UAW 2865
Online Voting Policy for Joint Council
Approved by the Joint Council on 01/29/2016
Purpose: Establish criteria for the Joint Council to conduct online votes in-between the in-person meetings of the JC.
I. Summary
Presents a process for two types of voting that can be conducted online in-between Joint Council meetings – an online poll and a call for approval without objections (and what can qualify for this method).
II. Purpose
To allow the Joint Council to continue to operate and make decisions in-between in-person meetings, but to still have transparency and accountability of the decisions of the Joint Council.
III. Policy
Any member of the Joint Council may propose an online vote for any concrete proposal. Each proposal must contain specific language and, if any, specific actionable items (i.e., sending a statewide email, posting a statement online, etc.).
An online form must be used, such as Google forms or another online survey instrument, and the names of those who vote must be collected (to ensure one person, one vote).
Votes are considered valid24 hours after the Joint Council has been informed thata voting threshold is reached that matches the starting threshold for Joint Council meetings, as per Article 8, Section 6.1; currently:
“In order to initiate the meeting, at least 40% of all elected officers, not counting vacancies, must be in attendance, without regard to whether absences are excused.”
Some votes may be considered by a call for approval without objection. Endorsements, letters, and statements which seem uncontroversial and/or which match with the spirit of previous votes from the Joint Council can be considered in this matter. If after four days no objections are raised the proposal is considered approved.
If a proposer is unsure if something would be uncontroversial they are encouraged to do an online vote. Controversial or complicated proposals are encouraged to be presented and voted on in-person at full Joint Council meetings. Proposals involving funding must always have an online vote and do not qualify for approval without objection.
A proposer may decide to simultaneously pursue both modes of approval. If a proposal has collected votes but seven days pass without objection, then the results of the online vote can be ignored and the proposal will be considered passed.
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