Intersect is a member led organization, as such members are required regularly to participate in votes and elections. This Policy provides guidance related to voting events.
Voting event types
Currently there are two types of vote:
Elections: These types of votes allow members to propose the voting options or more generally to apply as candidates.
Polls: These types of votes provide to members 2 or more options to select from.
Common Voting events currently include:
Committee elections: The voting event where Intersect members elect one or more committees.
Board elections: The voting event where Intersect members elect one or more board members.
Chair elections: The voting event where Intersect members part of an existing Committee or the Board elect their respective chair.
General polls: The voting event where members are asked to provide their opinion on any general matter.
Existing voting rules
Only paid members are allowed to join Intersect voting events
New members can participate in voting events if they pay for their membership before the voting event starts
Existing members who have an expired membership when a voting event is open to vote can participate as long as their renew their membership before voting ends
Existing members whose membership expire during the voting period will be able to vote till their membership is active (and after that if their renew)
For committee elections
Only paid members are allowed to apply
Only those who have been paid members for at least 3 months OR that have followed the process to verify themselves are allowed to vote
For board elections
Only paid members are allowed to apply
Only those who have been paid members for at least 6 months OR that have followed the process to verify themselves are allowed to vote
What happens if an election type vote gets equal or less applications then the amount of seats up for election
Note: Voters are not required to use all their vote allocation (e.g. if they have 4 votes for a committee they could only select two candidates if they want to, or don't vote)
An option for none-of-the-above will be shown. If this is the option with most votes, there will be no elected members for that election
Any vacant seat can remain such till the end of the term for that seat. If the committee / board are below their minimum size they can:
Decide to extend terms of current elected seats, by volunteering or appointing
Run an election for that seat in the next election for the remaining 6 months term
What happens if an election type vote gets 0 applications to amount of spots up for election
Current committee members can decide to volunteer to extend their mandate for 6 months (in extreme cases committee could appoint for the interim for 6 months)
In the following election those seats can be voted in with a 6 months term
Note: if an election runs 2 times with 0 or 1 applicant then the board will evaluate if that committee should still exist in that form or if the remit needs to be updated
Board Election voting results - elected members terms
During the 2025 election, 4 members will be elected to the board. The two top-voted candidates will get a 2-year term, the next 2 will get a 1-year term (assuming they remain in good standing membership).
The above is done to start a process that staggers elections, keeping continuity in the board. From 2026 we will elect 2 seats with a 2 year term, starting a cycle to elect every year 2 board seats.
