Election of CellML Editors

The CellML editorial board consists of five members of the CellML community, each serving a term of three years. Membership of the CellML community is defined as being subscribed to the cellml-discussion@cellml.org mailing list. Each year, at the time of the annual International CellML Workshop, an election is held to replace the one or two serving editors who have completed their three-year term. The election process is managed by the current editorial board and all information provided during the process is kept confidential to its members. Here, we define the procedure for holding an election. If circumstances require an election to be held at a different time, the same procedure will be followed with suitable changes in the specified timing.

1. Call for nominations.
1. The current CellML editors will issue a call for nominations at least two weeks prior to the opening of the annual International CellML Workshop.
2. Nominations will be made electronically via an anonymous submission system.
3. Nominations must include the name and email address of the nominee and may include an explanation of why the nominee would be a good addition to the CellML editorial board.
4. Individuals may nominate themselves.
5. Current CellML editors (including those stepping down) cannot be nominated.
6. The period for nominations will be a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four weeks.
7. Following the nomination period, the current editorial board will:
1. collate the nominations and check for invalid nominations;
2. contact all the nominees to confirm if they accept or decline the nomination and subsequent term on the editorial board, if elected;
3. produce a final list of nominees who accept their nomination and publicise this list during the annual International CellML workshop; and 
4. initiate the call for votes.
2. Call for votes.
1. The call for votes will be issued soon after the close of the annual International CellML Workshop.
2. The election ballot will include the final list of nominees who accepted their nomination, as well as any explanations provided in support of their nomination during the nomination phase of the election.
3. All members of the CellML community are eligible to vote; the voting ballot will require voters to provide their name and email address, which will be used by the current editorial board to confirm their eligibility to vote.
4. Each voter may vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled on the editorial board.
5. Candidates may vote for themselves.
6. The voting period will be a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four weeks.
7. At the close of the voting period the current editorial board will:
1. remove any invalid or ineligible votes;
2. check each vote against the subscriber list for cellml-discussion@cellml.org and remove any votes from individuals who are not members of the CellML community;
3. check for multiple votes by the same individual, in which case all but the last vote will be discarded;
4. tally the votes and rank the candidates by the number of votes they each receive; and
5. initiate the confirmation and selection phase.
3. Confirmation and selection.
1. The candidates in the top positions matching the number of vacancies to be filled on the editorial board will be contacted to confirm acceptance of their selection as CellML editors.
1. If any of these candidates decline to accept their election, the election for that position is invalid and the process returns to step 2 with the candidate removed from the ballot. Candidates accepting their election are deemed to be elected CellML Editors and are also removed.
2. If a tie-break is required, a tie-breaking election will be held:
1. a tie-breaking election should be held as soon as possible following the close of the regular election;
2. only the tied candidates will be on the ballot;
3. it will last for one week; and
4. otherwise the same procedure as step 2 is followed.
4. Announcement.
1. Following the completion of the confirmation and selection phase, the current editorial board will announce the winner(s) of the election on the cellml-discussion@cellml.org mailing list and via the cellml.org news channels.
2. The newly elected editors will begin their three-year term immediately following the announcement.