Add election process description

This change adds a new folder to capture the election
process and later on store email and other templates as needed.

The patch also adds some further information about CIVS and
how to set up voting.

Signed-off-by: Ildiko Vancsa <[email protected]>

elections/README.md

@@ -76,12 +76,27 @@ Containers project. This includes, but is not limited to:
 ## System
 
 The Architecture Committee election uses
-[CIVS with Condorcet method voting](https://civs.cs.cornell.edu/)
+[CIVS with Condorcet method voting](https://civs.cs.cornell.edu/).
+You can find information about how to set up the voting on the
+related [OpenStack wiki](https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Election_Officiating_Guidelines#Running_the_election_itself).
+
+Due to CIVS policy, to vote in private CIVS polls, everyone in the
+electorate must opt in to email communication. CIVS has a
+[dedicated page](https://civs1.civs.us/cgi-bin/opt_in.pl) to register
+the email address they are using on GitHub. Once someone has
+opted into receiving e-mail from CIVS it should allow future
+ballots from any poll to be sent to the same e-mail address.
 
 ## Tools
 
 See the [election tools documentation](tools).
 
+## Process
+
+See the [election process documentation](process) for details on
+the process that election officials need to follow to successfully
+execute the AC election.
+
 ## Current elections
 
 - October 2024

elections/process/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+# Election Process
+
+The election process is administered and guided by
+the Election Officials.
+
+This group is responsible for working with the
+Architecture Committee (AC) on the election timeline,
+performing the preparation steps and carrying out all
+required communications.
+
+## Pick election officials
+Election officials should not run in the election themselves.
+Ideally they should also have no interest in the election
+outcome (to preserve neutrality) but that is generally
+harder to achieve.
+
+Election officials should be identified by no later than a
+week prior to the start of the election.
+
+# Selecting Election Dates
+Things to keep in mind when selecting election dates:
+
+- Try to avoid overlapping with big in-person events
+  in the interest for the community or major public holidays
+- Allow enough time for the contributors to decide if they
+  are planning to run, and fulfill all the requirements to be
+  able to participate
+- Allow at least a week for nomination and campaign periods
+- The current AC needs to approve the timeline once there
+  is a proposal
+
+# Preparation
+As early as possible but at least a month before election
+starts:
+
+- Edit elections details (timeline, elected positions, deadlines)
+  in the [community repo](https://github.com/kata-containers/community/tree/main/elections)
+- Create the PR to update the information on GitHub
+
+A couple of weeks before election starts:
+
+- Post information about the upcoming election on the
+  kata-dev mailing list and on Slack
+- Generate an initial electorate list and share it with the
+  AC and community to ensure that the list contains all active
+  contributors
+
+# During the election
+## AC Nomination Round
+When AC nomination period starts:
+
+- Send Kata AC Nomination period started email to kata-dev
+- Announce the start of the nomination period on Slack
+- Generate the final electorate list
+
+Email and Slack announcement tips:
+- Introduce yourself as election official
+- Announce start of process
+- List seats up for reelection
+- Provide timeline overview
+- Describe candidacy process
+- Describe voting eligibility
+- Link to references from kata-containers/community
+- Example email from an earlier cycle: [draft etherpad](https://etherpad.opendev.org/p/r.256a531373da9595cf4c3af45bd58782)
+
+During the AC Candidacy round:
+- Election officials review the nominations on GitHub
+- A couple of days before the candidacy submission ends send
+  reminders to the mailing list and Slack
+  - Mention this is the last call for candidate nomination
+  - Mention specifically the nomination deadline, and the
+    full timeline
+  - Example email from an earlier cycle:
+  	[October 2023 Kata Containers Architecture Committee elections candidate nomination reminder](https://lists.katacontainers.io/pipermail/kata-dev/2020-September/001512.html)
+
+When AC Candidacy submission ends:
+
+- Send Kata AC election - Nomination period ended email
+
+Once the email deadline is reached:
+
+- Check if there are enough candidate to run the election
+  - If yes, generate the electorate rolls and move forward with
+    the next steps of the process
+  - If not, reach out to the AC and have the active members
+    (whose seats are not up for re-election) officiate the results
+    before the last steps of administration
+
+# AC Campaigning
+The AC election includes a period after the candidates are defined
+but before the election, for candidates to answer questions from
+the community.
+
+Open this with Kata AC election - Campaign period started email, and
+also announce it on Slack.
+
+# AC Election Round
+Before AC Election begins:
+
+- Create CIVS page
+  - Title the poll: <Year> <H1/H2> Kata Architecture Committee Election Poll
+  - Enable detailed ballot reporting
+  - Send to other officials to verify
+  - Check number of seats
+  - Check closing date
+
+
+When TSC Election begins:
+
+- Upload rolls
+- CIVS has a maximum number of electorate emails you can upload at a time without
+  crashing, limit to 500 at a time
+- Send Kata AC election - Voting period started email, and announce the start
+  of the voting period on Slack
+
+A couple of days before the TSC Election ends:
+
+- Send Kata AC election - Voting period started reminder email and Slack
+  note
+
+Ending the Kata AC Election:
+
+- Close the election and send Kata AC election - Voting period ended email, and
+  announcement on Slack
+- Update the list of AC members and their terms on GitHub and create a PR
+- Send Kata AC Election Results email and Slack update