Election Notice: Board Seat 12

Date
03 February 2025

This election notice provides information about the ccNSO election for Board Seat 12. Voting will open on Tuesday, 4 February 2025, at 00:01 UTC, and close on Tuesday, 18 February 2025, at 23:59 UTC.

New: A list of Countries/Territories involved in the Board nomination process for Seat 12 (FY25) will be published, showing which voted and their ICANN Region.

Candidates and Q&A

Following the call for nominations, two candidates — Byron Holland and Nick Wenban-Smith — were nominated, seconded, and accepted their nominations before the deadline, in accordance with the applicable rules. One additional nominee declined. Both candidates submitted their statements to the ccNSO, and the required due diligence was completed.

Byron and Nick have already participated in a Q&A session at ICANN 81. They are also scheduled to take part in a virtual Q&A on Tuesday, 4 February 2025 at 14:00 UTC with ccNSO members and the broader ccTLD community.

Election opening and closing

An election will now take place, as outlined in the relevant guidelines. Voting will open on Tuesday, 4 February 2025 at 00:01 UTC and close on Tuesday, 18 February 2025 at 23:59 UTC according to the timeline previously agreed by the ccNSO Council. This election is for one (1) seat.

The ccNSO Council and ccNSO members have agreed that ccNSO members will nominate and elect candidates for the two ICANN Board seats allocated to the ccNSO. The winner of this election will then be formally nominated to the ICANN Board by a majority vote of the ccNSO Council.

Voters and ballots

ccTLD Managers who are members of the ccNSO at least one day before the formal Election Notice is distributed are eligible to vote through their Emissaries. The ccNSO Emissaries will receive their voting ballots via email from tally@icann.org by 23:30 UTC on Monday, 3 February 2025. If you are unable to locate the ballot, please consider checking your spam folder, or email the Nomination Process Manager, Joke Braeken at joke.braeken@icann.org

Each eligible Emissary will receive one unique ballot, following the principle of "one vote per Country/Territory." One day prior to vote start, the ccNSO counted 179 members, representing 177 Territories, with 177 Emissaries eligible to vote. Emissaries are eligible to vote in specific cases outlined in Article 10 & Annex B of the ICANN Bylaws, as well as the Internal Rules and Procedures of the ccNSO.

The ballot will include the names of the candidates and the option "None of the Above", which was added at the request of ccNSO members. Selecting "None of the Above" indicates that a ccTLD Manager believes that none of the candidates listed are qualified to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors.

Election Procedure

Each Emissary can vote an unlimited number of times, but only the last vote submitted will be counted.

There is no quorum requirement for this voting. As per section 3.7 of the applicable guideline: "The Candidate(s) that receive(s the plurality of the votes cast by the ccNSO members, shall be the Candidate(s) who is(are) elected to be nominated by the ccNSO Council. If the plurality of the votes cast is "None of the Above" the Nomination Process shall be terminated and section 3.9 applies".

In the event of a tied vote, a run-off election vote or votes will be held as per the timeline adopted by the ccNSO Council.

When the results are displayed, votes are identified only by the ballot ID and not by the voter's email address. A list of Countries or Territories involved in the Board nomination process for Seat 12 (FY25) will be published here, showing which voted and their ICANN Region.

Next steps

The election will close on Tuesday, 18 February 2025, at 23:59 UTC. The Nomination Process Manager will announce the voting results on Wednesday, 19 February 2025, no later than 23:59 UTC.

The Nomination Process Manager will compile the voting results, along with any relevant issues or events related to this Nomination Process, into a Nomination Report. This report will be submitted to the ccNSO Council for adoption. Once the Nomination Report is adopted, the Nomination Process will formally conclude, and the Empowered Community Administration (ECA) and ICANN's Secretary will be notified of the results.

ICANN Board

The Board provides the ICANN organization's strategic oversight, ensuring that it acts within its mission and operates effectively, efficiently, and ethically. The Board also oversees and considers community-developed policy recommendations.

Board members are selected from across the community in a bottom-up approach by their peers. The Board is composed of 16 directors and 4 non-voting liaisons, from different geographies and with expertise relevant to ICANN's mission.

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