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<title>GNOME Foundation Reducing Board Size Referendum Rules</title>
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<h1>Rules & Timeline for the GNOME Foundation Reducing Board Size 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 October 21, 2005 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>
Instructions explaining how to vote will be sent via e-mail to all
eligible voters on October 24, 2005, and votes must be returned by
November 6, 2005, 23:59 UTC (18:59 EST).
</li>
<li>
Votes will be held confidential during the referendum, but an
anonymized archive of all submitted votes will be made publicly
accessible at its conclusion.
</li>
<li>
The Elections Committee is responsible for counting the votes.
</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 votes 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 November 13, 2005. 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>
October 21 (Friday): Last day to apply for membership (to be eligible
for this referendum).
</li>
<li>
October 24 (Monday): Instructions mailed to eligible voters, voting begins.
</li>
<li>
November 6 (Sunday): Voting closes.
</li>
<li>
November 7 (Monday): Preliminary results are announced.
</li>
<li>
November 13 (Sunday): Last day to challenge preliminary results.
</li>
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