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<h1>Rules & Timeline for the GNOME Foundation Anonymous Voting Referendum</h1>
<h2>Referendum Rules</h2>
<ol>
<li>
See the <a href="../../about/charter/">GNOME Foundation charter</a> for
general rules.
</li>
<li>
Members of the GNOME Foundation as of September 24, 2004 are eligible to
vote in the referendum. Anyone who has made a contribution to GNOME can
apply for membership by completing the <a
href="../../membership/application.php">application</a>.
</li>
<li>
All discussion related to the referendum should be held on
<a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/">foundation-list@gnome.org</a>.
</li>
<li>
Ballots will be sent via e-mail to all eligible voters on September 27,
2004, and must be returned by October 8, 2004, 23:59 UTC (18:59 EST).
Full instructions will be included in the ballot.
</li>
<li>
Ballots will be held confidential during the referendum, but an archive
of all submitted ballots will be made publicly accessible at its
conclusion.
</li>
<li>
The Elections Committee is responsible for counting the ballots, after
taking appropriate action to fix misformatted ballots.
</li>
<li>
In the event of a tie, the Elections Committee will schedule a run-off
referendum as soon as possible.
</li>
<li>
The Elections Committee will announce preliminary results as soon as
possible after the referendum closes, along with instructions on how to
access the ballot archive and how to independently verify the vote
count.
</li>
<li>
Any eligible voter may challenge the preliminary results by e-mailing
<a
href="mailto:elections@gnome.org">elections@gnome.org</a>
prior to October 22, 2004. The decision of the Elections Committee as
to any challenge shall be final. Once any challenges have been
resolved, the Elections Committee shall announce the final results.
</li>
<li>
Any questions regarding these procedures should be directed to the
Elections Committee by e-mail to <a
href="mailto:elections@gnome.org">elections@gnome.org</a>.
The committee shall have the power to make any necessary changes or
clarifications to these rules at any point during the referendum.
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Timeline</h2>
<p><small>(all deadlines are 23:59 UTC/18:59 EST)</small></p>
<ul>
<li>
September 24 (Friday): Last day to apply for membership (to be eligible
for this referendum).
</li>
<li>
September 27 (Monday): Ballots mailed to eligible voters, voting begins.
</li>
<li>
October 8 (Friday): Voting closes.
</li>
<li>
October 11 (Monday): Preliminary results mailed to
<a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/">foundation-list@gnome.org</a>.
</li>
<li>
October 22 (Friday): Last day to challenge preliminary results.
</li>
</ul>
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