Balloting & Handling Negative Votes www.astm.org

General Overview of Different Levels of Balloting The Committee on Standards (COS) Main Committee Ballot / Society Review Subcommittee Ballot

Balance and Voting vs. Non Voting Status www.astm.org // 3

Balance of Interest User & General Interest Producer ASTM Technical Committees must be balanced. Ensures no excess influence by any interest group. 4

Voting Official Vote 1 official vote per voting interest (organization) Official Vote applies to percent return, voting on not persuasive motions at a meeting or by ballot, motion to submit an item for ballot, and achieving quorum requirements Voting Interest – ASTM Regulations - 6.1.2 voting interest, n—an organization, a subsidiary of an organization, or an unassociated individual member having a distinctly separate interest from any other interest with regard to the scope of a committee or subcommittee. All are welcome to participate in technical discussions All members receive a ballot and are eligible to vote on technical issues All members’ negatives must be considered

The Subcommittee Ballot www.astm.org // 6

Subcommittee Ballot Purpose of Subcommittee Ballot New Standards Major Revisions See Section 11.1 of ASTM Regulations on Issuance of Subcommittee Ballot The development of an initial ASTM work product generally occurs at the task group level. During this phase, an electronic work item is registered and displayed on a public section of the ASTM Web site showing the scope and timing of the effort. Following this drafting stage, the formal balloting process begins. All new standards and major revisions to existing standards must undergo at least one subcommittee ballot cycle before moving forward.

Subcommittee Ballot Qualifications Authorization of Subcommittee Ballots Sub chairman Motion at Meeting Ballot Open for Minimum of 30 Days Qualifications for Valid Subcommittee Ballot – 60% return and 2/3 affirmative All ballot items must include a rationale Late ballot returns forwarded for information only Subcommittee ballots are authorized in one of two ways: by the subcommittee chair, or by motion at a subcommittee meeting. T The subcommittee level is where the initial review of the item occurs and where the membership is generally most knowledgeable in the topic at hand. At this stage, the author typically learns quickly whether their standards proposal is acceptable to colleagues or if it needs additional work. In order for a subcommittee ballot to be valid, two statistical requirements must be met: at least 60 percent of voting members must return ballot responses and a two-thirds affirmative rate must be achieved. The affirmative rate statistic captures the subcommittee’s confidence in the ballot item by determining how many affirmative votes were cast, out of the total of both negative and affirmative votes on the document. Abstentions are not included in this tally. These requirements ensure that a majority of members have reviewed and support the ballot item. All negatives votes cast on a ballot item must be considered by the subcommittee, which is a concept that we will cover later in this module.

Sub Ballot Notification Email All members on the relevant committee will receive the following notification when a new ballot opens. It is important to add the domain “astm.org” to your white list so that your ballot notifications and other relevant ASTM emails do not end up in your spam folder. If you follow me through the next few slides, I will walk you through how to view a ballot through your MyASTM member page on the website.

Viewing a Ballot Once you have logged into your member account on the website, you will be given choices on your home page. To access all Committee related information, click on MyCommittees. If you have any open ballots right now, there will be a red box with a number. You can see that in my screen shot in the right hand tool bar under My Outstanding Ballots. That link is active and can take you directly to the ballot. You can also access the ballot by clicking on ballots under the respective committee.

Here is an example of a subcommittee ballot which I am sure is familiar to most of you. This page was recently enhanced with an HTML comment box which will help make your comments much clearer.

Writing a Negative Clearly delineate each objection — if you have concerns with five different parts of a test method, keep them separate, clearly supporting each point Reference the specific section, paragraph and sentence (where appropriate) to which you object Be as detailed as possible about the reason for your negative vote Suggest alternative wording Clarify points by copying text from the ballot Separate any comments from your negative that are not intended to be part of your negative Your negative has to be written in a manner that is stands alone without further explanation required. Subcommittee is only required to act upon the written statement Call the technical contact to discuss your negative There is no requirement in ASTM for the technical contact to call/contact the negative voter.

The Importance of Being Complete! Negative Adjudication Options This Can Happen at a Meeting: A Technical Contact will Review your Negative A Motion of Not Persuasive may be made on theNegative The Rationale of Not Persuasive must be presented Discussion: At a meeting, there is dialogue and the ability to sometimes provide additional input from both parties and a compromise resolution may be found. The Vote will be taken This Can Happen via Online Balloting: A Technical Contact will review the Negative Permission to adjudicate via ballot must be given The negative and the Not Persuasive Rationale are put in the ballot template There is no opportunity for additional Discussion, your Negative stands completely as written, so be Clear and Complete in your original writings!!! 11/14/2018

Submitting an Online Negative

We recently enhanced the balloting experience with an HTML box We recently enhanced the balloting experience with an HTML box. When adding a comment or negative statement, you can now use formatting features such as bold, strike through and so on. We are not quite at the point where the HTML box will accept track changes from the word document but we are definitely heading the right direction. You can also upload a file that contains track changes if you would like. Another feature to keep in mind is “add another comment” - - this feature is especially great for really long ballot items, such as a brand new standard and you are viewing the entire document. You can now go section by section with your comment instead of grouping into one entire commentary. It is a really great new feature and will definitely help with clarifying and resolving negatives down the road.

Subcommittee Ballot Results Ballot Results Summary Negatives and Comments are posted online with 24 hour updates Technical contact is notified when new comments or negatives are available Subcommittee chairman has access in MyASTM section of web also Closing Report includes links to all the comments and negatives after the ballot closes ASTM will generate the ballot results and summarize them in an electronic closing report which will be available several days following the closing date of the ballot. If you voted negative or left a comment with your vote, it does take 24 hours for that to appear. The closing report contains all ballot item information, including the return and percent affirmative rates, the number of affirmative, negative and abstaining votes cast and the names of all negative voters and commenters. The full text of all negative votes and comments received for each item is also included in these reports. If you follow me on the next few slides, I will show you how to access the closing reports.

My ASTM Again - - once you have logged into your MyASTM member area via the ASTM website, click on My Committees. Under the relevant committee, click on Ballots.

My Ballots Click on View Closed Ballots/Closing Reports.

Closed Ballots/Closing Report Here you will be able to view the closing report online or you can download a PDF copy of it.

Closing Report – Web Version

Closing Report - PDF

Negatives The next two slides are examples of the Negative and Affirmative with Comment PDF’s that you will see on some of your closing reports. It includes the contact information of the voter in case you as the subcommittee chairman or the technical contact need to reach out for clarification.

Affirmative with Comments In this example, you can see the “file attachment”.

Six Resolutions of a Negative Vote Persuasive Withdrawn Withdrawn with Editorial Change(s) Not Related Not Persuasive Previously Considered Bob

Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date Persuasive How is this decision reached? General Agreement Lack of a “Not persuasive” motion A “Not Persuasive” Motion does not receive a Second A “Not persuasive” motion fails (does not achieve a 2/3 affirmative) Result of a “Persuasive” Negative Item is removed from ballot The system has been cleared to allow for re-balloting The ballot item may be revised prior to re-balloting What it does NOT Mean! Full agreement or a requirement to do exactly what the negative voters wishes Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date

Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date Withdrawn Withdrawn Withdrawn With Editorial Changes Withdrawn by the voter May withdraw negative at any time Ballot item moves forward Withdrawn by the voter/agreed as editorial Editorial change introduces no change in technical content, but corrects typos or reduces ambiguity After a Subcommittee ballot - If editorial changes are involved, please include for next level of balloting Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date

Finding Against the Negative Voter Not Persuasive Not Related Previously Considered Motion/Second/Rationale 2/3 affirmative vote at a meeting or via ballot Actions of Subcommittee required to be Upheld by 2/3 affirmative vote at Main Committee meeting or via ballot Item will move forward to next level of balloting or to publication. Motion/Second/Rationale 2/3 affirmative vote at a meeting or via ballot Actions of Subcommittee required to be Upheld by 2/3 affirmative vote at Main Committee meeting or via ballot Must be treated as an item of New Business Motion/Second/Rationale 2/3 affirmative vote at a meeting or via ballot Actions of Subcommittee required to be Upheld by 2/3 affirmative vote at Main Committee meeting or via ballot There must be clear documentation that the negative was ruled against at a prior subcommittee meeting. The negative can not contain any new rationales or reasons beyond what was ruled upon prior as NP or NR. Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date

Motion for Not Persuasive The Technical Contact will present the item and will state: “I make the motion to find XX Not persuasive for the following rationale…” It is always a motion to find voter not persuasive; never a motion to find voter persuasive. Must be seconded Discussion Chair or Member calls the question Re-read the Motion rationale Only those with Official Voting status can vote. Announce the result and the Vote Count If the Motion does not receive a second or fails in the vote; the item is removed from ballot with a persuasive negative. See ASTM Regulations: Subcommittee Meeting - 11.4 Subcommittee Handling of Negative Votes Main Committee Meeting - 12.4 Main Committee Handling of Negative Votes Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date

Record of Action Taken Use online negative resolution (ONR) area of the web to document adjudication of negatives The action taken by the subcommittee must be recorded in the subcommittee minutes If an item is found Not Persuasive at the subcommittee ballot level, the negative and rationale must accompany the ballot item to main committee ballot

Helpful Hints for Officers and Tech Contacts Documentation is Key! Address each portion of the negative vote If possible, put your resolution on a written document (Word or PPT) Examples: Use Excel Format for negative votes Create a Q&A document Use side-by-side column format Make sure the minutes accurately reflect the Stated Rationale and Vote Count Provide editorially revised document when resolving a negative vote as withdrawn with editorial changes Submit that revised document in online system or to the D02 Editor! Comments are intended for editorial issues or technical items of new business Choose Insert > Header and Footer to change Date

The Main Committee Ballot Main committee ballots are much like subcommittee ballots, with a few marked differences. www.astm.org // 31

Initiation of Main Committee Ballots Submittal Requirements: For items that had not persuasive negatives on the subcommittee ballot, you must include the following: Name and affiliation of negative voters Negative voters statements Subcommittee negative resolution including rationale Numerical results of the subcommittee ballot Open for 30 Days Simultaneous with Society Review

Balloting Subcommittee and Main Committee at the same time Concurrent Ballots Balloting Subcommittee and Main Committee at the same time Used for revisions, withdrawals, or new standards that have undergone at least one subcommittee ballot Same requirements as Main Committee Ballot Simultaneous with Society Review Concurrent ballots are issued for simultaneous sub- and main committee review. This is typically used for minor revisions, reapprovals or new standards that have already gone through the subcommittee ballot at least once. Concurrent Ballots do require a motion at a meeting or need to have the approval of the subcommittee and main committee chair.

Qualifications for Valid Main Committee / Concurrent Ballots 90% Affirmative of Combined Affirmative & Negative Votes 60% Return Late Ballot Returns Closing Reports Final Ballot Results Disposition of Negatives Affirmative Votes w/ Comments Just like the subcommittee ballot, validity is again dependent on two statistical requirements: the 60-percent return rate and an affirmative rate of 90 percent. The affirmative rate is significantly higher at this level because a main committee ballot is the final level of committee review. The subcommittee should have great confidence at this level that their item will pass successfully and the 90%, if achieved, will support that. Negative votes cast by both main committee and Society members do need to be considered and are addressed first by the subcommittee and then by the main committee. It is important (and a requirement) that both the subcommittee and the main committee are a part of the resolution of any negative.

Society Review In Tandem with Main Committee Ballot Notifications posted on ASTM Website Requirements Disposition of All Negatives As said before, society review occurs in tandem with the Main and/or Concurrent ballot. The ASTM Web site contains listings of all main committee ballot actions under consideration and all Society members have the opportunity to request any of these ballot items for vote and comment. If any negatives are received on Society Review, they do need to be addressed by the committee.

Society Review This is an example of what the website shows for each Society Review. New items are displayed each month. Instructions on how to receive or vote on a ballot item is also included on the website.

Committee on Standards (COS) 9 Member Group Representing ASTM Committees Due Process Appeals Based on Procedural Matters (NOT Technical) COS Ballot Procedures Final Approval

The Three-Step Approach to Handling Negative Votes 1. COMMUNICATION 2. CONSIDERATION 3. DOCUMENTATION

Communication/Consideration/ Documentation Communication – Meeting agendas, correspondence, direct contact between member & negative voter and other documentation Consideration –Both subcommittee and main committee at a meeting or via ballot Documentation – Online negative resolution tool, minutes, correspondence

Online Negative Resolution

Negatives and Comments If you click on the name of the Negative Voter, you can view the negative and rationale for the negative vote. When you are ready to resolve the negative, you will click on Enter Disposition.

Resolution Options Here you will select the resolution. Withdrawn with editorial changes does require an editorially revised document.

Not Persuasive Ruling If you decide to enter a not-persuasive ruling, you will need to enter all of the information including the meeting dates, ballot number and item, ruling, ruling rationale and the vote count. If this was strictly a sub ballot, there would not be a main committee vote count included on this page.

14 November 2018

Single Vote 14 November 2018

Multiple Votes 14 November 2018

Example of Multiple Vote Document 14 November 2018

Helpful Hints Ballot controversial sections individually Use good judgment when balloting sections separately Provide clear and informative cover letter for ballot item(s) Try to contact the negative voter before the meeting

More Hints Address each portion of the negative vote Provide editorially revised document when resolving a negative vote as withdrawn with editorial changes Comments are intended for editorial issues or technical items of new business

Resources RESOURCES ASTM Member and Officer Training Course Balloting & Handling Negatives Votes ASTM Regulations Committee Officer’s Handbook Standardization News Articles When You Do Not Agree: Effective Comments and Negative Votes About Voting Getting Positive Results from Negative Votes Staff Manager – Alyson Fick afick@astm.org or 610-832-9710

Thank you for your attention!