[council] Proxy voting

["Andrew McLaughlin" <mclaughlin@pobox.com>]

To the Names Council:

ICANN's staff and counsel have consulted on the issue of proxy voting by
DNSO NC members.  Following is our collective advice on those questions:

1.  Under the Bylaws, can an individual NC member give a proxy to another NC
member for purposes of (i) a single vote, (ii) a set of votes, or (iii) the
entire voting process?

There is nothing in the Bylaws that prohibits the NC from adopting a proxy
voting policy.  It is thus up to the NC and/or the constituency groups to
use whatever proxy voting mechanism (if any) it/they deem fair and
appropriate.


2.  Under the Bylaws, can an individual NC member give a proxy to a
designated alternate who is *not* a member of the NC?

Again, the Bylaws do not prohibit proxy voting in this manner, and the NC
and/or constituencies are free to adopt the policy they deem best (so long
as the other Bylaws provisions, such as geographic diversity, are always
adhered to).


3.  Where an NC member recuses herself because she has accepted a nomination
to be a candidate, can that NC member simply designate another NC member to
cast her vote as a proxy, rather than designating a stand-in?

The answer to this is *no* -- proxy voting is not permissible in this
circumstance.  Let me emphasize that an NC member does not have to resign
from the NC upon accepting a nomination.  Instead, that NC member cannot
participate in any discussions or votes relating to the election of ICANN
Directors, and a temporary replacement can be designated strictly for those
discussions and votes.


Let me know if I haven't been clear.


--Andrew