[Foundation-l] Notice of the results of the WMF Board of Trustees election

[Stephen Bain]

On 7/13/07, Ray Saintonge <saintonge at telus.net> wrote:
> >
> I wouldn't blame either the WMF or the election committee for this.  We
> aren't running a kindergarten.  If eligible voters can't be bothered to
> look when an election is advertised in all reasonable places, they get
> the result they deserve.

That presumes that people know when the election is going to happen in
the first place. This election was not advertised in all reasonable
places; it was not mentioned in the anonnotice, for example.

> Democratic institutions are not about the responsibilities of the ruling
> structure, but about the responsibilities of the citizenry.  Do
> countries which make voting obligatory get any better results?

We get very good turnouts here in Australia. It's much rarer for a
leader to be elected on 25% of the possible vote than it is in a
voluntary system.

-- 
Stephen Bain
stephen.bain at gmail.com