Foundation/Local Chapters/United States/Elections/2021
Election to the Board
What is the Board?
OpenStreetMap US is governed by a board of directors made up of five individuals. All five positions are up for election each year. To find out more about board activities, keep an eye out for an upcoming town hall with current board members.
Vacancies
All five board seats are subject to this election. Current board:
- Jubal Harpster
- Martijn van Exel
- Daniela Waltersdorfer
- Minh Nguyen
- Alyssa Wright
2021 Election Schedule
- January 1 - Nominations Open
- January 19 - 7pm ET - Town Hall with existing Board members - Register here for the join link
- January 24 - Nominations Close at midnight EST
- January 27 - 8pm ET - Town Hall with Candidates via Zoom. Please register here for the join information.
- January 29 - Deadline to become a member to vote by midnight EST
- February 1 - Voting Opens at Noon EST - Members will receive a ballot via email
- February 7 - Voting Closes at Midnight EST
How do I vote?
At the beginning of the election period all members of OpenStreetMap US will receive a ballot link at their registered email address. You can join OpenStreetMap US prior to the election week and by January 29. If you're not sure about your membership status or your registered email, please get in touch with us at membership@openstreetmap.us.
How do I learn more about candidates?
There will be a town hall meeting with the 2020 board on January 19th via Zoom or telephone to discuss what it's like being on the board and learn more about OpenStreetMap US. Candidates are encouraged to join.
There will be a town hall meeting with the 2021 board candidates the week of January 25th via Zoom/telephone. Have your questions ready for candidates.
Every candidate is also required to submit a position statement to be linked below and has the option to provide answers to community questions posted below.
Nominations
- Nominations will be open from January 1 until Sunday January 24. This wiki page has been provided for recording nominations.
- Nominees must provide position statements upon nomination via links on this wiki page, or a statement embedded in the table above.
- A Nominee who withdraws should not remove their name from the wiki page, but rather clearly note that they decline by editing the page.
- A current officer of OSM US will verify that nominees are members before the election starts. A nominee may join OSM US at any time before the end of the nomination period to become eligible (note that the nominee must be fully paid up by January 29, 2021).
A valid nomination will include:
- a name posted on this wiki page
- a position statement or link to a position statement on this wiki page
- All of the above by January 24, 2021 (based on the wiki timestamp of the last edit)
- Independent verification of current membership (this can happen at any time before the start of the election and is not the responsibility of the Nominee)
Elections
- Only paid members of OpenStreetMap US can vote. You must be a member or renew your membership by January 29, 2021.
- The election voting period will start on Monday February 1 and end Sunday February 7.
- Members who renew their membership or are members before the end of elections can vote. Voting members will receive links via email to the voting website
- Paid OpenStreetMap US members will receive, via email, a unique link to a voting page. This will be sent to the email address associated with their entry in OSM US membership records.
- Voters may vote for up to 5 nominees to the board.
- One independent monitor will come from the greater OSM community. The monitor shall not be a current board member or candidate for the OSM US board. They will have access to the voting website in order to verify that the vote has been correctly counted and reported.
- Tiebreaker: should there be a tie for the final board seat, those members clearly elected to the new board will decide how to break the tie. The board members selected by this group must be from the nominees who are tied.
Candidates
Candidates can nominate themselves or someone else starting January 1, 2021 until midnight PST January 24, 2021 by adding their name to this list. If a nominee chooses to withdraw, please leave your name on the page and add (Withdrawn) after it. An individual seconding the nomination is not required, but recommended. To learn more about candidates, review their position statement below. Candidates - please post a link to your position statement no later than January 24 at midnight PST.
| Results | Nominee | Nomination Seconded | Position Statement | OSM US Member Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected | Martijn van Exel | Matthew Gibb | On my user page | 2011 (confirmed) |
| Elected | Jubal Harpster | Matthew Gibb | 2021 Position | 2016 (confirmed) |
| Elected | Diane Fritz | User:Mvexel | 2021 Position | 2020 (confirmed) |
| Russ Biggs | Arlo James Barnes (talk) | 2021 Position | 2019 (confirmed) | |
| Elected | Daniela Waltersdorfer | User:Mvexel | Consideration for OSMUS Board | 2016 (confirmed) |
| Elected | Minh Nguyen | Arlo James Barnes (talk) | Position statement | 2015 (confirmed) |
Independent Observer
This year's election will be overseen by independent observer Ian Dees.
Vote on OpenStreetMap US Bylaws Changes
This year members will also vote on an amendment to the OpenStreetMap US Bylaws. This amendment would extend the board term to 2 years instead of 1 and introduce the ability to staggered terms of service. This change is being proposed for the following reasons:
- Establishing term limits and staggered terms provides a better balance and continuity of board members
- Term limits also give boards the chance to give those hard working board members a mandatory 'vacation'
- Two-year terms give board members more time to grow into their roles, leading to longer institutional memory and continuity of leadership
Amendments to the Bylaws require approval by two-thirds (⅔) majority vote of a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of all members in good standing having voted, so please vote!
In the previous election, the two proposals had well over the ⅔ majority support that was required, but they did not achieve the 50% turnout of the OSM US membership in order to pass. Only 37% of our members voted in this election, making it impossible to change the bylaws in this election. If you are a member, please vote!
Results
The membership elected Martijn van Exel, Jubal Harpster, Diane Fritz, Daniela Waltersdorfer, and Minh Nguyen as the next board.
The proposal to amend the bylaws had well over the ⅔ majority support that was required, but did not achieve the 50% turnout of the OSM US membership in order to pass. 46% of our members voted in this election, making it impossible to change the bylaws in this election.
The results are listed below:
| ||||||||||