2011 FNF - Its Up to You-English by Jana Licht

7/30/2019 2011 FNF - Its Up to You-English by Jana Licht

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Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fr die Freiheit would welcome reproduc-tion and dissemination of the contents of the report with due acknowl-edgments.

Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fr die FreiheitPost Box 1733House 19, Street 19, F-6/2, Islamabad Pakistan

Tel: +92-51-2 27 88 96, 2 82 08 96Fax: +92-51-2 27 99 15E-mail: [email protected]: www.southasia.fnst.org

No of printed copies: 3,000First Edition: 2011

ISBN: 978-969-9515-34-7

Disclaimer:Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents ofthis publication. The authors or the organization do not accept any re-sponsibility of any omission as it is not deliberate. Nevertheless, we willappreciate provision of accurate information to improve our work. The

views expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the viewsof the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fr die Freiheit.


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About the author

Introduction

1) What are Democratic Elections?

1.1) What is an Election?

1.2) What makes Elections Democratic?

2) Basic Principles

2.1) Free Ballot

2.2) Secret Ballot

2.3) Equal Ballot

3) Carrying Out Democratic Elections3.1) Preparation

3.1.1) Questions to be Cleared up

before the Election takes place

3.1.2) The Invitation

3.1.3) Necessary Requisites

3.2) The Election Supervisor and the Teller Committee

3.3) Nomination, Introduction and Questioning of the

Candidates and Discussion about their Candidacies

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Contents


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3.3.1) Nomination of Candidates

3.3.2) Introduction of Candidates

3.3.3) Questioning of Candidates and

Discussion about their Candidacies

3.4) The Ballot

3.5) The Ballot Alternatives

3.5.1) One Candidate for One Position

3.5.2) More Than One Candidate for

One Position

3.5.3) More Than One Position

3.5.4) Excursus: Passing or Defeating

a Motion

3.6) The Result

3.7) Follow-up Work

3.8) The Contestation of a Ballot or an Election

Index

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About the author

1

About the author

Jana Licht, Economist (Diplom-Volk-swirtin): After studies as a scholarshipholder of the Friedrich-Naumann-Founda-tion for Freedom in Economics, GermanLaw and Business Administration at the

Dresden University of Technology in Ger-many, Jana Licht is now working as re-search fellow and university lecturer forMacroeconomics, International Trade and

Foreign Economics, Economic Growth and Business Cycle The-ory at Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany. Sheis also working as a free lecturer for German Constitutional

Law. In her research, she specialised on Development Econom-ics and is doing her PhD about corruption in Pakistan. JanaLicht is a member of the German Liberal Party, FDP (FreieDemokratische Partei), chairwoman of a local party group anda local politician in her hometown Dresden. She experienceddozens of party internal elections as voter and election su-

pervisor. As an election supervisor, she is known for strictlyensuring the rights of all voters and candidates by exactly fol-lowing the rules for party internal elections.


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Introduction

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Elections are the basic mechanism of democracy. They are theprocess which breathes life into a representative democracy without them, a democratic constitution is meaningless. But

not everything called an election is a real election, and notevery election is democratic. Specific conditions have to befulfilled to carry out real democratic elections. The constitu-tive democratic rights of all voters and all candidates alwayshave to be observed and strictly ensured. While carrying outelections, this could become a really difficult challenge, butpractice makes perfect. Only by exercising democracy can astate become democratic.

To bring about democratic elections, one does not have tostart by organising the election for a new state parliament.The heart of democracy beats in every voluntary association,club or grassroots organisation. These are the nucleuses of a

living pluralistic and democratic society, where representa-tive democracy is not only an empty phrase. They are placeswhere everyday people can become familiar with democraticprocedures. In time even the most complicated mechanismscan be understood, because they only seem to be complicated.In fact, they are based on a few basic principles: every demo-cratic election must be free, secret and equal. In the case oflocal organisation, these principles have to be represented instatutes how to carry out elections. But one does not have toreinvent the wheel for it. It is useful to resort to the experi-ences in other representative democracies and to adopt theirrules for elections in associations, normally fixed in a specificlaw of association. Therefore, the idea behind this handbook

is to give guidelines for clubs, organisations and associations

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to carry out elections without violating democratic rights. Thishandout gives detailed instructions, based on the experiencesof the author as voter, chairwoman and election supervisor in

dozens of party internal elections following the German lawof association, which is a field of law in German civil law.

The word election is defined in chapter 1 and it is discussedhow an election becomes a democratic election based onthe fundamental principles of democratic elections, which aredescribed explicitly in chapter 2. Chapter 3 is the heart of thishandbook, because it gives detailed instructions how to carryout democratic elections in an association, club or organisa-tion from the preparation to the follow-up work.

Jana Licht IslamabadOctober 2011

Introduction


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What areDemocratic

Elections?

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1.1) What is an Election?

An election is the formal process of choosing individuals for

certain functions by vote. This process is not only used forpublic offices. It also fills positions in private or business or-ganisations, in clubs, voluntary organisations and corpora-tions. That is to say, an election is a decision about one ormore persons in contrast to the process of voting on a mo-tion or proposal, which is a decision about a factual issue. Thishandbook concentrates on elections, even though the rulesfor carrying out elections have a lot in common with the rulesfor voting on factual issues. Elections are the basic mechanismof a representative democracy. That is the reason why thestandards for elections must be even higher than the stan-dards for other democratic decisions. The essential differenceis that elections always must be carried out in secret ballots,

whereas passing or defeating a motion can be done throughan open ballot, for example with hand signals.

1.2) What makes Elections Democratic?

Not every election is a democratic election. In history andpresent, many seemingly democratic countries have held so-called elections, but with a foregone conclusion that makesno reference to the electorates real opinions. False democra-cies and even outright dictatorships have held phoney elec-tions.

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The crucial question is how elections can be made democratic.This question can be answered in two ways: from a morephilosophical and idealistic point of view, and from the prac-

tical point of view. From an idealistic position, one can saythat elections become democratic when they perform a demo-cratic task. Democratic means that one individual or moreis chosen for certain functions by the vote of the majority ofpeople who are entitled to vote completely free, withoutany pressure. A candidate could only win an election if themajority thinks that they deserve this job. This candidate hasto have the support of the majority of the voters. But this isonly the necessary condition for real democratic elections.Also the practical point of view is needed as the sufficientcondition for it. The way that an election is actually carriedout shows whether or not is it genuinely democratic. First,there must always be alternative choices. The voters must

have different options for their votes. Options could includea choice of different candidates for one position, or the op-portunity to say: No, I dont want any of these candidates(even if there is only one candidate!). Second, there must bea time limit on the successful candidates mandate: electionshave to be repeated periodically. This constraint limits thesuccessful candidates power, and is a basic democrat-ic mechanism to impose the voters will on elected persons.Third, the elections have to follow some very important gen-eral rules: the ballot must be free, secret and equal (describedin detail in the next chapter). Moreover these rules have tobe translated into detailed and precise instructions to the peo-ple tasked with carrying out an election. These instructions

define the rights and duties of the candidates as well of the

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What are Democratic Elections?


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voters. They have to be written down in statutes, and have tobe fixed and to be accessible for every candidate and voterbefore the election takes place. Also, these statutes must de-

fine what would happen if the instructions are not carried outin the correct way or if rights are violated. Normally, in thesecases the ballot or the whole election is invalid, and has to beannulled and repeated.

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Basic Principles

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Every election has to follow three basic principles in the wayit is carried out: the ballot must be free, secret and equal. Theelection can only be democratic, if these principles are not

violated. Observing these rules ensures the freedom and thedemocratic rights of every voter.

2.1) Free Ballot

The ballot must be free. This means that the voting decisionof every voter has to take place without any physical or men-tal pressure from outside. Everyone who is entitled to votemust feel free to decide in all conscience who is the best can-didate. Nobody should be allowed to impose pressure on thevoters to make a certain choice. Vote-buying, which meansbribing someone into making a certain choice, is also forbid-den.

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Freedom of choice includes the freedom not to vote. In ademocracy, no one is legally obliged to vote. If one is entitledbut does not want to vote, they can abstain from voting by

casting no or a blank paper ballot or by casting a ballot withthe word abstention on it. Doing this shows that they donot want to make a decision in that certain election or ballot,for any reason.

2.2) Secret Ballot

The ballot must be secret. It has to be organised in such a waythat the individual choice remains non-transparent basically.This does not mean that a single voter is not allowed to talkabout his or her voting decision, but it has to remain theirown decision whether they want someone else to know about

it. Nobody is allowed to interrogate a voter about their votingdecision.

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Basic Principles


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The easiest way to carry out secret elections is to use paperballots, which are written on or filled in secretly by the voters.The paper ballots are then placed in a closed ballot box. After

that, the paper ballots have to be counted by an independentteller committee (detailed instructions in the next chapter).

2.3) Equal Ballot

The ballot must be equal. That is to say, the worth or im-portance of every vote equals the worth of every other vote

within a ballot. Every vote has the same impact on the resultof the election. Mostly, this principle is realised with the ruleone man one vote.

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Carrying outDemocratic

Elections

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This chapter gives detailed instructions for carrying out elec-tions in political or business organisations, clubs, associationsand the like. They are based on the experiences of the author

as a voter, chairwoman and election supervisor of dozens ofparty internal elections as well as on the German law of as-sociation.

All rules for elections must be written down in statutes. Theyhave to be fixed and must be accessible for every candidateand voter before the election takes place. And they have tobe observed accurately! Otherwise, the whole election couldbe invalid.

In a local organisation, voting normally takes place at a spe-cially-convened meeting or assembly.

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3.1) Preparation

Previously, a lot of preparation has to be done for an election.

The preparation is very important and has to be carried outcarefully, because it ensures that no right of a voter or a can-didate is violated. Usually, one needs more time to prepare anelection than to actually carry it out.

3.1.1) Questions to be cleared up before the Election takesplace

Before holding an election, one must first settle the questionof who is entitled to vote. Normally, in a club or an associa-tion, everyone who is a member of this organisation (and haspaid the current membership fee, if necessary) is entitled to

vote.

One must also clear up how many votes each voter can castin every single ballot. Remember the basic democratic princi-ple that the ballot must be equal. This can only be realised ifeveryone has the same number of votes. If one person for oneposition is to be elected (for example the chairperson of theorganisation), every voter is allowed one vote (one man onevote). If more than one board member with equal rights is tobe elected in the same ballot, every voter can cast one sepa-rate vote for each position.

Anyhow, one must also decide if proxy voting will be allowed.

That is to say, a person who is entitled to vote, but who cannot

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Carrying out Democratic Elections


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attend the election physically, could transfer his or her votesto another entitled voter. The author emphatically advisesagainst doing this in voluntary organisations, because proxy

voting makes the correct carrying out of an election muchmore difficult and opens the door for ballot rigging. However,if an organisation wishes to allow proxy voting, rules for proxyvoting have to be fixed. The person who wants to transfer hisor her vote(s) has to confirm this in writing and this documenthas to be on hand at the beginning of the election.

3.1.2) The Invitation

An official invitation to attend the meeting where the electionwill take place has to be sent to everyone who is entitled tovote. After a corresponding board resolution, the currentchairperson of the organisation is allowed to invite partici-pants to the election meeting. If the mandate time of the cur-rent office holder is nearly finished, the chairperson is obligedto invite the voters to elect a new office holder. If they do not

invite, the board without the chairperson or a group of the

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Questions to be settled before an election is held:

Who is entitled to vote? How many votes does every voter have in every single

ballot?

Is proxy voting allowed? If so, what are the rules forproxy voting?


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members of the organisation (for example not less than tenpercent of the organisations members) can initiate the elec-tion process themselves.

It is very important that everyone who is entitled to vote isinvited to the election meeting. If only one invitation is for-gotten, the whole election will be invalid and has to be re-peated.

The elections will be also invalid if not enough voters attendthe election. The organisations statutes must fix how many(or what proportion of) members of the organisation have toparticipate in the meeting to carry a valid vote. This is impor-tant since the participating voters will decide for the rest ofthe organisation. The meeting has to be representative of thewhole organisation. The necessary number depends on the

size of the organisation, because the bigger an organisationis the more complicated it is to bring all members together. Ifthe organisation has less than 100 members, a third of themembers are necessary for an election. If the organisation isbigger than 100, usually 15 percent of the members is enough.

Normally, the invitation must be in written form, but the ma-jority of the members of the organisation can decide that theelectronic form of the invitation (e-mail) is enough.

The person(s) responsible for inviting voters to vote must beable to prove that the invitation was sent to everyone who isentitled to vote in the correct form and in due time. In due

time means that a previously fixed time limit for sending out

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the invitation has been kept. This deadline ensures that every-one can arrange their own schedule to come to the election.It ensures that every candidate can prime themselves for the

election and that the election can be prepared carefully. Theauthor suggests a time limit of 28 days: the invitation has tobe sent at least 28 days before the election will take place.

The invitation must contain the following information: theprecise place, date and time of the election(s), as well as theagenda of the assembly. The agenda has to include an addressof welcome/the opening of the assembly by the chairperson,and a declaration of whether enough voters have come to theassembly to make the election legitimate. It must also includea declaration of whether the invitation was made in form andin time, a declaration of whether every participant agrees withthe agenda and the election of an election supervisor and the

teller committee (3.2 in this chapter). Every single ballot whichwill take place (Ballot for Position A, Ballot for Position B,Ballot for Position C, and so on), and the closing words ofthe chairperson have to be mentioned in the agenda, too. Aballot which is not stated explicitly in the invitation cannottake place. Needless to say, that the assembly has to followthis agenda exactly. This can be proved with minutes of themeeting, which should be recorded by someone who has beenselected beforehand. The minute-taker should not be a mem-ber of the board or a candidate for the elections, to ensuretheir independence.

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Checklist for the invitation:

Who is entitled or obliged to invite?

Was an invitation sent to everyone who is entitled tovote?

How many members are necessary to represent thewhole organisation?

Was the invitation sent in written (or, if possible, inelectronic) form?

Was the invitation sent in due time? Is it possible to prove that the invitation was sent to

everyone who is entitled to vote in the correct form intime?

Does the invitation include the information about theplace, the date and the time of the election, as well asthe agenda of the assembly?

Is every ballot stated explicitly in the agenda? Who will be the keeper of the minutes?

3.1.3) Necessary Requisites

Some requisites for the election have to be prepared. One ormore ballot boxes, enough paper ballots and an attendancesheet is needed.

The attendance sheet is necessary to prove which membersattended the election assembly. It can be prepared as a reg-ister of everyone who is entitled to vote with a space behind

every name for the personally sign of every voter. They have


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to sign it when they enter the room where the election willtake place. In this way, it can be proven that enough membersof the organisation have come to the assembly to make the

ballot valid. After the election, the attendance sheet becomesa part of the documentation of the election.

For secret ballots, ballot boxes and paper ballots are indispen-sable. A ballot box is a cardboard, wooden or plastic box whichis opaque, can be opened and has got a slot for the paper bal-lots on its upper side. The voters cast their ballots by puttingthe folded paper ballots in the ballot box. At the beginning ofevery ballot, it has to be shown by the election supervisor andthe teller committee that the ballot boxes are empty. This en-sures that no one can commit an electoral fraud by puttingmore paper ballots in the box than they are allowed. The paperballots are (small) blank sheets. They are distributed to the

voters after signing the attendance sheet (one paper ballotfor every ballot). Every paper ballot for a certain ballot has tolook identical to ensure that the ballot is secret. But the sheetsfor different ballots have to be different, too. This also ensuresthat nobody can cast more ballots than they are allowed, be-cause in this case, one would find a paper ballot in the ballotbox which does not belong to this certain ballot. It can be re-alised with different coloured paper ballots (for example redpaper ballots for the ballot for position A, green paper ballotsfor the ballot for position B, and so on) or numbered paperballots (paper ballots with number 1 for the ballot for positionA, paper ballots with number 2 for the ballot for position B,and so on). Make sure that there are enough paper ballots for

everyone who was invited to the election and backup paper

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ballots if a ballot is invalid and has to be repeated (also in dif-ferent colours or with different numbers).

3.2) The Election Supervisor and theTeller Committee

For every election an election supervisor who is responsiblefor carrying out and documenting the election is needed. Heor she conducts the election assembly and gives the instruc-tions for every step which has to be done. The election super-visor also has to control, to declare and to document theresults of the elections. They have to sign the minutes to ac-

knowledge that they are correct. The election supervisor isalso elected by the participants of the election, which can bedone by open ballot. Normally, the chairperson proposes acandidate for this job, but any other voter is also allowed todo this. The election supervisor is not allowed to be a candi-date in the following ballots, because they should be as inde-pendent and neutral as possible. This is a very important job

and it has to be done in a responsible way. It is reasonable to

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Indispensable requisites:

attendance sheet ballot box(es) enough paper ballots identical ones for the same

ballot, different ones for different ballots spare paper ballots


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think about an adequate candidate for this position while theelection is prepared, so that they are able to attend the prepa-ration and to prime themselves. It will be very useful if the

election supervisor knows the statutes as well as the rules forelections inside out and if they have experience with electionassemblies.

The election supervisor also hasa role as chairperson of the tellercommittee. A teller committee isneeded to collect every paperballot and to count all votes. Thenumber of members of the tellercommittee should be decided ac-cording to the elections require-ments. The more members the

teller committee has, the fasterit can work. Additionally, a large number of members of theteller committee enhances its reliability. The participants ofthe teller committee are elected by the attendant voters byopen ballot, too. And they are also not allowed to be candi-dates in the following ballots, because it is too easy for themto commit vote-rigging. After every ballot, they collect theballot boxes, open them and count the votes.

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The election supervisor is alsoelected by the participants of

the election, which can bedone by open ballot. Nor-mally, the chairperson pro-poses a candidate for this job,but any other voter is also al-lowed to do this.


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3.3) Nomination, Introduction and Questioning ofthe Candidates and Discussion about theirCandidacies

The nomination, introduction and questioning of the candi-dates and the discussion about their candidacies for a ballothave to happen before the ballot is taking place. They areneeded for every single ballot und have to be carried out sep-arately for every single ballot.

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3.3.1) Nomination of Candidates

At first, every ballot has to be called up by the election

supervisor (for example: Now I am calling up the ballot forposition A). At every moment, it has to be clear to every voterwhich ballot is taking place. The election supervisor has to askfor proposals for candidates. If the board of an organisationor an association is elected, normally, everyone who is entitledto vote (every member of the association) is also allowed tonominate a candidate. For special positions, exceptions to thisrule are possible for example, if a secretary general whoneeds special confidence by the chairperson were elected, onlythe chairperson could be allowed to nominate a candidate. Inall cases, the rules for the nomination must be fixed in thestatutes.

Generally, every member of an association is also eligible forelection of the board of this association. In democratic or-ganisations, every member should have the active and thepassive right to vote. The active right to vote means that amember is entitled to vote and allowed to elect someone fora certain position. The passive right to vote allows a memberto be a candidate in an election and to be elected. Nobodyshould be excluded from one of these rights, because they en-sure that the board of an organisation is representative forthe whole organisation.

The election supervisor has to ask every person who is a pro-posed candidate in a ballot whether they are available for this

position, and whether they want to be a candidate. It is pos-

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sible that someone is a proposed candidate but does not ac-tually want to run for this position. A members passive rightto vote includes the right to reject a nomination.

To protect the passive right to vote, election in absentiashould be possible. That is to say, someone can be a candidateand can be elected, even if they cannot attend the electionassembly in person. They have to declare in writing that theyare available for the position, and this declaration of agree-ment must be on hand at the beginning of the election.

3.3.2) Introduction of Candidates

Every candidate must have the opportunity to introduce his-or herself and to explain to the assembly why they are thebest candidate for the position. Normally, there are no con-crete rules for the introduction, at the most a time limit canbe given for it (for example three minutes). The introductionof all candidates takes place in the order of their nomination.

A candidate is also allowed to reject the chance to introduce

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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor I:

Now I am calling up the ballot for position[posi-tion]

Are there any proposals for candidacies for this posi-

tion? Candidate[name], are you available for this posi-

tion?


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his- or herself. If a candidate wants to be elected in absentia,they can be introduced by proxy.

3.3.3) Questioning of Candidates and Discussion abouttheir Candidacies

After the introduction of all candidates, the election supervi-sor has to ask whether questioning of the candidates and adiscussion about their candidacies is requested by the voters.If only one voter wants it, it must be done. The questioning ordiscussion about the candidates must be finished, if the ma-jority of the members of the assembly want it.

Questioning of the candidates means that every voter is al-lowed to ask the candidate everything they want to know to

help them make a decision. Sometimes, this instrument is alsoused to suggest a difficult point or a reason why the candidateshould not be elected to the rest of the assembly. This kind ofbehaviour is allowed in a democracy, because it depends onthe candidate how they react and whether they answer thequestion. It is possible to reveal things which have been con-cealed in the introduction of the candidate. Candidates knowthat this can happen and so they can prepare themselves forit. And they can also decide not to answer a certain question.But mostly, this instrument is used to clear up open questions,because it is impossible to include every topic in an introduc-tion speech.

The voters can also discuss the qualification of the candidates.

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That is to say, the members of the assembly are allowed todebate the ballot proposals. The same rules as for every dis-cussion of factual issues in an organisation apply to the dis-

cussion of candidates.

If a voter has got a question or wants to say something in thediscussion of the candidates, they have to show it by raisingtheir hand. The election supervisor makes a list of speakersand calls up the questions as well as the contributions to thediscussion in the order of the hand signals. Needless to say,that every voter and every candidate has to abide by the basicrules of a democratic debate: the discussion can be stormy,but everyone must be allowed to speak out, the order ofspeakers must be kept and no one is allowed to use insultinglanguage. Everyone has to focus on the question who is thebest candidate for the position to be filled.

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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor II:

Is questioning of the candidates and the discussionabout their candidacies requested?


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3.4) The Ballot

The associations statutes must fix which conditions have tobe fulfilled for a candidate to be elected to a position. Thestatutes must define what kind of majority a candidate needs.The most important feature of the required majority must beobtaining the majority of the valid cast ballots, because it isalways a ballot alternative in a democratic election to make

a paper ballot invalid (3.5 in this chapter). A paper ballot can

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also become invalid, if it is filled out wrong, or if the expres-sion of the opinion of the voter is not unambiguous in anyother way. A ballot only counts, if the expression of the opin-

ion of the voter is absolutely unambiguous! It has to be com-pletely clear which candidate a voter supports.

Secondly, remember that different kinds of majorities exist. Asimple majority is normally needed to defeat a motion (a de-cision about a factual issue). That is to say, the motion needsthe numerical majority of all valid cast ballots/of all votes.But in elections, in principle a candidate needs the absolutemajority to be elected. This means, that they need at leastmore than the half of all valid cast ballots, even if there is

more than one candidate for thisposition. If there is only one can-didate, the sum of votes against

them, paper ballots with theword abstention on them andpaper ballots which were leftblank has to be less than 50 per-cent of all valid cast ballots (in3.6 in this chapter, it is explainedwhat has to happen if no candi-date reaches the absolute major-ity or the equality of votes a tie occurs). If two or more board

members with the same rights are to be elected in one ballot,every candidate needs the absolute majority of all valid castballots, too. This is possible, because in this case, every voter

has got as many votes as positions to be filled in this ballot.

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It is very important thatit is clear for everyone at

every moment which po-sition will be filled by aparticular ballot, who thecandidates are, and whatthe rules governing theelection are. It is the duty

of the election supervisorto ensure this.


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For example: Three board members are to be elected in oneballot. Then every voter has got three votes. Assuming, that50 valid paper ballots are cast (with three votes on every

paper ballot at maximum), a candidate needs at least 26 votesto be elected. If more candidates as positions to be filled reachthe absolute majority, they will be elected in the order of thevotes everyone got. In the example above, the three candi-dates with the highest, the second-highest and the third-highest number of votes would be elected (but everyone hasto have more than 26 votes).

Before the ballot starts, the election supervisor has to mentionall ballot alternatives (3.5 in this chapter) and state who allcandidates for the position are. It is very important that it isclear for everyone at every moment which position will befilled by a particular ballot, who the candidates are, and what

the rules governing the election are. It is the duty of the elec-tion supervisor to ensure this. Otherwise, the possibility forunintended invalid ballots is much higher, especially in elec-tion assemblies where several ballots take place.

Only the election supervisor is allowed to open a ballot that is, begin the process of vote-casting. After the openingof the ballot, the voters write on or fill in their paper ballots,fold them together and throw them into the ballot box(es).That is to say, this certain ballot is going on. Members are notallowed to fill in and to cast the paper ballots before the elec-tion supervisor has declared the ballot open. When it seemsthat every voter has finished, the supervisor should ask if

everyone who wanted to cast a ballot has done it so. If no one

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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor III:

The candidate for this position is[name] / Thecandidates for this position are[names] / Thecandidates for these positions are[names]

The ballot alternatives are I am opening the ballot now.

Has everyone who is entitled to vote cast the ballot? The ballot is closed now.

says that they have not yet cast their ballot, the electionsupervisor has to close the ballot. After that, nobody isallowed to cast their ballot anymore. After the closing of the

ballot, the teller committee is allowed to open the ballotbox(es) and to start to count the votes. This strict sequencehelps to avoid the mixing up of different ballots as well asthereby unintended invalid ballots and reduces the opportu-nities for committing vote-rigging.

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3.5) The Ballot Alternatives

As mentioned above, the election supervisor has to name allpossible ballot alternatives before the ballot starts. It is a spe-cific characteristic of democratic elections that a voter alwayshas the option to vote for different alternatives.

There are some basic ballot alternatives which are always pos-sible, independent of the number of positions to be filled in acertain ballot and the number of candidates for it. The firstone is to make a no-vote. That means: I do not support anyof the available candidates. The second one is two write theword abstention on the paper ballot. That is to say, the voter

does not know who is the right candidate or does not want

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to make a statement for any other reason. A paper ballotwhich is left blank by the voter counts as an abstention, too.

As well as the normal alternative options available to a voter,a voter can also spoil their ballot paper that is, to inten-tionally make the ballot paper invalid. The election supervisordoes not suggest this as an alternative to voters, but it is an-other way for a voter to show that they are interested indemocracy and approve of democratic elections as a basicprinciple, but disapprove of this certain ballot for any reason.They could cast an invalid ballot by making an ambiguousstatement, for example by writing nonsense on the paper bal-lot (My cat is a great choice, too.). Spoiling of ballot papersis not very common, and unintended invalid ballots are morefrequent. Normally, a member of an association approveselections for the board of this association, because otherwise

they would not be a member.

3.5.1) One Candidate for One Position

If there is only one candidate for one position, the voter canelect him or her by writing the word Yes or the name of thecandidate on the paper ballot. Even if there is only one can-didate, the voters are allowed to vote against him or her bywriting No on the paper ballot. Voters can also abstain fromvoting by writing the word abstention on it or by leaving itblank. Therefore, the ballot must be secret, even if there isonly one candidate! This candidate has to have the support

of the majority of the voters to be elected, too. Occasionally,

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the only candidate cannot reach the majority of all valid castballots (3.6 in this chapter explains what has to happen inthis case), but a candidates mandate must always be based

on the will of the majority of the voters.

3.5.2) More Than One Candidate for One Position

If there are two or more candidates for one position, it is notpossible to vote with Yes. In this case, the ballot would beinvalid, because this expression of opinion is not unambigu-ous. On the paper ballot, the voter has to write the name of

the candidate that they want to vote for. If a voter writesmore than one name on the paper, the ballot becomes invalid.On the other hand, the voter can write No on the paper bal-lot, if they do not want to support any of the candidates. Thevoter can also write abstention if they want to abstain fromvoting.

If there are many candidates, it can be useful to prepare paper

ballots in advance. That is to say, the voter gets a paper ballot


Ballot alternatives:

Yes / Name of the candidate No Abstention


Name of the candidate No Abstention

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with a pre-printed chart of all ballot alternatives (the namesof all candidates and the word No) and a space next to everyalternative. The voter fills in this paper ballot by making a

cross in the space of the alternative they want to vote for.Writing more than one cross would make this ballot invalid.A cast paper ballot with no cross counts as an abstention. Ex-ample of a valid paper ballot, on which a voter has voted forcandidate C:

3.5.3) More Than One Position

If more than one board member for positions with same rightsneeds to be elected, it is possible for a voter to use one ballotpaper to cast as many votes as positions have to be filled. Inthis case, it is not possible to write only Yes on the paperballot, because this expression of opinion would not be un-ambiguous. A voter can elect the candidates they want tosupport by writing the names of these candidates on theirpaper ballot. For example, if three board members are to beelected, a voter can write up to a maximum of three names

of candidates on the paper ballot. But the voter could also

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Ballot for position X

Name of candidate AName of candidate BName of candidate CName of candidate DName of candidate E

No


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write only two names or one name, if they only want to votefor two or one candidates. It is always possible to supportfewer candidates than the number of positions to be filled.

On the other hand, if the voter writes more names than thereare positions to be filled, the ballot paper becomes invalid. Forinstance, if there are three positions but the voter writes fournames, then the ballot is invalid. If the voter does not wantto vote for any candidate, they can vote with No or abstainfrom voting.

When using pre-prepared paper ballots, which list the namesof candidates for positions, the voters fill out their paper bal-

lots by making crosses next to the name of the candidate(s)they want to support. Voters can make at most as manycrosses as there are positions to be filled, or fewer. In the ex-ample below, there are five candidates for three positions. Avoter can make one, two or three crosses, and in this case haschosen to make three crosses:



Name(s) of the candidate(s) No Abstention

Ballot for position X, Y and Z

X Name of candidate AX Name of candidate B

Name of candidate CName of candidate D

X Name of candidate ENo

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40

More crosses would make the paper ballot invalid. A paperballot without any cross is classified as an abstention. Thevoter can also vote with No, but then they can only make

one cross. A paper ballot with at least one cross next to a can-didates name along with a cross next to the word No is in-valid, too.

3.5.4) Excursus: Passing or Defeating a Motion

To pass or to defeat a motion is a decision about a factualissue. The rules for it have much in common with the rulesfor elections, though it can be done by open ballot for exam-ple with hand signals. A voter has three ballot alternatives:they can support the motion (Yes), oppose it (No) or ab-stain from the decision. The election supervisor has to ask for

the hand signals for all three alternatives. If the majority isnot clear, the teller committee has to count the hand signals.If the voters request a secret ballot (for example at least onethird of them), it must be carried out like an election with bal-lot papers and ballot boxes.


Yes No Abstention


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3.6) The Result

The ballot result is announced by the election supervisor afterthe counting of all votes by the teller committee. The tellercommittee has to set out the detailed result in writing. Theelection supervisor declares how many paper ballots werecast, and therefore how many votes are required for beingelected in this certain ballot. The election supervisor declareshow many paper ballots are valid (and invalid), how manyvotes every candidate got, the number of no-votes and howmany voters abstained from the ballot. The election supervisorhas to announce who is elected according to the result of theballot and he has to ask the elected persons whether they ac-cept the election or not. After answering with Yes, these

persons are formally elected.


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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor IV:

[number] paper ballots were cast.

And therefore, [number] votes are needed to beelected.

[number] paper ballots are valid (and [number]paper ballots invalid).

Candidate[name] got [number] votes. There are [number] no-votes.

[number] voters abstain from voting. According to this result, candidate[name] is

elected. Candidate[name], do you accept the election?

But if no candidate reaches the absolute majority or if a tie

occurs (that is, two or more candidates get the same numberof votes)? If only one position is to be filled with the ballot(for example the position of the chairperson), the absolutemajority of valid cast paper ballots is required. If the absolutemajority is not reached by one of the candidates, a secondballot following the same rules as the first ballot must be

done. In the second ballot, the absolute majority is needed,too. If there are more than two candidates for a position andno candidate got an absolute majority, the second ballot is arun-off ballot between the two candidates who got the mostand the second most votes in the first ballot. If required (nocandidate reaches the absolute majority in the second ballot),a third ballot must be done with the candidates of the second

ballot. In this ballot, only the simple majority of valid cast

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paper ballots will be needed for the election. If a tie betweenthe candidates occurs, the ballot is decided by drawing lots.That is to say, the names of the two candidates are written

on lots (small similar sheets like paper ballots) and the elec-tion supervisor blindly draws out one lot. The candidate whosename is on the drawn lot is elected in this ballot. New candi-dates cannot be named in the second or the third ballots, butevery candidate has to be asked again by the election super-visor whether they are available or not for thesecond/third/run-off ballot, too. Even if only one candidate isleft, they need the absolute majority in the second ballot. If itan absolute majority is not reached, the election is invalid andhas to be repeated in a new election assembly.

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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor V:

Candidate[name,] are you available for the

second/third/run-off ballot, too?

If more than one candidate is to be elected in one ballot, allcandidates with the absolute majority of valid cast paper bal-lots are elected in the first ballot. A second ballot has to bedone, if not enough candidates could reach the absolute ma-

jority in the first ballot. In this ballot, only a simple majorityis required to decide the ballot. That is to say, the candidatesare elected in the order of the number of votes they got. If atie occurs, a run-off ballot between them must be carried out.If the run-off ballot ends in a tie again, the election is decidedby drawing lots, as above. Every candidate must be asked by

the election supervisor whether they are available for the sec-ond/run-off ballot, too. Even if only one candidate is left forthe second ballot, it must be carried out. The nomination ofnew candidates in the second and run-off ballots is not al-lowed.

3.7) Follow-up Work

After all ballots, the election must be closed by the electionsupervisor. He or she passes over to the chairperson for his orher closing words.

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But when the election assembly is over, the work is not done.The election has to be documented completely and accurately.The documentation is needed to verify whether the electionwas carried out in the right way, as defined by the organisa-

tions statutes. The documentation must include a copy of theinvitation to the election assembly that members were given;the election assemblys agenda; the attendance sheet; theminutes of the assembly; the notes made by the election su-pervisor and the teller committee; and the paper ballots,which must be kept.

The minutes do not have to be narrative minutes insteadresolution/decision minutes are enough. That is to say, thekeeper of the minutes records the results and the decisions ofevery point of the agenda. The crucial aim of the minutes isto prove that the election complied with all formalities fixedin the statutes. This aim defines which information has to be

recorded. The minutes have to be signed by the keeper of theminutes and the election supervisor (with place and date ofthe signing) to acknowledge that they are correct. The paperballots have to be stapled together and labelled ballot for bal-lot, so that they cannot be manipulated afterwards. The wholedocumentation must be archived by the board of the associ-ation or the organisation. Normally, there is no limit for howlong the documentation should be kept in the archive. How-

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Important phrases for use by the election supervisor VI:

The election is closed now. I am passing over to the

chairman/chairwoman for his/her closing words.


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ever, if there is not enough space for the documentation itcan be destroyed after ten years, though it must be digitallysaved.

Last but not least, the result of the election has to be madeaccessible for all members of the association, for example bya circular mail or by publishing it on the website of the asso-ciation.

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The documentation of the election must include:

the invitation to the election assembly with the as-semblys agenda

the attendance sheet the minutes of the assembly, signed by the keeper of

the minutes and the election supervisor the notes made by the election supervisor and the

teller committee the paper ballots, stapled together and labelled ballot

for ballot


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3.8) The Contestation of a Ballot or an Election

As aforementioned, a single ballot or a whole election can be-come invalid under certain circumstances and must be re-peated. But a formal process has to precede the repetition.

Normally, a specific authority is needed to decide whether aballot or an election should be repeated. In many parties orbigger organisations, one can find an own independent arbi-trating body to deal with cases like this one from within theorganisations own ranks, because with the statutes of an as-sociation, specific rights and duties of the members of thisorganisation arise and only the organisation at itself can en-force them. Without arbitration, this handbook only can give

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advices how to deal with situations in which a member claimsthat a ballot or an election is invalid. With these advices hope-fully the most disputes can be solved in positive way for every

participant and no higher authority is needed to enforceeverybodys rights.

A ballot or an election can always be contested, if a memberof the association holds that one of their rights have been vi-olated, because the board, the election supervisor or the tellercommittee neglected one of their duties. The general norm isthat some right is always violated, if the rules above for car-rying out elections are not fulfilled exactly. Examples are: amember was not invited to the election assembly, not enoughmembers attended the election, the invitation was not in thecorrect form and due in time, a candidate was not allowed tointroduce his- or herself, a voter had no chance to ask a can-

didate a question, the assembly could not discuss a candidacy,ballot boxes and paper ballots were not prepared correctly,prepared paper ballots had misprints, the election supervisordid not clearly state what all ballot alternatives were, a ballotwas not opened and closed correctly, the result was ma-nipulated, and so on. Depending on the reason that a memberis contesting the election, either only a certain ballot or thewhole election could be invalid. If, for example, a member wasnot invited to the election assembly, the whole election is in-valid. If there were misprints on prepared paper ballots for asingle ballot, only this ballot is invalid.

Only the member whose rights could be violated is allowed

to contest the ballot or the election. Contestation by proxy is

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not allowed. The member has to contest the ballot or the elec-tion within four weeks (28 days) after the election took place.The contestation has to be well-founded, addressed to the

board of the association and sent in written form or via e-mail. It is important for the contester to be able to prove thatthey sent the contestation in due time. The board has to in-form all member of the association about the contestationwithout any delay. The chairperson must then call a boardmeeting immediately to discuss it. Within this board meeting,the contester is entitled to be heard and to explain why theyare contesting the election. The meeting can assess the mem-bers complaints in relation to the election documentation,which should have been kept (see section 3.7). The boardmeeting should reassess the original invitation, the atten-dance sheet, the minutes and the recounting of the paper bal-lots. If the majority of the board upholds the contestation, the

board declares the ballot or the election is invalid. The ballotor election must then be repeated. In this case, the board mustdirectly invite to a new election assembly to repeat all invalidballots. This election again has to follow all rules described inthis handbook. If the board dismisses the contestation, it mustcall a meeting of all members of the association. The rules forthe preparation, the invitation and the carrying out of thismeeting are the same than the rules for elections. In thismeeting, the whole case must be discussed and the contesteras well as the board is entitled to be heard. At the end, allmembers of the meeting have to decide whether the ballot orthe election is invalid and whether the board has to invite allmembers for the repeating of it. If the meeting does not agree

with the contestation, but the contester wants to prosecute

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the claim on his or her own expense, only a higher authoritycan help. In this case, the contester could be claim arbitraljurisdiction or, if possible, take legal action under civil law.

As one can see, it is very difficult to deal with an invalid ballotor election and to ensure the rights of every member in asituation like this one. Thus, the best advice is to follow allrules exactly, to prepare an election correctly and carry it outattentively, not to try cheating or taking advantage of aspecial position in any way, and to keep always in mind theelections purpose enforcing democracy and freedom If onefollows this advice, they would never have to think about theproblems linked with the contestation of an election.

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Index

abstention 13, 32, 35-39

agenda 20, 44-45arbitral jurisdiction/arbitration 47-49attendance sheet 21-22, 45, 49ballot 8, 10, 12-14, 17-18, 20-27, 30-45, 47-50

ballot alternatives 33, 35, 38, 40, 48ballot box 12, 21-22, 25, 33-34, 40, 48equal ballot 14

free ballot 12open ballot 8, 23, 25, 40paper ballots 14, 21, 22, 32-33, 37, 39, 41-43, 45,48-49run-off ballot, second ballot 42, 43second ballot, run-off ballot 42, 43secret ballot 8, 13, 22, 40

third ballot 42-43board 17-18, 20, 22, 27, 32-33, 36, 38, 45, 48-49candidate 6, 9-10, 12, 17, 20, 23, 25-33, 35-43, 48

candidacy 48introduction of candidates 28nomination of candidates 27

proposals for candidates 27questioning of candidates 29chairperson/chairman/chairwoman 5, 17-18, 20, 23, 25, 27,42, 44, 49civil law 5, 50contestation 47-50documentation 22, 45-46, 49

drawing lots, equality of votes, tie 32, 42-43

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Index


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2011 FNF - Its Up to You-English by Jana Licht

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