IEEE P1850 IEEE-SA Sponsor Ballot Primer 5 April 2005 Presented by Andy Ickowicz & Noelle Humenick IEEE Standards Activities

Sponsor Ballot Group l Those entities who review and vote on the document (along with coordination entities) l Formed from those entities/corporations who have returned a ballot invitation l Must be “balanced,” i.e., not dominated by any single interest group (less than 50%) l Balance must be approved by Sponsor Chair prior to sponsor ballot l One primary voting representative, and one (optional) alternate voting representative l Must be identified by corporate member representative upon return of ballot invitation sign-up l Ballot shall be accepted from primary or alternate l If received from both, primary’s vote will be only vote counted l If alternate offers different comments from primary (unlikely but possible), those comments shall be addressed l Each primary and alternate voter can represent one entity only l Once formed, a ballot group cannot change

Sponsor Ballot Group Obligations l Agree to l Pay the appropriate fees associated with balloting privileges l Review the document in question and return ballots and comments on the document by the specified deadline l Remain members of the ballot group for the life of the ballot l Should have technical knowledge of the standard’s subject matter

Sponsor Balloting

l BALANCE (of the balloting group) l CONSENSUS (voting on the draft) l Due Process l Openness l Right of Appeal Sponsor Balloting

Starting the Sponsor Ballot l IEEE P1850 WG Chair must submit l Ballot Initiation form -sub-form.html l WG Chair may add material to ballot announcement that is specific to that particular ballot or create a separate detailed cover letter that may be included with the ballot file package l Draft document to be balloted in PDF format to IEEE Staff

Issuing Sponsor Ballots l An is sent from the e-balloting system to the IEEE P1850 ballot group l Contains instructions on how to ballot l Voting requires use of 8-digit IEEE-SA number of each entity l Includes ballot timelines, URLs for voting, registering comments, and downloading the document and any comment resolution forms

Voting & Comments l A ballot typically remains open for a 30- day period l The ballot announcement will indicate the closing date (midnight Eastern time) l Ballots received after the closing date will not be recorded l If a 75% return has not been achieved, the ballot can be extended for up to 60 days or until the return rate is met

Voting & Comments (cont.) l Comments are accepted by the e-balloting system through file upload or one at a time l IEEE P1850 WG and IEEE-SA Staff may work together to create a specialized comment collection tool (open discussion) l Non-voting entities may submit comments on the draft during sponsor ballot; non-voting entity comments shall be submitted via to the IEEE-SA Balloting Center l Draft designation should be prominently displayed in subject line of l Non-voting individual comments will not be accepted on entity ballots l The WG Chair will get an as each balloter casts their vote and submits comments. l As this is an entity ballot, only entities may vote l Votes will only be accepted from entities who signed up to vote on the sponsor ballot before the close of ballot invitation

Voting & Comment Tips l There is no difference in handling a technical or editorial comment related to a negative vote l They have to be treated the same l Ballots with negative votes should contain comments explaining the negative vote, and a proposed resolution l If you entered your vote in error, contact the IEEE-SA Balloting Center immediately

Sponsor Ballot Closing l The ballot closes at midnight Eastern time on the closing date indicated on the ballot form l Balloting Center Staff will provide the Sponsor Chair and WG Chair the results (ballot summary) within 3 business days

Sponsor Ballot Summary l The IEEE P1850 ballot summary will contain l A tally of the voting, along with a calculation of return rate and abstention rate percentages l A roster of all votes, and whether any comments were submitted l For a successful ballot (consensus) l 75% return rate l 75% approval rate l Less than 30% abstain

Recirculation Ballots l A recirculation ballot is required if: l Technical/substantive changes were made since the last draft was balloted l Unresolved/rejected negative votes or comments remain l The results of a recirculation ballot may produce additional recirculations for the same reasons as an initial ballot l A modified PAR is required if you change the TITLE, SCOPE or PURPOSE

Recirculation Ballots (cont.) l Recirculation ballots are conducted like the initial ballot, except l Voters may only comment/vote on changed areas of the draft l There is no obligation to return the ballot unless voters wish to change their original vote

Additional Resources l IEEE Standards Development Online l IEEE Standards Companion l IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual

Questions for IEEE-SA Staff or the IEEE-SA Balloting Center? Christina Sahr, Balloting Manager Balloting Center Noelle Humenick, Coordinating Program Manager Andy Ickowicz, Program Manager, Technical Program Development