In the Early TDG Stage, local TDGs will be electing their executive committees — and not a representative.
Some of the rules for this election should be in the local TDG constitution. The executive committee should follow these rules. If the executive committee decides to have additional rules, these rules should be agreed before election day and written down. As long as these new rules do not conflict with the constitution, they should be followed.
The constitution should specify how many members should serve on this committee. I recommend somewhere between three and eight.
The constitution should specify a window of when the election is held. For example, it might say “the month of October.” The executive committee will select a date from October 1 to October 31.
The executive committee shall select a venue for the election. In the first year or two, a member’s house should suffice. The executive committee shall also specify a time for polls to open and close.
The constitution should specify a “proper notice” of the election. While this local TDG would be small enough to not need the notice, the executive committee should practice for when the TDG is bigger.
The executive committee shall select at least two members as poll watchers.
The format of the ballots should be write-in names. The constitution should specify how many names the voter can write on the ballot. I recommend at least two names.
When a voter requests a ballot, the poll watchers shall hand a ballot to the voter and cross that voter’s name off the voter’s list. The voter takes the ballot to a private spot in the polling station to write in the names. The voter folds the ballot and deposits that ballot (and nothing else) in the ballot box, with the poll watchers watching.
The TDG is very much about secret ballots. No one should know who voted for whom. Admittedly, the few voters in these first elections may allow handwriting styles to identify voters’ votes. But as the TDG grows, it will be harder to connect ballots to specific voters.
When the polls close, the poll workers shall open the ballot box and count the ballots. This number should be equal to the record of the number of voters who had voted.
Given that the TDG is small, it would be appropriate and practical to allow all interested members to watch the vote counting process.
The poll watchers open each ballot, one-by-one. The names will be read off. Tallies will be set up to record the votes cast.
When all the ballots have been processed, the poll watchers shall confirm the total votes on the tallies are equal to the number of votes cast.
The members with the most votes, up to the number of executive committee members specified in the constitution, shall be deemed as the members of the executive committee.
The constitution should have some mechanism to handle a tie vote. I recommend a random lot.
An example
Let’s assume six TDG builders have written and ratified their constitution and are holding their first election.
This constitution specifies that the executive committee has four members. It also specifies that each member can cast up to two votes.
Obviously, four builders will be part of the executive committee — and two will not. I recommend all six builders prepare themselves mentally for not being selected. I suspect some would hope they are not the on executive committee.
All six members voted. Five members put in two names. One member put in one name. The one-name ballot should not be disqualified. So there are 11 votes in all.
The tally is as follows:
Fred: 5 votes
Wilma: 2 votes
Barny: 2 votes
Betty: 1 vote
Pebbles: 1 vote
Bam-Bam: 0 votes
Fred, Wilma, and Barny would be on the executive committee. The fourth member would be either Betty or Pebbles, based on the tie-breaking mechanism in the constitution.
Flaws in the Election
TDG governance will be a learning process. And we should expect some elections not to go smoothly. I recommend that this local TDG election go with the members who have seemed to have garnered the most votes rather than re-do the election.
If there were flaws in the election, then the new executive committee shall find solutions for the next election. Maybe the constitution needs amending; if so, the constitution should follow its amending process.
The executive committee will be in charge of most of the affairs of the local TDG. The only exceptions are amending the constitution and merging with another TDG. In these matters, the executive committee will be recommending and the membership will be deciding. While consultation with the rank-and-file members is encouraged, the executive committee shall make most of the decisions.
The second tier
When the TDG builds itself up to a second TDG tier, that tier shall take over the functioning of the executive committee. Then each neighborhood will then elect its neighborhood representative: just one name should suffice on the ballot.
Conclusion
The TDG is about creating a new political culture. These early elections may not seem important, but they set the culture for the future.
Published on Medium 2024
