulation, determinations shall be made
based on whomever was credited with the most votes at the previous successive stages of tabulation.
Specifically, if in any round of tabulation, two or more candidates have an equal number of votes, the
candidate with the most first choices shall prevail. If two or more candidates have an equal number of
first choices, than the candidate with a greater number of second choices shall prevail, and so on. If this
information fails to resolve the tie, the Election Tabulation Committee shall consider the approval
expressed by the ballots determined by the ranks assigned by all the ballots which ranked each tied
candidate in question and whether any ballots cast ranked no-other-candidate at a higher preference
than a candidate in question.

C. CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS

1. Tabulation & Report

Immediately upon the close of the polls the Election Tabulation Committee shall tabulate the ballots
pursuant to these rules. Immediately following the tabulation of such ballots, the Election Tabulation
Committee shall file its written report on the election with the National Committee. The report shall
declare which candidates were elected to which seats and for what terms for each election they are
charged with tabulating, and a narrative description of the tabulation detailing how surpluses were
redistributed, how candidates were identified for elimination at the end of each round, how ties were
resolved and other factors that weighed in the final determination of the winning candidates. The
Election Tabulation Committee shall publish as an appendix to their Report the details of each ballot
received sufficient to permit an independent tabulation. The report shall further evaluate the extent to
which these rules anticipated the demands of the election and gave adequate guidance to the Election
Tabulation Committee on the conduct of its responsibilities.

2. Receipt & Right to Challenge Election Results

When the GNC receives a report from the Election Tabulation Committee or a properly filed Challenge
as described in paragraph 3., below, the question shall be put to the GNC, on the fourteenth day
following the transmittal of the report, on certifying the results as so reported, and as a distinct
question, on sustaining each Challenge as may have been timely filed. In presenting a question on
sustaining a Challenge, it shall be made clear that to sustain the Challenge is to act to adopt such
amendments to the certification as may be proposed by the sustained Challenge. Such questions shall
be resolved by a simple majority vote of the GNC.

3. The Resolution to a Challenge to Election Results, Proposed for certification

(a) Any contest to the results proposed by the Election Tabulation Committee for certification by the
body conducting the election shall be filed within seven days of the transmittal of the report to be
challenged. It shall take the form of a Challenge to the Election Results, as Reported by the Election
Tabulation Committee on (a date). It shall set out the facts supporting its contention that the election
proposed to be certified was not conducted in accordance with the rules governing such elections, and
that a proper application of the rules would have yielded a different result. Such Challenge shall also
propose amendments to the certification report to permit the GNC to certify those portions of the
report, supportable by the evidence, and proposing a course of action for the resolution of the
remaining contested seats.

(b) Such a Challenge may be filed by (i) any candidate who appeared on the ballot by virtue of having
been nominated for consideration in such election, or (ii) any write-in candidate for whom the Election
Tabulation Committee reports that they have received a number of votes within five percent of the
winning threshold necessary to win a seat in the election or (iii) by any voter who presents evidence
that their ballot was not appropriately recorded in the tabulation of the election.

(c) If there is objection to the certification, the question of sustaining the challenge shall be put to the
GNC, followed by the question of Certifying the Report, as amended by any sustained challenge. A
majority vote of the GNC shall be binding on each question.

D. PRESERVATION OF ELECTION RECORDS

(a) All original election materials, including ballots and tally sheets, with an original signed copy of the
report of the Election Tabulation Committee shall be sealed under the signatures of each committee
member. An additional signed copy of the report and copies of all other election materials shall be
preserved for review. The sealed original record may not be unsealed except by resolution of the GNC
or by Order of a Court of competent jurisdiction.

(b) An original signed report of the Elections Tabulation Committee, including the details of each
ballot received sufficient to permit an independent tabulation, shall be preserved, published and made
available at the principle office of the Party for inspection by any member of the Party. An electronic
form of the report shall be published, web-accessible, in the archives of the Party.

E. FILLING A VACANCY:

Any vacancy that occurs within one month of an election shall be filled by interim appointment by
recounting the ballots from the election which elected that member, by an Election Tabulation
Committee designated by the GNC experiencing the vacancy, in the manner specified herein, except
that the vacating member's name shall be deleted from all ballots. Any candidate accruing sufficient
votes to surpass the winning threshold in the recount that was not elected to office in the original count
shall fill the vacancy. If such a recount fails to resolve a vacancy or if the vacancy occurs more than
one month after the election, the Steering Committee may provide for a special election under these
rules to fill the seat until the next regularly scheduled election for that position.

F. NO-OTHER-CANDIDATE

An implicit 'no other candidate' shall remain an option of each voter who chooses not to rank possible
candidates on their ballot.

Questions about this system?
Contact the Voting Admin.
The Green Party of the United States voting system is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
You can download a copy here.
To independently verify a ranked choice vote, or for information about how that works, go to Jonathan Lundell's Voting Page and upload the ballot file from the ranked choice vote result page. JL's ranked choice module is licensed under an alternate free software license.

Green Party of the United States