Policy for absentee votes in the Institute of Technology

Adopted March 10, 2006

The UW Handbook provides guidance to departments wishing to establish procedures for absentee votes. The relevant sections are quoted below. The criteria for employment actions (opportunity to vote, secrecy of vote, impartiality of vote count) are general principles that we should ensure for all votes, not just employment actions.

Determining what votes are by absentee ballot

An absentee vote can only be taken for a proposal that has been made and seconded at an Institute program meeting. A vote will be made by absentee if a motion to do so is approved by a quorum majority of voting members present. The motion must include when voting begins and ends. The vote can begin at any time after the end of the meeting, and can end no sooner than 48 hours (not counting weekends) from the start of the vote. Every attempt should be made to include enough time so that all eligible faculty members will have the opportunity to vote. At the time the motion is approved, the faculty should also appoint vote counters, whose role is described below. A proposal will pass if it receives a quorum majority of the votes cast. "Quorum majority" is defined in Section 23-46 of the UW Handbook.

Notification of an absentee vote

Prior to the start of the vote, voting faculty will be notified by email by the program Director of the beginning and ending times of the vote, the exact wording of the proposal that is being voted on, the location where votes can be cast, and the staff member (called the Vote Administrator) administering the vote.

Administration of the vote

For each vote, a staff person will be designated the Vote Administrator (VA). The VA will keep a ballot box under lock and key during the balloting. The VA will make ballots that include both the exact wording of the proposal and a set of checkboxes for each of the choice alternatives (e.g. APPROVE, NOT APPROVE). The VA will have a list of all voting faculty, and will use this list to ensure that faculty can vote at most once. Faculty are not required to vote. The VA should not reveal the names of any of the faculty members who have voted to anyone. Any record of faculty who voted should be destroyed immediately after the votes have been counted. As a courtesy, one hour prior to the end of the vote, the VA will send an announcement that the voting will be ending in one hour to all voting faculty. Failure to send this email does not invalidate the vote. At the end of the vote, the ballot box will be turned over to the vote counters. At least two vote counters must be present, and will include at least one voting faculty member and at least one staff member. The number of ballots in the box must match the number of faculty members voting as recorded by the VA. If these numbers do not match, then the vote is invalid. The vote counters will report the results of the vote to the voting faculty immediately after the count. The ballots will then be destroyed.

Phone and email votes

Some eligible faculty members who cannot be physically present for the absentee vote may still wish to vote. These faculty members can cast a ballot either by telephoning or emailing the Vote Administrator and conveying their vote choice. If the VA can confidently verify that the faculty member is who he/she claims, then the VA will fill out a ballot with this faculty member's choice and place it in the box. After the ballot has been cast, the email should be deleted. Note that the confidentiality of the ballot cannot be guaranteed for phone or email votes.

References to the Faculty Code

Section 23-46 Prescribed Procedure in Colleges, Schools, and Departments

A. Except as provided in Subsections B and C, a proposed action or proposed rule of a college, school, or department faculty under the authority of Sections 23-43 and 23-44 is effective if passed by a quorum majority of its voting members present at a meeting or responding by mail, or of its authorized council or committee, and if approved by the dean. Approval by the dean is not required in internal department matters.

"Quorum majority" means:

  1. in the case of a vote taken at a meeting, a majority of those members voting at a meeting at which at least half the members entitled to vote are present; and
  2. in the case of a vote taken by mailed (written) ballots, a majority of those voting, provided that at least half of the members entitled to vote have cast ballots.

Section 23-46 of the UW Handbook

C. When a proposed action concerns a faculty employment recommendation, such as appointment, reappointment, tenure, or promotion, it will be effective only if passed by a majority of all eligible voting members of the unit, and in accordance with the appropriate procedures as specified in Sections 24-51 to 24-55 and 25-41.

D. Colleges, schools, and departments may vote by mail in matters of faculty employment, provided that they use specific procedures they have adopted and published and that these procedures provide for:

  1. reasonable opportunity for each faculty member of the unit to study all information relevant to the employment action,
  2. secrecy and security of the ballot, and
  3. security and impartiality of the ballot count.