Closing Statement: The election of editors to the Arbitration Committee is one of the most important meta tasks we undertake as part of this project. No single process garners more participation, more emotion, or more drama than these elections - so much so that we must relegate them to an annual event. For all that, this RFC, called as it was on the eve of the election, could well have been filled with drama and shenanigans. I'm pleased to note, then, that the discussion seems to have been taken seriously by all participants, and that the proposals herein were seriously discussed, seriously considered, and appear to have been judged on the merits. That makes my task, in closing this RFC, that much easier.
In reviewing this RFC, I am mindful of the fact that 124 editors participated over the course of the past 28 days, and I'm using that number in evaluating all of the proposals here.
First, the low hanging fruit:
- Strong Consensus exists for an Arbitration Committee composed of 18 Members elected to terms of 2 Years. There is also support for the related issue of the Elimination of Tranches, but participation in that section was low enough to preclude a firm statement. Functionally, having two year terms means that an arb is either up for election this year or next year, so tranches as a balancing mechanism may be deprecated anyway, and several editors seem to have assumed as much in supporting particular terms.
- There is interest in mandatory support percentages, with support narrowly favoring the 60% minimum. The strongest argument here is that all arbitrators elected in 2008 (and, in fact, 2007 and 2006) met the 60% threshold, so it's not an unreasonable level of support to expect - and it appears to be the closest thing we have to a status quo, which is where a No Consensus puts it. Participation was lower here than elsewhere in the RFC (17% of participants), and Several editors noted that support and oppose percentages could change with a change in election format, which is a consideration. Of the items under discussion, this one is one that I think would benefit from additional discussion after this year's election. The question was whether to state a minimum acceptable support percentage, though - So, on this item, No Consensus exists to formally state a minimum.
- No Consensus on voter eligibility. This item was added late in the game (last week), and participation was too low for meaningful consensus. I note that the proposal with the most support (7 Editors) was the current status quo - 150 Mainspace edits prior to the month in which the election cycle begins. There were several good proposals, though, worth exploration after the election.
The last two items (and the most discussed) were deeply interrelated, with Support for particular voting formats being contingent on particular methods (i.e. "I want Preferential Voting, but only if we use Securepoll" and the like). So, let's talk about voting method first.
- There is Consensus for a Secret Ballot. It is not an overwhelming consensus, but it is a measurable one. 57% of participating editors favor the use of Securepoll to conduct a secret ballot, most frequently citing secrecy as a balance against concerns of voter intimidation, fraud, and sockpuppetry. There are great arguments in favor of an open ballot process - and several who supported the secret ballot option also supported some sort of venue for Open discussion and debate of candidates. But the broader support for a Secret Ballot is the critical factor, here.
- Consensus is slightly narrower for Support/Oppose Voting, but it is clear as well - especially when editors who support it only with a secret ballot are taken into account. Most editors who went in for preferential voting seemed to assume the Schulze method would be chosen, and that was the stated example of the method - but several editors favored a Single-Transferable Vote, which has merit but muddied the waters a bit. The weight of precedent factors, as well, since Support/Oppose has been used in past elections.
To summarize, the consensus of this RFC is as follows:
- The Arbitration Committee shall consist of 18 Members elected to 2 Year Terms.
- Arbitrators will be elected by Secret Ballot using the Securepoll extension.
- Ballots will invite editors to Support or Oppose candidates.
- Voters must have 150 mainspace edits before the election cycle to vote (Status Quo)
Thank you to all who participated. UltraExactZZ Said ~ Did 16:13, 24 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]