Add election process description

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:
+  	[September 2020 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 AC 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 AC 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