View source for Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Election/Rules

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<div style="text-align:center; font-size:120%;">'''ACERFC decisions to date''' ({{no redirect|WP:ACERULES}})</div> 
{{see also|Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee election requests for comment}}
*'''Election:'''  There will be 15 arbitrators, seven seats on "Tranche Alpha" and eight seats on "Tranche Beta" from the 2019 elections.<ref name="2019NOA">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Number of arbitrators|2019#Number of arbitrators]]</ref> A maximum eight 2-year terms are up for elections each year,<ref name="2013LOT">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013#Length of terms|2013#Length of terms]]</ref> with the eighth seat switching tranche if necessary.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013#Handling of the 8th Vacant Seat|2013#Handling of the 8th Vacant Seat]]</ref> Any expected midterm vacancy, announced before voting begins and taking effect prior to 1 January,<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How should vacancies be handled?|2012#How should vacancies be handled?]]; [[Wikipedia talk:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2022#Arb step down|2022 talk page discussion]]</ref> that brings the total number of vacancies above eight will be filled by a 1-year term.<ref name="2013LOT"/> A minimum 50% support is required to be elected for a 1-year term, and a minimum 60% support is required for a 2-year term.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2018#Percentage support needed for appointment|2018#Percentage support needed for appointment]]</ref> Successful candidates with the lowest support percentages are given the 1-year term if any.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How many seats should be 2-year terms, and how many 1-year terms?|2012#How many seats should be 2-year terms, and how many 1-year terms?]]</ref> If there are more vacancies than candidates with the required minimum, the extra seats will remain unfilled until a special or the next regular election.<ref name="2019NOA" /> Vacancies arising between elections will remain unfilled until a special or the next regular election.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Runners-up to step up to fill vacancies|2019#Runners-up to step up to fill vacancies]]</ref>
*'''Special Election:''' An interim special election which is called by the Arbitration Committee in accordance with the [[Wikipedia:Arbitration/Policy|Arbitration Policy]] shall be conducted on an abbreviated timeline.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Procedures for emergency elections|2019#Procedures for emergency elections]]</ref>
**Electoral Commission: The previous Election Commission shall be reappointed unless they are unable or unwilling to perform the job, in which case members of the current functionaries team who are not arbitrators or WMF staff will be asked to volunteer without the need for confirmation. The Election Commission is empowered to resolve by majority vote situations unforeseen in the previous election RfC that may prevent emergency or interim elections from being held.
**Nominations period: One week.
**Voting period: As soon as possible after the close of nominations.
**Terms of office: To the end of the year.
**Number of vacancies: Up to the size of the committee authorized in the previous election RfC.{{efn-lg|As the number of arbitrators cannot be increased, this procedure is only applicable when arbitrators resign or are removed from their position.}}
*'''Candidates:''' Registered account with 500 mainspace edits<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2023#"Candidates" bullet point|2023#"Candidates" bullet point]]</ref> that is not prevented from submitting their candidacy by a block or ban,<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013#Blocking candidates|2013#Blocking candidates]]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2023#Blocks and bans which disqualify candidates|2023#Blocks and bans which disqualify candidates]]</ref> meets Foundation's Access to nonpublic personal data policy,{{efn-lg|name="WMF"|WMF's policy.}} and has disclosed alternate accounts (or disclosed legitimate accounts to Arbcom).<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#What should the requirements be for candidates to run for the election?|2012#What should the requirements be for candidates to run for the election?]]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#Disclosure of Previous/Alternate Accounts of the candidates|2014#Disclosure of Previous/Alternate Accounts of the candidates]]</ref> Arbitrators may not serve as members of either the [[Meta:Ombuds Commission|Ombuds Commission]] or the [[Meta:Trust and Safety/Case Review Committee|WMF Case Review Committee]] while serving as arbitrators.<ref>{{section link|Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)/Archive 159|RFC: Multiple roles for active arbitrators}}</ref> Withdrawn or disqualified candidates will be listed in their own section on the candidates page<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Withdrawn/disqualified candidates|2019#Withdrawn/disqualified candidates]]</ref> unless their candidate page can be deleted under [[WP:G7]].<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Withdrawn candidates|2020#Withdrawn candidates]]</ref>
*'''Electoral Commission:''' An RFC to appoint 3 Electoral Commission officials who will solve disputes and problems during the election.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How should we deal with unforeseen problems?|2012#How should we deal with unforeseen problems?]]</ref> Open to any extended-confirmed editor who is over 18, meets Foundation's Access to nonpublic personal data policy, and is not blocked or banned from the Wikipedia or Wikipedia talk namespaces.<ref name="2024-EC-qualifications">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024#Proposal 3: Change qualifications for the Electoral Commission|2024 § Proposal 3: Change qualifications for the Electoral Commission]]</ref> Officials will not be allowed to assess private matters and/or have access to voter data, and/or related permissions, and will instead defer private matters to the current ArbCom and/or the WMF as needed.{{efn-lg|name="WMF"}}<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Electoral commission's scope of purview/access|2019#Electoral commission's scope of purview/access]]</ref> Commissioners, and reserve commissioners, may not run for election to the Arbitration Committee during their term.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How should we deal with unforeseen problems?|2012#How should we deal with unforeseen problems?]]</ref>
*'''Timeline:''' In the event of significant technical or other issues affecting the election, the election commissioners may adjust the deadline of the affected part(s) of the election process, and/or any subsequent parts, by a commensurate amount.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Deadlines|2020#Deadlines]]</ref>
**ACE RFC: (30 days of September)
**Electoral Commission RFC: 7 days nominations during a pre-RfC drafting process,<ref name="2020Commission">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Commission2a|2020#Commission2a]]</ref> 7 days evaluation, selection by 7 days after close of evaluation.{{efn-lg|No community evaluation is allowed until the RFC has been opened.<ref name="2020Commission" />}}<ref name="2014HSTSOTECBC">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#How should the selection of the election commission be conducted?|2014#How should the selection of the election commission be conducted?]]</ref> (October)
**Nominations: first Sunday of November (10 days)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024#Proposal 2: Start nomination process one week earlier|2024 § Proposal 2: Start nomination process one week earlier]]</ref>
***Nomination is hard deadline for creation and transclusion of nomination statement. How to handle any site-wide disruption is at the discretion of the Electoral Commission.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2015#How should nomination deadlines be handled?|2015#How should nomination deadlines be handled?]]</ref> The self-nomination will only be considered completed if both the nomination page has been created, and the page has been properly transcluded to the candidates page prior to the cut-off time as recorded by the server. Candidate directions should suggest not attempting to perform this activity very close to the cut-off time, so there will be time to recover should any user or technical errors occur.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Nomination timing|2020#Nomination timing]]</ref>
**Fallow period: (5 days)<ref name="2013S">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013#Schedule|2013#Schedule]]</ref>
**Voting period: (14 days)<ref name="2013S"/>
***Voting starts at 00:00 UTC on the second business day of the week in San Francisco (in San Francisco local time, 4 PM on the first business day of the week).<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Voting start date|2021#Voting start date]]</ref>
**Scrutineering: No deadline for releasing or announcing the results.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#Deadline for releasing the results|2012#Deadline for releasing the results]]</ref>
*'''Guides:''' Allowed<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides7a|2020#Guides7a]]</ref> but with [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How should voter guides be handled for the election?|some strong suggestions]].<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#How should voter guides be handled for the election|2012#How should voter guides be handled for the election?]]</ref> Must be allowed reasonable visibility.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#Should voter guides be included in the official template?|2014#Should voter guides be included in the official template?]]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides8a|2020#Guides8a]]</ref> In the case of dispute about the content of an election guide, the election commissioners are empowered to make a binding decision for the purpose of ensuring a fair election and compliance with acceptable uses of election guides. Such decisions are to be based on core Wikipedia policies and guidelines, Arbitration Committee Election RFC decisions and their own discretion.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides2a|2020#Guides2a]]</ref> The electoral commissioners can remove content from guides, including (partially) blanking a guide, add official commentary to guides, and remove a guide from the official templates and/or categories.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides3|2020#Guides3]]</ref> Candidates do not have an explicit right of reply to comments about them made in election guides.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides4a|2020#Guides4a]]</ref> The content of election guides must comply with all relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines, including but not limited to [[Wikipedia:No personal attacks]] and [[Wikipedia:Civility]].<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides5a|2020#Guides5a]]</ref> Any editor may add guides to official templates or categories for guides.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Guides6a|2020#Guides6a]]</ref> A candidate who writes a guide must declare in the guide that they are a candidate.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Guides written by candidates|2021#Guides written by candidates]]</ref>
*'''General Guide:''' [[Wikipedia:5 Minute guide to ArbCom Elections]] created and advertised.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2018#Write a short general guide to voting|2018#Write a short general guide to voting]]</ref>
*'''Voter Suffrage:''' {{anchor|voter-suffrage}}A voter needs 150 mainspace edits on English Wikipedia by 1 November, 10 live edits on English Wikipedia (in any namespace) within one year of 1 November, and to have registered an account before 1 October,<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Voter activity requirements|2019#Voter activity requirements]]</ref> not currently sitewide<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Partially blocked voters|2021#Partially blocked voters]]</ref> blocked at the time of voting.<ref name="2012WSTRBTVITE">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#What should the requirements be to vote in the election?|2012#What should the requirements be to vote in the election?]]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2011#What should the requirements be to vote in the election?|2011#What should the requirements be to vote in the election?]]</ref> These requirements must be met from the same named account.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Suffrage2a|2020#Suffrage2a]]</ref> Vanished or renamed users carrying the name "Vanished" or "Renamed" are excluded from eligibility to vote.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Voter suffrage|2020#Voter suffrage]]</ref> Bots are excluded from eligibility to vote.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Voter suffrage - exclude bots|2021#Voter suffrage - exclude bots]]</ref>
*'''Voting System:''' Voting system of (Support/Abstain/Oppose) will be used<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests_for_comment/Arbitration_Committee_Elections_December_2017#Should_oppose_votes_be_abolished?|2017#Should_oppose_votes_be_abolished?]]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024#Proposal 1: Rename neutral option to abstain|2024 § Proposal 1: Rename neutral option to abstain]]</ref> with percentages calculated via Support/(Support + Oppose).<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#What should the method of voting be?|2012#What should the method of voting be?]]</ref> Secret ballots<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#Secret balloting?|2012#Secret balloting?]]</ref> via SecurePoll will be used.{{efn-lg|De facto since 2009.}} If a candidate withdraws from the election between the start of voting and the end of voting, then the final results will be calculated as if the withdrawn candidate never ran.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Withdrawn candidates|2021#Withdrawn candidates]]</ref>
*'''Scrutineering:''' 3 functionaries{{efn-lg|Stewards de facto since pre-2012}} from outside en.wiki as scrutineers.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2015#Should adjustments be made to expedite the election results?|2015#Should adjustments be made to expedite the election results?]]</ref> Scrutineers will strike all the votes cast by any sockmaster who voted multiple times, independent of whether the editor was blocked before or after casting the votes.<ref name="2022Scrutineers">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2022#Proposal 3: Striking of votes by sockpuppeteers|2022#Striking of votes by sockpuppeteers]]</ref>
*'''Ordering:''' The order of candidates is shuffled randomly whenever the page is [[WP:PURGE|purged]].<ref name="2022Ordering">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2022#Proposal 11: List of candidates on the Candidates page is shuffled randomly when it is purged (current status quo)|2022#List of candidates on the Candidates page is shuffled randomly when it is purged (current status quo)]]</ref>{{efn-lg|Consensus found on the [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Order of candidate listing|2020 ACE]] is repealed due to the technical inability to apply it.}} Candidates are also ordered randomly on the ballot.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2016#Should the names of candidates appear in randomized order, and if not, how should they be ordered?|2016#Should the names of candidates appear in randomized order, and if not, how should they be ordered?]]</ref>
*'''Warning:''' Potential candidates are warned of risks from standing for election with message similar to that on [[WP:CUOS2015]] to be incorporated into the candidate instructions page.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2016#Should we warn the candidates about the risks involved?|2016#Should we warn the candidates about the risks involved?]]</ref>
*'''Questions:'''  No standard questions for every candidates.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#The standard questions|2014#The standard questions]]</ref> There is a limit of 2 questions per editor per candidate, with reasonable{{efn-lg|In the case of dispute about what is a reasonable follow-up question the Election Commissioner's decision is final.<ref name="2020Questions" />}} follow-up questions.<ref name="2020Questions">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#Questions to candidates|2020#Questions to candidates]]</ref> Questions can only be posed to candidates after the nomination period is over.<ref name="2022Questions">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2022#Proposal 2: Start questions to candidates after nomination period ends|2022#Start questions to candidates after nomination period ends]]</ref> Candidates are not obligated to answer every question.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#Should there be a limit to the number of questions posed to candidates.3F|2014#Should there be a limit to the number of questions posed to candidates?]]</ref> Electoral Commission (as a group, not individually) have the discretion to remove offensive (e.g. [[WP:POLEMIC]]-style statements) or off-topic questions from question pages, following discussion among the Electoral Commission members,<ref name="2017SECMBATRQWA">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2017#Should election committee members be allowed to remove questions where appropriate?|2017#Should election committee members be allowed to remove questions where appropriate?]]</ref> but has no authority to reword questions to the candidate.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Questions to candidates must be phrased neutrally|2019#Questions to candidates must be phrased neutrally]]</ref> Any candidate that feels a question should be removed/reviewed should contact the electoral commission to review the question, and not take action themselves.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Dealing with possibly inappropriate questions|2019#Dealing with possibly inappropriate questions]]</ref> While other editors can obviously remove clear vandalism, egregious personal attacks, etc., the determination of what is inappropriate or off-topic is clearly to be left to the Commission.<ref name="2017SECMBATRQWA" /> [[Special:PermaLink/988817336|Guidelines]] for content allowed and disallowed on candidate pages was introduced, with the electoral commission empowered to make decisions on inclusion or removal of related content, inappropriate questions are only to be removed by their author or members of the electoral commission.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2020#CandidateQs3a|2020#CandidateQs3a]]</ref>
*'''Advertising:''' Traditional notices posted to various community noticeboards,<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012#Advertising|2012#Advertising]]</ref> watchlist notice,<ref name="2021Notice">[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Remove Central Notice / Site Notice advertisement options|2021#Remove Central Notice / Site Notice advertisement options]]</ref> and, optionally, central notice banner at the discretion of the election commission<ref name="2021Notice" /><ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2016#Should we continue or modify the practice of notifying eligible voters by mass message?|2016#Should we continue or modify the practice of notifying eligible voters by mass message?]]</ref> for the election in general (not individual candidates);<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2015#Should there be a change in the methods of publicity for the election?|2015#Should there be a change in the methods of publicity for the election?]]</ref> the Site Notice should not be used;<ref name="2021Notice" /> Mass Message – eligible voters, have edited last 12 months before nominations,<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2018#Mass message|2018#Mass message]]</ref> but excluding site<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2021#Advertisements to such|2021#Advertisements to such]]</ref>-blocked users where the block duration extends past the the elections, globally b/locked accounts, bots, and accounts in [[:Category:All Wikipedia bots]], [[:Category:Wikipedia alternative accounts]], [[:Category:Wikipedia doppelganger accounts]], and [[:Category:Deceased Wikipedians]].<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2019#Mass message|2019#Mass message]]</ref> Extra care should be taken in wordings of advertising to make sure it is neutral.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2014#Should the site notice be changed when voting begins?|2014#Should the site notice be changed when voting begins?]]</ref>
*'''Blocking:''' Blocking policy applies normally, but a candidate shouldn't be disqualified for being blocked (except for sockpuppetry) after nominating themselves.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013#Blocking candidates|2013#Blocking candidates]]</ref>
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