ARIN Election Processes

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ARIN Election Processes

Effective 9 May 2023
Version 1.5

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 for the Board and Advisory Council 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

  1. 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 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.
  2. 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

  1. As soon as practical after the start of the year, the Board shall approve the Nomination Committee (“NomCom”) Charter for that year and fill vacancies from among the two Trustee seats on the NomCom.
  2. A call to the ARIN 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.
  3. To aid in their selection, volunteers must complete a brief questionnaire on their qualifications to serve on the NomCom.
  4. ARIN Staff will validate that those volunteering to serve on the NomCom are associated with ARIN Members in Good Standing.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

III. Nominee Qualification Questionnaires

  1. 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 the NomCom in evaluating Board nominees’ experience and qualifications.
    2. The NomCom shall review and may suggest additional questions for Board nominees but may not alter or remove the Board-approved questions. After legal review, the NomCom’s proposed additions may be added by the third-party vendor to the base set of questions and the final submission will become 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 nominations period.
  2. Advisory Council Nominee Questionnaires
    1. The NomCom shall review the prior year’s questionnaire for ARIN AC nominees and may suggest alterations, deletions, or additional questions for ARIN AC nominees. ARIN’s GC will review and advise on the questions, and communication those suggestions to the third-party vendor. The final result will become 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 nominations period.

IV. Nominations Process

  1. An open call for nominations is posted to the ARIN Announce mailing list and the ARIN website.
  2. b. Individuals who wish to be considered for candidacy for election to the Board or the AC may submit their name and qualifications for consideration.
  3. The dates of the Nomination 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 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 Period.
  4. Each nominee must submit the appropriate nominee questionnaire online in order to run for an ARIN Board or ARIN AC position.
  5. To be eligible, nominees must have submitted complete responses to the applicable nominee questionnaire by the close of the nomination period in order for their nomination to be considered valid.
  6. In advance of submitting a nomination, potential nominees can view the questionnaires on the ARIN website.
  7. If necessary, due to unforeseen circumstances, the timeline of the Nomination Process and NomCom Evaluation Process may be changed 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 change to the Nomination Period will be announced to the community and posted on the ARIN website.
  8. Shortly after the close of the Nomination Period, ARIN staff will post announcements to the ARIN Membership, relevant mailing lists, and web site announcements regarding the preliminary list of nominees awaiting consideration, identifying them by name and primary affiliation. It is not guaranteed that all of these potential nominees will be placed on the candidate slate.
    1. 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.

V. Election Slate Development Process

ARIN staff will engage a third-party vendor that will have the sole responsibility to qualify and classify 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, per the NomCom charter, for all Board of Trustee nominees. The vendor also reviews the nomination materials and determine qualification categories, per the NomCom charter, for all Advisory Council nominees.

  1. All valid and complete nominations including the nominee’s name, position sought, and their completed nominee questionnaire, are forwarded to the third-party vendor.
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 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. 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 classified 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. 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 classified as “Unable to Qualify.”
  4. 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.
  5. The third-party vendor firm has the option, as it deems necessary, to conduct ARIN AC nominee interviews as needed in order to gain a better understanding of nominees’ background and qualifications.
  6. 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 a classification, per any Board guidance letter, NomCom Charter, or AC guidance letter for each nominee placed on the election slate of Board and ARIN AC candidates. The third-party vendor firm provides the initial slate to the NomCom. The NomCom then certifies this initial election slate and its completeness and provides it to the following ARIN staff: any staff directly supporting the NomCom; the General Counsel; and the Chief Customer Officer. The NomCom’s list shall include the third-party vendor firm’s classification of each nominee, as-is and without modification, and certify that these initial election slates were developed in accordance with the NomCom charter, the Bylaws, and these ARIN Election Processes. ARIN staff has the responsibility of forwarding the initial election slates to the ARIN Board Election Officer and ARIN’s President and CEO.
  7. At the time of the publication of the Initial Slates, the number of candidates on the slates for the Board of Trustees and Advisory Council elections must exceed the number of seats up for each election. If this threshold is not met, the nomination period will be reopened, and another review will be held by the third-party vendor.

VI. Election Slate Publication

  1. ARIN’s President directs ARIN staff to publish the initial slate of candidates to the ARIN 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 will fulfill the requirements for both the initial and final slates.
  2. If no submissions of Intent to Petition are received from nominees within the time allocated, the petition process will be considered complete.
  3. Upon completion of the petition process, ARIN publishes the final slate of candidates 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.
  4. Once the 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. After the regular nomination period closes, the President of ARIN announces the initial slate of candidates and opens the call for petitions on the same day.

  1. Nominees not placed on the initial slate may petition to be included on the final slate of candidates 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Upon completion of the period to accept submissions of Intent to Petition, if any eligible ones are received, ARIN’s CCO or designee will:
    1. Establish an electronic method for the collection of support from ARIN Members in Good Standing via their Voting Contacts for any petitions.
    2. Send a message to the ARIN Announce mailing list and eligible Voting Contacts stating that the petition is open and that Voting Contacts from ARIN General Members in Good Standing are able to support the petitioner.
    3. Allow fourteen (14) calendar days, from the petition being open and announced, for General Members to indicate support for any received petitions. Casting support for petitions will be done through a General Member’s designated Voting Contact. Each General Member in Good Standing is permitted one ballot indicating support for as many nominees that are on the ballot. Eligible Voting Contacts must have been on file with ARIN from a General Member in Good Standing as of the opening of nominations.
  4. The name and organization affiliation of eligible Voting Contacts casting support for a petition will not be shared with the petitioner or posted publicly.
  5. If the verified supporters total at least 2% of General Members in Good Standing, which is determined at the opening of the nomination period, the petition is accepted and the nominee is added to the final ballot as a candidate.
  6. If the petitioner does not meet the 2% threshold, the petition is declined and the petitioner is informed.
  7. When the petition process is completed, and the President of ARIN has verified that the petition process was upheld according to the standards set in the Bylaws, the successful petitioner(s) is added to the final slate of nominated candidates.

VIII. Voter Eligibility Process

  1. Members eligible to vote are determined per ARIN Bylaws.
  2. 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.
  3. Immediately after the voter eligibility cutoff deadline, ARIN’s CCO or designee creates an initial list of eligible voters.
  4. 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.
  5. The CCO or designee sends the final voter eligibility list to ARIN’s President for review.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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

  1. 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 of candidates on the ARIN website and through the end of the election period.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 and Candidate Speeches

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. 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.).

Candidate Campaign Guidelines

Candidates 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.

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.

ARIN Election Processes