Copyright © 2008 Nigel Jones
Copyright © 2008 Nigel Jones This material may only be distributed subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), V1.2 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.txt).
This book covers procedural information for the use the Fedora Elections software
Fedora Project currently implements a single voting method which is used for all elections and public polling.
Range voting works on the principal of allowing voters to rate as many or as few candidates as they want on a sliding scale.
This method is designed to give voters the option of splitting their vote and showing their level of preference of a subset of candidates over another.
Once voting ends, votes are tallied using the summing method (addition of all votes) to generate a final score for a candidate.
An example of range voting is available in the next section, Section 1.2, “Range Voting Example”
To accurately demostrate the concepts of Range Voting in action, it is necessary to use a fictional election where 7 candidates are standing (Candidates A to G). If three eligible voters were to choose their level of perference as explained in Section 1.1, “Concepts of Range Voting” a data table such as Table 1.1, “Simple Example Ballot” can be formed to display the data and demonstrate how a winner would be defined.
| Candidate A | Candidate B | Candidate C | Candidate D | Candidate E | Candidate F | Candidate G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 14 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 8 |
| Voter A | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Voter B | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Voter C | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
In this example, Candidate C would be declared the winner with a total vote of 15 as opposed to Candidate A's 14 votes.
Zero votes have not altered the result due to the summing method been used and can be intrepreted as the voter having no preference or abstaining.
Election information is generally distributed to the Fedora Community and eligible voters in announcements on Mailing Lists, IRC Channels and on the Fedora Project Wiki.
However in addition it is possible to find a list of scheduled (past and present) elections at https://admin.fedoraproject.org/voting/.
To access information such as the candidate list for an election, click on the More Information link next to the appropriate election.
Voting eligibility is defined uniquely for each election and refer to groups configured in the Fedora Account System at https://admin.fedoraproject.org/accounts/.
To be able to vote you must be a member of at least one group listed, or match the special eligibility criteria defined in Table 2.1, “Special Eligibility Groups”
| Condition | Information |
|---|---|
| Any User | You must have an active account in the Fedora Account System |
| Any Group | You must be a member of at least one group in the Fedora Account System |
| Any non-CLA Group | You must be a member of at least one group (excluding CLA groups) in the Fedora Account System in addition to having a signed CLA |
| cla_done | You must have a valid Contributor License Agreement |
To cast a ballot in an election that you are eligible to vote in:
Go to the Election Information page for the election that you wish to vote in (refer to Section 2.1, “Election Information”)
Click on Vote Now! underneath the list of candidates
When extra information such as nomination information or policy statements is available for a candidate, a [more] link will appear next to their name. It is recommended to read this information before casting a vote.
Select a score for each candidate from the drop-down menu appropriate to your level to preference. Information on range voting is available in Section 1.1, “Concepts of Range Voting”.
Click on the Submit button at the bottom of the ballot.
At this stage your vote is not officially entered into the election database, you must check and confirm your ballot first.
Verify that information shown on the ballot is correct, and click on Confirm otherwise click Go Back to alter your ballot.
Once your ballot is cast, you will be redirected to the Elections application welcome page with a confirmation message.
| Revision History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Revision 1.0 | Thursday July 21 2008 |
Nigel Jones <nigelj@fedoraproject.org>
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