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Re: [wg-d] WG Principles
>I don't believe it is proper for those who don't vote to be counted as
>"supporters" of a proposal. Rather, I assert that those votes should be
>counted either as abstaining or in opposition.
By the same token, shouldn't there be a way for organizations (or
constituencies, for that matter) to make the views of their members known
without requiring each member to personally participate? And, if certain
criteria are met, an organizational vote might be weighted higher than an
individual vote, to better reflect the size of the organization's
membership.
But, IMO, the organization/constituency shouldn't be allowed to say,
we're a 1000 members strong, and we vote for/against the proposal. Not
every organizational spokesperson speaks for the membership.
Here's some language, borrowed from an early version of the Paris Draft
and modified for another purpose later, that may be helpful to give you
an idea of what, I think, might be an acceptable balance between
individual and organizational interests:
In commenting on any issue or proposal under consideration by the
constituency, individuals may choose to identify their comments as
coming
from an organization to which they belong. Such organizational comments
may be used by the [the Working Group] to determine what weight to
give a particular point of view. To assist [the Working Group] in
determining
what weight organizational comments should be given, organizations are
required to report (1) the specific steps, if any, by which they have
polled their subordinate members on the question at issue and (2) the
terms of any express grant to them by their membership of authority to
state the member's views on the question at issue.
I like this concept, but I throw it out for discussion. But Karl, I
understand that once you allow this kind of weighted voting (especially
allowing a WG to weigh votes), you're giving up the precision that comes
with one-person, one-vote systems. I just worry that limiting votes to
individuals will limit the universe of voters to those who have the
time/work authorization to participate.
-- Bret