ARIN Election Processes

Effective 14 April 2024
Version 2.0

Per ARIN’s Bylaws, the ARIN Board of Trustees (“Board”) shall approve all nomination and election processes and make them publicly available on the ARIN website. These processes direct ARIN regarding the implementation of elections as provided in the Bylaws. To the extent there are any conflicts, perceived or otherwise, between these processes and the ARIN Bylaws, the Bylaws shall prevail.

I. Appointment of Board Election Officer

As soon as practical after the start of the year, the Board shall appoint a Trustee as the Board Election Officer who will not be a nominee or candidate in the upcoming election. The Board Election Officer shall, in cooperation with ARIN’s President & CEO (“President”) and General Counsel (“GC”), confirm the vote tally and certify that the election was held following the approved election processes, for any elections held that year.
The Board Election Officer shall also confirm the President’s review of the list of eligible voters prior to the election.

II. Formation of the Nomination Committee

As soon as practical after the start of the year, the Board shall make any necessary modifications to the Nomination Committee (“NomCom”) Charter for that year’s election cycle and fill vacancies from among the two Trustee seats on the NomCom.
A call to ARIN General Members (“Membership”) shall be issued to fill vacancies from among the five NomCom seats for recognized representatives of ARIN General Members in Good Standing interested in volunteering to serve on the NomCom.
To aid in their selection, volunteers must complete a brief questionnaire on their qualifications to serve on the NomCom.
ARIN Staff will validate that those volunteering to serve on the NomCom are associated with ARIN Members in Good Standing.
A list of volunteers that have been validated, and their questionnaire responses, will be provided to the two Trustees on the NomCom who shall review volunteers’ qualifications and, by mutual agreement, appoint the appropriate number of qualified volunteers to the NomCom in a timely manner. The NomCom at least one but not more than two serving AC members who are also representatives from a General Member in Good Standing. The NomCom Chair may reopen the call for volunteers at their discretion.
The term of NomCom community representatives will be two years, based on staggered terms to avoid wholesale change in a single year. A NomCom member may serve up to four years, at which time they must have an intervening two-year period away from the NomCom before being two-year term, to be decided as part of the appointments process with the assistance of questionnaire input.
To facilitate the recruitment of nominees, all NomCom members are to disclose to the NomCom, in a timely fashion, the potential for a conflict of interest (“COI”) and the material circumstances thereof. A NomCom member knowing a nominee or having an opinion of a nominee’s fitness does not constitute a COI. A NomCom member who has a material business relationship with a candidate or the candidate’s employer should disclose this to other NomCom members and recuse themselves, if necessary, from discussing the recruitment of a particular candidate. It shall be up to the NomCom to consider any disclosed circumstances and make its own determination of whether a COI exists.

III. Guidance Letter and Nominee Qualification Questionnaires

The Board annually provides a written guidance letter that outlines the skills and experience that they feel is most needed for their effective functioning, after consideration of existing trustee skills and the skills and experience of members whose terms are expiring. This guidance is used by the independent third-party vendor in the assessment of “well-qualified” nominees.

Nominee questionnaires are used to assist the independent third-party vendor in determining qualification assessments in relation to the criteria described in the relevant guidance letters.

Board Nominee Questionnaires
1. Prior to the start of the nominations period, the Board will approve a base set of questions to be completed by Board nominees to aid in the assessment of a nominees’ experience and qualifications.
2. The GC and third-party vendor will review and consult on the questions. The result becomes the ARIN Board Nominee Questionnaire (“Board Nominee Questionnaire”) for that year. The Board Nominee Questionnaire will be posted to the ARIN website prior to the start of the Nomination Submission Period.
3. The NomCom may use the non-confidential portions of the responses of a Board nominee’s questionnaire to aid in its review of a nominee’s background and experience.
Advisory Council Nominee Questionnaires
1. Prior to the start of the nominations period, the Board will approve a set of questions to be completed by the AC nominees to aid in the third-party vendor’s assessment of a nominee’s experience and qualifications.
2. The GC and third-party vendor will review and consult on the questions. That result becomes the ARIN AC Nominee Questionnaire (“AC Nominee Questionnaire”) for that year and will be posted to the ARIN website prior to the start of the Nomination Submission Period.
3. The NomCom may use the non-confidential portions of the responses of an AC nominee’s questionnaire to aid in its review of a nominee’s background and experience.
NRO Number Council Nominee Questionnaire
1. Prior to the start of the nominations period, the Board will approve a set of questions to be completed by NRO NC nominees to aid in the third-party vendor’s assessment of a nominee’s experience and qualifications.
2. The GC and third-party vendor will then review and consult on the questions. The resulting set of questions becomes the ARIN NRO NC Nominee Questionnaire (“NRO NC Nominee Questionnaire”) for that year and will be posted to the ARIN website prior to the start of the Nomination Submission Period.
3. The NomCom may use the non-confidential portions of the responses of an NRO NC nominee’s questionnaire to aid in its review of a nominee’s background and experience.

IV. Nomination Submission Period

The dates of the Nomination Submission Period will be specified in the Call for Nominees and posted on the ARIN website. ARIN staff will send notice to the community of the upcoming date of the nomination period. The Nomination Submission Period will be open for fourteen (14) calendar days. The Nomination Committee may, at its discretion, extend the call for nominations as it determines necessary to generate an adequate candidate slate. The extended call for nominations may be for a duration not to exceed an additional twenty-one (21) days from the date of the original close of the Nomination Submission Period.
The open call for nominations is posted to the ARIN Announce mailing list and the ARIN website.
Individuals who wish to be considered for candidacy for election may submit their name and qualifications for consideration, but only for one position. A completed nominee questionnaire and accurate contact information must be submitted through the specified method by the close of the nomination period in order for their nomination to be considered valid. In advance of submitting a nomination, potential nominees can view the text of the questionnaires on the website.
1. Completed Nominee questionnaires will be provided to the third-party vendor firm.
2. Upon submission of each nominee questionnaire, non-confidential portions of each nominee’s response will be provided to the NomCom within one (1) business day of receipt.
If necessary, due to unforeseen circumstances, the timeline of the Nomination Submission Period and Nominee Assessment Period may be modified by concurrence of the President and the ARIN Board Election Officer, so long as the revised timeline remains in compliance with ARIN’s Bylaws and applicable law. Any changes to the these timelines will be announced to the community and posted on the ARIN website.
Shortly after the close of the Nomination Submission Period, ARIN staff will post announcements to the Membership, relevant mailing lists, and website announcements regarding the list of nominees who have duly completed the nomination submission process. It is not guaranteed that all nominees will be placed on the Initial Slate of Candidates (“Initial Slate”).
If any nominees withdraw before the announcement of the Initial Slate, ARIN staff will notify the community via the relevant mailing lists and web site announcements.
There will be a mechanism for the third-party vendor firm to receive comments from the community regarding any nominee.

Nominee Information

In addition to the information gathered via the Nominee Questionnaires, the following information will be considered when evaluating nominees:

Board of Trustees:
1. The third-party vendor firm shall perform background checks of Board nominees’ qualifications using public sources and third-party services, always in confidence. The third-party vendor firm shall review any material issues raised by these background checks with ARIN’s General Counsel (GC) and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).
2. Nominees for the Board of Trustees shall be afforded the opportunity to be interviewed by the third-party vendor firm which will constitute a material component to a nominee’s assessment.
Advisory Council and NRO NC:
1. The third-party vendor firm may interview the nominees for the AC and NRO NC to receive clarification on their qualifications, and the experience of those interviews will constitute a material component to a nominee’s assessment.

V. Nominee Assessment Period

Nominee Assessment by Independent Third-Party Vendor

ARIN staff will engage a third-party vendor that will have the sole responsibility to qualify and assess each nominee as a key component to the overall nomination process. Deliberations regarding the assessment of nominees will be kept confidential. ARIN staff and General Counsel (GC) shall not participate in such discussions except when specifically requested to act in an advisory capacity. The third-party vendor will also review nomination materials, conduct background checks, conduct interviews, and determine qualification categories as described below for all Board nominees.

All valid and complete nominations including the nominee’s name, position sought, and their completed nominee questionnaire, are forwarded to the third-party vendor.
ARIN’s GC and Chief Human Resources Officer (“CHRO”) will be the members of ARIN’s staff that arrange for a third-party vendor firm to conduct the review and qualification for all Board of Trustee and Advisory Council nominees.
ARIN’s GC and CHRO will review the reports for each nominee and determine if there are any material issues discovered by the third-party vendor firm review.
1. If any material issues are found such that the third-party vendor firm intends to qualify a nominee as “Unable to Qualify”, ARIN’s GC and CHRO will review the nature of the background issue with the third-party vendor firm.
2. If after consultation with the third-party vendor firm, the third-party vendor firm still deems the issue as material, ARIN’s GC and CHRO will notify the nominee that the nominee will be assessed as “Unable to Qualify” by the third-party vendor firm. At that point, ARIN’s GC and CHRO will inform the nominee of the options to withdraw their nomination, provide additional material to the third-party vendor firm for reconsideration, or to take no action.
3. A nominee will be given the opportunity to provide a statement addressing the issue which will be provided to the third-party vendor firm. The nominee will also be informed of the option to petition in the event they are assessed as “Unable to Qualify.”
As part of the qualification process for Board nominees, ARIN will arrange for the third-party vendor firm to conduct interviews. The third-party vendor determines the eligibility for each nominee based on the requirements and guidance provided by the ARIN Bylaws and Nomination Committee Charter.

The third-party vendor firm shall review the qualifications of the nominees; and at the conclusion of its review process, the third-party vendor firm must assign an assessment. The assessments will be made as outlined in the Nominee Assessment Guidelines below.

Nominee Assessment Guidelines

Board Nominees

The third-party vendor firm shall assess each nominee as indicated below, guided by the Bylaws and Election Processes.
1. The third-party vendor firm reviews and finalizes questionnaires to be used in qualifying and assessing nominees. The Board questionnaires will focus on gathering information that address the attributes outlined in the most current guidance letter with a focus on those attributes defined as “Recommended”.
2. The third-party vendor firm shall determine whether each nominee is eligible to be considered in the evaluation process, and be included in the Initial Slate, as required per ARIN Bylaws Articles VI(1)(d-e) (Trustee Conflict of Interest and Eligibility), VI(4)(a) (Limit on Terms of Office), VIII(1)(b-c) (Nomination and Appointment Conflict of Interest; Procedure Approval and Publications), and VIII(2)(a) (Nomination Committee).
The third-party vendor firm shall assess each eligible Board nominee as “Well Qualified,” “Qualified”, “Qualifications not Confirmed”, or “Unable to Qualify”, having regard for the following guidance.
1. A nominee that is “Qualified” will have:
  1. met all the mandatory attributes, specified in the relevant guidance letters as applicable;
  2. demonstrated, to the third-party vendor firm’s satisfaction, that they can perform all the duties and responsibilities required; and
  3. demonstrated that they meet the very highest standards of integrity and professional competence.
2. For Board of Trustee nominees, the rating of “Well Qualified” is given to those nominee’s that meet all qualifications for serving as a Trustee, but further whose attributes are particularly suited in consideration of the overall requirements of the needs of the Board of Trustees as expressed in their guidance letter. A nominee that is “Well Qualified” will have:
  1. met all the requirements of “Qualified”;
  2. evidenced qualifications and attributes that satisfy anticipated needs of the Board by the Board Guidance letter.
3. Where the third-party vendor firm’s determination is that a nominee’s materials do not confirm they have met the requirements needed to be “Qualified”, the third-party vendor firm will make an assessment of “Qualifications Not Confirmed”.
4. A nominee will be assessed as “Unable to Qualify” if, notwithstanding any of the above:
  1. they are in an irresolvable conflict of interest position or have, within the preceding five years, materially violated an applicable ARIN code of conduct in a manner that has caused material harm.
  2. their application materials make a material misrepresentation (for instance, falsified their educational background, or materially misstated their professional experience), whether by way of statement or omission, or are otherwise participating in the elections process in bad faith;
  3. they were convicted of a relevant criminal offense for which they have not been pardoned—or, within the past 10 years, been denied directors’ liability insurance or found wholly or partly liable by an independent authority for a relevant non-criminal offense;
  4. they have served as a past director or officer of an organization during a period in which the organization’s eligibility to operate was revoked by a governmental authority for breach of requirements;
  5. their participation on ARIN’s Board, AC, or as a representative on the NRO NC would manifestly bring the organization into disrepute; or vi. such other valid unusual grounds for disqualification that the third-party vendor firm deems appropriate.
All eligible nominees not assessed as “Unable to Qualify” shall be added to the Initial Slate as candidates for election.

AC & NRO NC Nominees

The third-party vendor firm shall assess each eligible AC and NRO NC nominee as “Qualified” or “Unable to Qualify”, having regard for the following guidance.
A nominee that is “Qualified” will have:
1. met all the mandatory attributes, specified in the relevant position description available on ARIN’s website as applicable;
2. demonstrated, to the third-party vendor firm’s satisfaction, that they can perform all the duties and responsibilities required; and
3. demonstrated that they meet the very highest standards of integrity and professional competence.
A nominee will be assessed as “Unable to Qualify” if, notwithstanding any of the above:
1. they are in an irresolvable conflict of interest position or have, within the preceding five years, materially violated an applicable ARIN code of conduct in a manner that has caused material harm.
2. their application materials make a material misrepresentation (for instance, falsified their educational background, or materially misstated their professional experience), whether by way of statement or omission, or are otherwise participating in the elections process in bad faith;
3. their participation on ARIN’s AC, or as a representative on the NRO NC would manifestly bring the organization into disrepute; or
4. such other valid unusual grounds for disqualification that the third-party vendor firm deems appropriate.
All eligible AC and NRO NC nominees not assessed as “Unable to Qualify” shall be added to the Initial Slate as candidates for election.

Board of Trustees Nominee Additional Information

The third-party vendor firm shall perform background checks of Board nominees’ qualifications using public sources and third-party services, always in confidence. The third-party vendor firm shall review any material issues raised by these background checks with ARIN’s General Counsel (GC) and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).
Nominees for the Board of Trustees shall be afforded the opportunity to be interviewed by the third-party vendor firm which will constitute a material component to a nominee’s assessment.

Advisory Council and NRO NC Nominee Additional Information

Nominees for the AC and NRO NC may be afforded the opportunity to be interviewed by the third-party vendor firm if the vendor believes it is necessary for the assessment of their qualifications and the information gathered in that call will constitute a material component to a nominee’s assessment.

Delivery of Nominee Assessments

The third-party vendor firm provides the nominee assessments to the CHRO at least two weeks before the scheduled announcement of the Initial Slate as detailed in the Election Calendar. ARIN staff provides the Initial Slate to the NomCom. At least one week before the scheduled announcement of the Initial Slate, the NomCom confirms the Initial Slate was developed in accordance with the approved Election Processes and provides it to the following ARIN staff: any staff directly supporting the NomCom; the General Counsel; and the Chief Customer Officer.

The Initial Slate, as delivered from the third-party vendor firm, shall include the third-party vendor firm’s assessment of each nominee, as-is and without modification. ARIN staff has the responsibility for forwarding the Initial Slate to the Board Election Officer and President. If the NomCom fails to confirm the Initial Slate was developed in accordance with the approved Election Processes before the stated deadline, the GC will review and, if applicable, make the confirmation using the same criteria.

At the time of the publication of the Initial Slate, the number of candidates for each elected body must exceed the number of seats up for each election. If this threshold is not met, adjustments to the timeline, with the concurrence of the President and Board election officer may be made so long as any such adjustment is in accordance with ARIN’s Bylaws and applicable law.

VI. Publication of Candidate Slates

When the Initial Slate is announced, the following shall be published:
1. The Board guidance letter
2. The non-confidential responses to questionnaires by each nominee included in the slate as a candidate; and
3. The names of all nominees and their assessment.
4. A method for collecting statements of support from the community.
The President directs ARIN staff to publish the Initial Slate to the Membership, relevant mailing lists, and web site announcements, along with a call for Intent to Petition submissions from nominees not on the Initial Slate, no later than thirty-one (31) days prior to the Fall ARIN Public Policy and Members Meeting (ARIN PPMM).
1. If no nominees were excluded from the slate, the announced slate will be referred to as the “Slate of Candidates” and no petition process is required. The announced “Slate of Candidates” will fulfill the requirements for both the initial and final slates.
If no submissions of Intent to Petition are received from nominees within the time allocated, the petition process will be considered complete.
Upon completion of the petition process, ARIN publishes the Final Slate of Candidates (“Final Slate”) on the ARIN website and electronically sends the election notice to all eligible voters no later than ten (10) calendar days prior to the Fall ARIN PPMM.
Once a candidate slate is announced, the President of ARIN will notify the membership of any withdrawn candidates via email to ARIN Announce and to all eligible Voting Contacts. If candidates withdraw from the election, causing the number of qualified candidates to be less than the number required, the ARIN Board may, at its discretion, appoint the necessary number of candidates for the requirement to be met (Bylaws, Article VIII, Section 2.).

VII. Nomination Petitions

The petition process begins after the regular nomination period closes, the nominees are assessed, and the Initial Slate is announced. The President concurrently announces the Initial Slate and the call for petitions.

Nominees not placed on the Initial Slate may petition to be included on the Final Slate for the body for which they were nominated. Upon publication of the Initial Slate, petitioners have seven (7) calendar days to express their intent to petition and another fourteen (14) calendar days to receive the necessary signatures.
The Intent to Petition submission will include notice to the nominee that a summary, created in consultation with the ARIN GC, of the nominee’s assessment regarding the nominee’s qualifications and the factors included in the assessment will be shared as part of the notice of the petition to the ARIN Membership.
Upon completion of the period to accept submissions of Intent to Petition, if any eligible submissions are received, ARIN’s CCO or designee will:
1. Establish an electronic method for the collection of support from ARIN General Members in Good Standing via their Voting Contacts for any petitions. A General Member will be considered eligible to participate if they were in Good Standing as of the opening of nominations and had a designated Voting Contact.
2. Send a message to the ARIN Announce mailing list and eligible General Members via their Voting Contacts stating that the petition is open.
3. Allow fourteen (14) calendar days, from the petition being open and announced, for eligible General Members to indicate support for any received petitions.
4. Casting support for petitions will be done through a General Member’s designated Voting Contact. Each eligible General Member is permitted one ballot indicating support for as many petitioners that are on the ballot.
The name and organization affiliation of eligible Voting Contacts casting support for a petition will not be shared with the petitioner or posted publicly.
To be successful, a petition’s verified supporters must represent at least 2% of the total General Members in Good Standing, the number of which is determined at the opening of the nomination period.
If the petitioner does not meet the 2% threshold, the petition is unsuccessful, and the petitioner is informed.
When the petition process is completed, and the President of ARIN, Board Election Officer, and General Counsel have verified that the petition process was upheld according to the standards set in the Bylaws, any successful petitioner(s) are added to the Final Slate.

VIII. Voter Eligibility Process

Members eligible to vote are determined per ARIN Bylaws.
ARIN’s CCO or designee sends a notice to all General Members reminding them of the upcoming deadline for confirmation of voter eligibility. Voter eligibility cutoff is forty-five (45) days prior to a ballot or election.
1. Voting eligibility is dependent on the status of the organization in question. A requirement for eligibility being a General Member in good standing and having a Voting Contact designated before the eligibility deadline; however an organization may change that designation after the eligibility deadline as long as the change is submitted seven (7) days before the Voting Period.
Immediately after the voter eligibility cutoff deadline, ARIN’s CCO or designee creates an initial list of eligible voters.
By the end of the first business day following the voter eligibility cutoff deadline, the CCO or designee shall create, in the presence of ARIN’s GC, a final list of eligible voters.
The CCO or designee sends the final voter eligibility list to ARIN’s President for review.
ARIN’s GC shall confirm with ARIN’s President that the creation of the final voter eligibility list is consistent with ARIN processes and certifies no known discrepancies or inaccuracies.
After review, ARIN’s President forwards the final voter eligibility list to the designated Board Election Officer, and the Board Election Officer confirms the President’s review of the list of eligible voters.
Upon review and confirmation of the final voter eligibility list, ARIN’s President directs staff to publish an alphabetical list of the names of all ARIN Members who are entitled to vote in the election, including the address of each member. Voting contact names, email addresses and phone numbers shall be redacted from the public list of voters.
Within one week after the voter eligibility deadline, ARIN staff will send an email to every eligible organization’s Voting Contact to remind them that they are the voting contact for their organization and give notice of the deadline for any changes to that designation.

IX. Voting Process

Candidate Information: The public portion of the nominee questionnaire for each candidate, and any statements of support, are made available online concurrent with publishing the Initial Slate on the ARIN website and through the end of the election period.
The voting period shall begin during the last ARIN PPMM of the year, and the opening of the election is announced by the Chair at the PPMM.
The voting period is required to be for a period of at least seven (7) days, during which time eligible voters may cast votes. All votes shall be cast electronically via a system which confirms each vote is cast by an eligible party on the final voter eligibility list.
If necessary, due to unforeseen circumstances, the timeline of the Voter Eligibility and Election Processes may be changed by concurrence of the ARIN President and the ARIN Board Election Officer, so long as the revised timeline remains in compliance with ARIN’s Bylaws and applicable law. Any change to the timeline will be announced to the community and posted on the ARIN website.
In the event of a tie where two or more candidates have received the same number of votes, the President of ARIN shall proceed to determine by lot which of the candidates shall be declared elected. The CCO or staff representative will provide the names of the tied candidates on individual pieces of paper in an opaque container and ask the President to choose as many slips as there are open seats still contested. Video of this will be recorded and shared with the Board Election Officer to authenticate the process.

While a voting contact may represent more than one eligible General Member, the organization itself is the “voter” as described in this document. For clarity, a voting contact is not the “voter”. A voting contact that represents more than one organization will have a vote weight of as many organizations as they represent, and any submitted ballot will represent the votes of every General Member they represent.

X. Election Confirmation Process

Quorum is achieved by having ballots cast by at least 5% of the total eligible member organizations, as counted on the voter eligibility deadline. (Bylaws Article VIII, Section 4.a.). Quorum is determined by the number of ballots cast. This may include blank or partial ballots.
Upon conclusion of the election period, the CCO or designee prepares an election report of the voting results and forwards the election report to ARIN’s President, the Board Election Officer and GC.
ARIN’s President and the Board Election Officer shall, in cooperation with ARIN’s GC, confirm the vote tally and certify that the election was held following the approved election processes.
In the event of a tie for the final available open seat in a general election, the winner shall be selected by random lot, drawn by ARIN’s President, or ARIN’s President’s designee, in the presence of another ARIN Officer, Trustee, or the GC.
The ARIN Board of Trustees shall confirm the results of the election process and the President of ARIN shall formally announce the results of the voting as soon as possible, but not later than seven (7) calendar days following the close of the Election Period.

Supplementary Information

The following provides additional information pertaining to the Election Processes approved by the Board of Trustees:

Statements of Support

The candidate list and biographical information are available on the ARIN website. Any individual may electronically submit Statements of Support for a candidate through Election Headquarters.

Candidate Speeches and Forum

All candidates are given the opportunity to present themselves to the general membership in a brief, pre-recorded speech during the last ARIN PPMM of the year (Bylaws, Article VIII, Section 3.b.).

Prior to the last ARIN PPMM, but no earlier than two weeks prior, ARIN shall host a virtual candidate forum where candidates will have the opportunity to engage with the community through a question and answer format forum.

Candidate Campaign Guidelines

Candidates for all ARIN elections may seek support via ARIN-sponsored forums. ARIN provides community Statements of Support for each candidate on its website. Candidates may also provide one link from their biography page to a social media page of their choice. Candidates may use personal social media to engage in dialogue with community members. Candidates are also provided an opportunity to speak at the Fall ARIN PPMM.

During this time, candidates are welcome to highlight their experience, including why they believe they should be elected. ARIN kindly asks that candidates use their time to talk only about themselves, their interests, and qualifications, and not mention other candidates. In order to prevent list abuse and subscriber spam, candidates may not use ARIN mailing lists, other than the General Members list, for campaign purposes. A list of ARIN Member organizations eligible to vote is available for candidate use.

NRO Number Council Procedures

The Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC) advises the NRO Executive Council on global Internet number resource policy proposals. Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the NRO in October 2003, the NRO NC also performs the role of the ICANN Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC).

Each Regional Internet Registry (RIR) elects or appoints three representatives to the NRO NC. Nominations to fill seats are accepted from the broader ARIN-region Internet community, without regard to ARIN membership status. Two of the seats are elected by eligible Voting Contacts from ARIN Member organizations. Every third year, the ARIN Board of Trustees appoints a representative. Representatives serve staggered three-year terms, beginning on 1 January following the ARIN Election period and ending 31 December.

The NRO NC Nomination and Election requirements may be found in the MoU.

NRO NC Nominee Eligibility Requirements & Responsibilities Upon Election

NRO NC nominees are subject to the Conflicts of Interest policy, and should have a track record of involvement with issues related to Internet number resources. Nominees should also be available to travel to NRO NC and ARIN meetings, participate in conference calls, and attend to NRO NC matters. Nominees do not need to be representatives from ARIN Member organizations, but they must reside within the ARIN region.

NRO NC Voting & Appointment Years

Every third year, the ARIN Board of Trustees appoints a representative to the NRO NC from the ARIN region. From the pool of eligible nominated candidates, the ARIN Trustees vote via a secret ballot according to their existing rules and procedures.

Upcoming Election/Appointment Years

2024: Election
2025: Election
2026: Appointment

Interim Appointments

Board of Trustees

In the event that one of the elected positions on the ARIN Board of Trustees is vacated before the end of the term of that position, the remaining ARIN Trustees will use the process outlined in the ARIN Bylaws, Article VI, Section 7.

Advisory Council

In the event that one of the elected positions on the AC is vacated before the end of the term of that position, the following procedure shall be used to select an individual to fill that position until the next regularly scheduled AC election. At that time, the remaining term of that position (if any) will be open to the general election process.

When there are runner-up nominees from the previous AC election who received at least five percent of the total votes cast, the AC will ask the runner-up with the highest number of votes if s/he is willing to serve until the next regular election. The AC may continue down the list of candidates, in order of highest number of votes and still within the five percent category, until a replacement is found.
When there are no eligible candidates from the prior election, the AC may, by majority vote, appoint an interim representative.

NRO Number Council

The ARIN Board of Trustees may appoint an individual to the NRO NC to fill a vacancy created by an NRO NC representative from the ARIN region either being unable to complete their term or being removed by the ARIN Trustees. As part of this process, the ARIN Trustees form a Committee of the Whole to nominate at least two candidates for this position, and votes via secret ballot to select an appointee. The person receiving the majority of votes of the active members of the ARIN Board of Trustees will be the appointee. If in the first round of voting no candidate receives the majority of the votes cast, then the two candidates receiving the most votes will be placed into a run-off vote with the same rules. The President and CEO of ARIN will notify the successful candidate of their interim appointment for the remainder of the calendar year and upon acceptance, will announce this to the community. The remaining term of that position will be open to the next regularly scheduled general election or appointment process.

ARIN Election Processes

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