Summary: A process of discussion, rating and voting that reduces many submitted propositions to one accepted proposition while ensuring the highest degree of efficiency, fairness and integrity. This process includes an orderly and civil structure for argument and debate and provides for peaceful and uniform decision-making.

1. Initial submission of propositions

Registered members shall be given the opportunity to submit what they believe are the most significant issues that need to be addressed. An issue may be identified by its author as a singular issue, an election issue or a multiple issue. The multiple issue is a more complex issue that can be broken down into sub-issues in order to more easily deal with the issue - one part separate from the other. Each member creating a new issue must be mindful of whether or not it may be possible for one proposition to resolve the issue within the established word limits. When all sub-issues are completed, the multiple issue itself is completed. The Webmaster shall provide a "New Issue List" page on the web site that is capable of collecting and processing the members' issue contributions.

The following are suggested issue parameters:

A. Submit propositions

i. Authors of Propositions

Author(s) of propositions must be registered members of the web site who have also registered to participate in the particular issue in which they wish to submit a proposition. An issue participant may only submit one proposition per issue.

ii. Proposition Submission Requirements

Propositions may be submitted on any issue within the “Current Issue List” that has been compiled by the registered members. The various components of a proposition will be copied/cut and pasted onto the site by the author in the appropriate windows provided.

iii. Proposition Submission Time

Propositions may be submitted immediately upon the issue being posted in the current issue list.

iv. Proposition pre-editing

Authors may continue to edit their propositions on the site during the discussion phase while the proposition is in its "draft" stage.     index

B. Publishing of propositions

i. Placement

During the discussion phase: The author of a submitted proposition will be notified when the editing is completed. Once the author receives an edited proposition from the editor, he or she may make final adjustments and then publish it on the site in its respective issue. The author accomplishes this by copying/cutting and pasting the appropriate text from the downloaded file onto the windows provided on the site. Once the final draft of the proposition is published on the site, the author is restricted from any further editing. The final draft may only be amended through the use of the forum or the submission of a new proposition.     index

ii. Identification of Issue States

Propositions listed in a particular issue will be regulated by the current state of the issue. Each issue's current state will be color coded. An issue's current state will be one of the following: Discussion phase, Discussion Finalization Period, Proposition Rating phase, Qualifying Questions Submission phase, Qualifying Questions Rating phase, Final Vote phase, Final Vote Results phase or Need Participants phase. Issues in "discussion phase" will be displayed with a light green background. Issues in "discussion finalization period" will be displayed with a dark green background. Issues in "proposition rating phase," will be displayed with an orange background. Issues in "qualifying questions submission phase" will be displayed with a light blue background. Issues in "qualifying questions rating phase" will be displayed with a dark blue background. Issues in the "final vote" phase will be displayed in a red background. Issues in the "final vote results phase" will be displayed in a purple background. Issues that are stalled due to a lack of participants will be in a "need participants phase," and will be displayed with a light grey background.    index

2. Discussion phase

A. General Description

There are two types of forums in the discussion phase. One is the issue forum and the other is the proposition forum. The issue forum is for the general discussions that are applicable to the specific issue, and the proposition forums are specific to the applicable proposition.

The desired result of clear and precise communication on the issue forum may be to establish exactly how many separate issues are really being presented that need to be managed separately in different issues. This refining process will most likely occur before any propositions are submitted on any one of the issues. The discussion in the general issue forum may continue throughout the life of the issue.

The forums are places to post distilled and condensed thoughts that are initiated, digested and refined through regular on-line and off-line communications between community members. There are word limits in the forums but there are no limits to the number of entries any one individual member can make in a forum. References can be made to other lengthy materials within the forum by simply inserting a link to where the information can be found on another site outside the forum. This type of presentation is respectful of all members' time.

Bear in mind, however, that once a participant submits a proposition in an issue, he or she may submit a complete file of supporting text for that proposition (2MB). And the supporting text may come before the actual submission of the body of the proposition itself.

This process strongly promotes the use of minimal, respectful and constructive communication - leaving the confrontational and aggressive Westminster system behind - or least limit it to the other forms of communication between community members outside of forum communications. These issue forums and proposition forums are permanent records and will assuredly determine one's character and reputation since all activities on the site are transparent. The management can only encourage the use of care and discretion in all forum communications.

Once a proposition of an issue is published, discussion may begin for that proposition. Any Proposition Participant may participate in that proposition forum and suggest additions or deletions to the proposition. Submissions of suggestions may be made at anytime prior to the official end of discussion of a particular issue. Since the registered members place a word limit on suggestions, authors of suggestions may use references to either readily available hard copy text or internet-based text.

A chronological record of suggestions is provided in the "suggestions" section of each published proposition. An author may accept a suggestion as is or edit a suggestion. The accepted version of a suggestion should b e in the form of a specific addition to a specific section of a proposition. It should not be commentary or supporting text. A list of accepted suggestions will be posted on the respective proposition's page. An author may also simply respond to a suggestion -- without the need to accept it. Anyone may submit entirely new propositions on the same subject matter.     index

B. Discussion Group Split

Issue groups will be split in to group names as follows:

A - Original issue group when the discussion begins.

AA - First of two sub-groups created when the original group A splits.

AB - Second of two sub-groups created when the original group A splits.

AAA - First of two sub-groups created when the sub-group AA splits.

AAB - Second of two sub-groups created when the sub-group AA splits.

ABA - First of two sub-groups created when the sub-group AB splits.

ABB - Second of two sub-groups created when the sub-group AB splits.    index

3. End discussion

A. Trigger and Effect

As soon as the “Notice to End Discussion” reaches its required level (% of currently registered issue participants in a single issue who have submitted their notice to end discussion) and the Issue Participant Minimum is obtained (the minimum number of the total registered members on the site who are participating in the issue) , the site Web master shall officially begin the Discussion Finalization Period on the issue. The “End Discussion Notice” is a trigger for commencing the Discussion Finalization Period. The length of the Discussion Finalization Period is determined by the active members collectively. No more propositions will be accepted for a particular issue after the end of the Discussion Finalization Period of an issue. Suggestions may no longer be submitted or accepted once the Discussion Finalization Period has ended on an issue. However, the forum window will remain displayed during the rating phase.

B. Issue Participant Minimum

The Issue Participant Minimum requirement is determined by the total registered members on the site. This minimum requirement is used in conjunction with the “End Discussion Rate.” The Issue Participant Minimum requirement assures a minimum level of member participation (based on the total number of registered members on the site) during the enti re reduction and voting process. If the level of participation on an issue meets or exceeds the Issue Participant Minimum requirement, the issue participants’ “End Discussion” notice will be activated. When member participation in a particular issue falls below the Issue Participant Minimum requirement, the issue stalls and notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to the Issue Participants. The background of the affected issue on the current and personal issue lists will reflect the stalled state by being highlighted in the color grey.

C. Drop Issues

Once the “End Discussion” is triggered for a particular issue, and that issue has a priority rating of 1.5 or below (of the 1 - 5 priority rating scale), it will be dropped from the current issue list and put into a temporary archive. Issues will also be dropped if they do not attract the minimum number of Issue Participants before the expiration of the Minimum Issue Participant Deadline. T he issue is held in the temporary archive for 30 days and then cleared. Organization administrators may upload all issue files to the organization’s own internal computer systems during this time. No further action will be taken on a dropped issue.     index

4. Proposition rating notice and duration

Proposition rating begins upon the end of the Discussion Finalization Period. The length of the Proposition Rating Period is determined by the members collectively and the time remaining in the reduction period will be displayed in the Issue header. If an issue has been split and divided into sub-groups during the discussion phase, the rating phase will proceed in rating rounds. All issue participants in each sub-group will rate the propositions in their respective sub-group. The result will be one surviving proposition in each sub-group. The remaining propositions, if they exceed the Group Discussion Maximum Proposition limit, will be split into the appropriate number of sub-groups for the second round of rating. The propositions will be divided as equally as possible among the rating sub-groups. This process will continue until only one proposition remains. The single remaining proposition will then proceed to the final vote phase. Issue participants may de-register from a rating sub-group and register in another rating sub-group in the same issue at any time. However, if an issue participant entered ratings for propositions in the sub-group from which they de-registered, those ratings will be deleted from the data base. The issue participant may then enter ratings in the new sub-group in which they registered. The duration of each rating round is equal an d is determined by the rating phase time duration set in the settings section by the members. One rating round begins immediately upon the ending of the prior rating round.    index

5. Proposition rating phase

A. Entering a Rating Notice

Issue Participants may enter or change their rating for as many propositions as they desire before the rating deadline. All propositions do not have to be rated by an Issue Participant.

B. Method of Rating

A member may rate the propositions during the proposition rating phase in a similar fashion to the priority rating of issues. Propositions are rated on a scale of 1 to 5.

C. Tabulation of Ratings

The averages of all entered ratings are calc ulated. The proposition with the highest rating proceeds to the final vote.

D. Posting of proposition rating results

When Issue Participants enter their rating for a proposition, it is displayed on their personal issue list work space. This rating remains there until the finalization of an issue. The total results of all Issue Participants’ individual ratings are displayed in graph form in the voting verification section of the site for general viewing.    index

E. Pre-vote

i. Pre-vote Determination

The pre-vote shall determine if the Final Vote will include the Qualifying Questions. The determining rate is selected by the registered members in the settings section of the site.

ii. Commencement of Pre-vote

The pre-vote is incorporated into the discussion and proposition rating phases for qualifying questions.

iii. Pre-vote Results

The Web master shall publish the pre-vote results along with the proposition rating results. This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants. The results will be one of the following:

a. Qualifying Questions Not Required

If the pre-vote results do not require qualifying questions, the final vote will begin immediately. The Web master will issue the prescribed Notice concerning the start of the Final Vote on the issue. This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to all registered members.

b. Qualifying Questions Required

If qualifying questions are required, the Webmaster must immediately issue a Notice of the Qualifying Questions Submission Duration or the Qualifying Questions Submission Duration (urgent priority). The "Qualifying Questions Submission Duration (urgent priority)" setting is for issues with an urgent priority average rating. This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants. Immediately upon the close of the submission phase, the Webmaster must issue the prescribed notice of the Qualifying Questions Rating Duration or the Qualifying Questions Rating Duration (urgent priority) to determine the selection of qualifying questions. The "Qualifying Questions Submission Duration (urgent priority)" setting is for issues with an urgent priority average rating. The determination as to whether the questions type will be permissive or restrictive is made during the Qualifying Questions Rating Phase (See Qualifying Questions Rules for explanat! ion of QQ types). This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants. The results of the qualifying question rating will not be published generally on the site. The chosen qualifying questions will appear in the final vote.

Issue Participants may begin submitting potential qualifying questions during the discussion and proposition rating phases in anticipation that they will be required. Since a single proposition is not selected until after the ‘proposition rating’ phase, submitted qualifying questions should be issue specific during the discussion and proposition rating phases. When qualifying question submissions are being accepted after the ‘proposition rating’ phase (when one proposition has been selected), they may be either issue specific or proposition specific.

F. Rating Duration

The proposition rating duration is determined by the registered members with the "Proposition Rating Duration" or "Proposition Rating Duration (urgent priority)" settings. The "Proposition Rating Duration (urgent priority)" setting is for issues with an urgent priority average rating. The notice of the proposition rating duration is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants.

i. Issue Participant Minimum Not Obtained

If the number of Issue Participants does not reach the Issue Participant Minimum by the end of the initial ‘proposition rating’ period, the proposition rating period will be extended. Notice of this extension is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants. The proposition rating period will be ext ended until one of the following takes place: 1. An Issue Participant Minimum is obtained which results in a completed proposition rating; or 2. The Issue Participant Minimum Deadline arrives while the Issue Participant Minimum has still not been met. If the Issue Participation Minimum Deadline arrives without the Issue Participant Minimum being met, it will be dropped from the current issue list and placed into the dropped issue archive. A notice of the result is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to Issue Participants. The dropped issue archive is maintained for 30 days.

G. Tie-breaking remedy

If two or more propositions receive equal ratings in the proposition rating process, the proposition with the earlier creation date will be accepted.    index

6. Final vote notice

The final vote notice is given immediately upon the end of the Proposition Rating Phase. If qualifying questions are required, the final vote notice will include the time periods allowed for the qualifying questions submission phase and the qualifying questions rating phase. The final vote notice includes the date the vote will commence and its deadline. The final vote will commence at 12:00 AM GMT on the specified starting date and close at 12:00 AM GMT on the last day. The Voting Duration and the Voting Duration (urgent priority) are determined by the total registered members in the settings section of this site. The "Voting Duration (urgent priority)" setting is for issues with an urgent priority average rating. This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to all registered members. Registration is automatic upon a registered member’s entry into an issue’s final vote phase.    index

7. Final vote phase

A. Final vote receipts

Upon entering a final vote, each voter is a voter receipt number. The voter receipt is randomly generated and contains both letters and numbers. It also contains the issue number and the vote. The last digit is 1 for yes and 0 for no. There is no connection between the voter's name and the voter receipt. The database link is only between the voter receipt number and the vote. The voter receipts of all voters are listed in the final vote verification section of this site. When the results of the final vote are published, each voter may verify her or his own vote as well as view all other votes. This provides total confidentiality and full transparency in the voting system.    index

B. Proposition acceptance requirement

The surviving proposition must currently receive the prescribed percentage of the total Final Vote (in each participating sub-division if applicable) in order to be accepted. This is known as the proposition acceptance rate setting. If a proposition is not accepted, and it has a priority rating of medium or above, the issue will be emptied of propositions and returned to the current issue list. Proposition Submission and Reduction Procedure must be followed again.

i. Issue Voter Minimum Percentage Not Obtained

If the initial final vote phase of an issue fails to attract the issue voter minimum percentage (form all participating sub-divisions if applicable), the final voting phase will be continued. Notice of continuance is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to all registered members. The final voting phase will continue until one of the following takes place: 1. An Issue Voter Minimum Percentage is obtained which results in a completed final vote; or 2. The Issue Participant Minimum Deadline arrives while the Issue Voter Minimum Percentage has still not been obtained.

If the Issue Participation Minimum Deadline arrives during the vote without the Issue Voter Minimum Percentage being met, one of the following will take place: 1. If the issue has a current priority rating of medium or above, it will be emptied of all propositions and entered back into the current issue list for a potential new beginning (all emptied propositions and their forums will be archived for member viewing); or 2. If the issue has a current priority rating of low or less, it will be dropped from the current issue list and placed into the dropped issue archive. A notice of either result is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to all applicable registered members. Once an issue is either accepted or dropped, the end results are posted on the site for a period of time selected by the Registered Members. This time period is adjustable with the End Result Display setting. Once the End Result Display period is expired, the Issue’s archives are then c! leared. The United People’s Planet facilitator, or applicable sub-division facilitator may up-load the archives onto the United People’s Official Records site for historical recording during the End Result Display period.    index

C. Posting of results

The Webmaster must immediately post the results of the final vote. This notice is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to all applicable registered members. The period of time the results are displayed is governed by the End Results Display setting that is determined by the Registered Members. When the End Results Display period has expired, the issue is archived. The notice includes:

i. The results of the Final vote concerning a proposition: Total number of Issue Voters, total votes for, and total votes against.

ii. The actual vote entered by each member. Only the Member's vote receipt shall be used on this listing - not the individual Member's name.    index

D. Verification

In order to provide full transparency of the voting process, all Issue Participants may check to see that each of their votes has been entered accurately. All registered members also have access the voting verification section of the site. The final vote does not include on-going statistics prior to final tallies.    index

Co-authors: None
Part of proposition copied from a previously submitted proposition: None

General Statement in Support:

1. Initial submission of Proposition

As the United People’s membership increases, the varied opinions of its members increase as well. Left to traditional centuries-old decision-making technology, it is unlikely that anything will be easily resolved, and decisions will be nearly impossible to make. United People has selected the 1062.ORG modern and streamlined decision-making technology in order to make decision making easy and fun -- as well as fully and equally participatory for all members who want to participate.

This structure is referred to as Reduction Voting. Simply stated, all propositions are submitted, discussed and voted upon in a two or three step voting process. Each individual in the organization is encouraged to either put forth their own proposition on a specific issue and/or join in the discussion concerning the submitted propositions. If one’s suggestions are not heeded by the authors of the already submitted propositions, they are encouraged to simply submit their own proposition. It is that simple.

United People impose a limit of one proposition per issue participant. This helps prevent the potential abuse of one member submitting endless propositions (for whatever reasons) and its benefits far outweigh the possible inconvenience to an individual member. This potential for increased proposition submission by one issue participant would increase on an issue split into two or more discussion sub-groups. An author could de-register from one sub-group and register in another sub-group. Once there, he or she could possibly submit another proposition, etc.

The one proposition rule encourages each author to focus and condense all his or her ideas into one submission. This encourages quality submissions, and it will assure the smoothest flowing discussion and rating phases. If an individual feels it necessary to submit an additional proposition, he or she can quite easily recruit another member to submit the additional proposition in partnership.

2. Commence Discussion

This is the time for the United People and each individual member to exercise their creativity concerning the methods in which they can communicate/negotiate with the other Issue Participants. This process will take on a life of its own, and it should be an enjoyable and palatable experience for all involved.

Discussion Group Split

Each issue group has the responsibility to carefully view all propositions submitted or assigned to the group. A common trust should exist between all issue participants. It is assumed that all issue participants are equally concerned with the overall health and welfare of the organization. When an issue group painstakingly and thoroughly discusses and amends the propositions submitted or assigned to the group, other issue participants should feel assured of the most favorable result from that group. Without this trust it simply would be impossible for the United People’s membership to sufficiently process large numbers of propositions.

It is extremely important to remember that all issue participants/active members, whether they are registered or not in any particular issue group or sub-group, may visit any issue group at any time to observe all proceedings. Nothing is secret on this site.

3. End Discussion

The "end discussion notice" is the trigger mechanism that begins the Discussion Finalization Period. Before the Discussion Finalization Period ends, only propositions are submitted and interested Issue Participants may engage in the forum for the individual proposition.

All Issue Participants have the benefit of knowing a precise deadline by which they must have their propositions finalized and submitted. The overall active members of the organization also have a grace period in which they can become involved if they wish. The Discussion Finalization Period is also a safety mechanism -- especially in very small organizations. It prevents an orchestrated effort by a few members from collectively entering their propositions at the same time and immediately triggering the end of discussion. If allowed, this type of activity could prevent other members from submitting additional propositions.

After the Discussion Finalization Period, additional propositions may not be submitted. Upon the expiration of the Discussion Finalization Period, the "proposition rating" notice is given. Only members who have officially registered to participate in a particular issue may enter a notice to "end discussion" for the issue -- and participate in every subsequent rating and vote thereafter. Any member who has been registered on the site can register for participation in a particular issue at any time prior to the deadline for the final vote. Members may also de register from a particular issue at any time prior to the final vote.

The Issue Participant Minimum prevents a premature issuance of the proposition rating deadline notice for an issue. Without this minimum of participation it would be possible for only one member to trigger the "end discussion" rate and result in a premature issuance of the proposition rating deadline notice for an issue -- without the general membership having a chance to responsibly review the issue. For an example a 100 member organization will be used. If the organization’s chosen "end discussion" rate was 30%, and only one member was currently registered for an issue, that one member’s notice to end discussion would represent 100% of one registered member. This would greatly exceed the required "end discussion" rate and initiate a premature issuance of the proposition rating deadline notice for an issue. If the organization set the "Issue Participants Minimum" to 30 Issue Participants of the total registered members on the site, the one member’s notice to end discussi! on would not trigger the "end discussion" rate. With this minimum participation requirement it would now require 29 more members to enter their notice to end discussion on the issue in order to start its ‘proposition rating’ phase. The Issue Participant Minimum also applies to the number of ratings entered by the Issue Participants. If the number of Issue Participants ratings do not meet this requirement when the proposition rating deadline arrives, the proposition rating period will be continued. Notice concerning this situation is given generally on the site and individually via e-mail to members who are officially registered in the related issue. Members may then have the opportunity to kick-start the issue or begin an effort to drop the issue. If the continuance lasts for a certain number of consecutive days (called the Issue Participant Minimum Deadline), the issue will be dropped automatically and placed into the dropped issue archive.

An issue is automatically dropped from the current issue list if its priority rating falls below 1.5 of the 1 - 5 priority rating scale and either the "end discussion" requirement is met or the issue participant minimum deadline is reached. An issue may be dropped at any time from the very first "End Discussion" notice to the final vote. This is the way the registered members clean up the current issue list. A Issue Participant may desire, or receive encouragement from other Issue Participants, to submit an "end discussion" notice or a drop notice for a particular issue on the current issue list at any time. One may participate in or initiate a "drop campaign" or a "end discussion campaign" just as they could a "high priority campaign."

4. Proposition Rating Duration Notice

When this notice is given, all propositions are "frozen" so that all Issue Participants may be assured that they are giving a rating to the same unchanging propositions. This notice signifies the beginning of the ‘proposition rating’ phase and states its duration. Suggestions may no longer be made or accepted once an issue enters into this phase.

In a similar fashion to the trust required in the discussion sub-groups of an issue, the rating phase that is divided into two or more rating rounds requires this same trust. Without this trust every rating phase would have to be followed by another discussion phase, then another rating phase, etc., etc.

Participating in a rating round can be compared to being on a jury. Society places its trust in a small group of individuals to carry out the will of the society. The issue participants, and all United People members as well, place their trust in the issue participants who participate in the rating rounds of an issue to carry out the will of the United People.

Also, one time through is sufficient. The enormous amount of time and effort that would be required for all members to participate in the rating of all propositions would simply be intollerable -- if not impossible. This is especially true in United People that needs to process very large numbers of propositions.

This is a delegation process. Issue participants should not abuse this trust -- just as jurors should not abuse the trust of society. With this delegation process the organization can reduce large numbers of propositions down to one quite easily without overburdening any one member. This process can be completed in a relatively short period of time -- versus the very time consuming multiple discussion/rating repetition.

5. Proposition Rating

The proposition that receives the highest rating in the proposition rating phase will be retained -- the rest are discarded.

The calculations for the proposition rating are based upon the number of Issue Participants who participate as raters. The tie-breaking method used on this site in the proposition rating phase is unique, simple and efficient. However, it will most likely never be used. If the extremely rare occasion ever arrives where there is an equal rating at the conclusion of the proposition rating phase, there could be several possible solutions. Among those solutions could include encumbering the entire organization with re-rating all propositions again, arm wrassling competition, rolling of dice or hiring attorneys and going to court. For the sake of maximum efficiency, the United People site is designed to simply select the proposition with the earliest creation date if a tie occurs. Each Issue Participant’s ratings are constantly displayed on their personal issue list work area. The results of the proposition rating are listed in graphic form for the entire organization to view. ! Neither Issue Participant names nor receipt numbers are attached to individual ratings on the graph for general viewing. The Issue Participants, as raters of the propositions, maintain their anonymity during the rating process. The importance of this anonymity is emphasized in organizations that may have various factions (or parties) with which their members associate. This anonymity allows the Issue Participants to rate the propositions according to their own conscience outside their party lines so-to-speak and without fear of reprisals.

In the pre-vote the members determine whether there are going to be qualifying questions and/or award fees in the final vote for a particular issue. For a more detailed look into the qualifying questions and award fees please go to their respective rules section on this site.

6. Final Vote Notice

It must be remembered that regardless of how many registered members actually participate in the decision-making process of a particular issue (Issue Participants), it may still represent a rather small percentage of the total registered members on the site – or subdivision. This is why there is a Final Vote Notice. The Final Vote Notice will inform all applicable members of the successful surviving proposition of an issue. Then all interested applicable registered members will be able to participate in the surviving proposition’s final vote if they so desire (registration is automatic upon a registered member’s entry into an issue’s final vote phase). The registered members need to keep in mind the balance between the needs of the potentially few Issue Participants who have developed a proposition and the needs of the overall registered members. The potentially few Issue Participants will feel the need to start voting right away, and the registered members who have just ! received the notice for final vote, who have not been Issue Participants up to the final vote notice, need time to view the surviving proposition from the ‘proposition rating’ phase before they are able to vote on it. The archive of all rejected propositions and their individual forums are available to all registered members prior to and during the final vote. Obviously, it takes time to do this. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all registered members to carefully choose the appropriate number of days for the final vote duration in the "settings" section of this site.

7. Final Vote

Each voter is issued a voter receipt after entering a final vote. The registered member is no longer attached to the vote once it is entered. The computer database does not even know this link. The link is destroyed upon the voter entering his or her vote. Each voter should record her or his voter receipt in a safe place. The confidentiality of a final vote is as safe as a voter keeps her or his voter receipt. The total registered members for a particular issue have the option of accepting or rejecting the proposition. Any member who has been registered on the site can register for participation in a particular issue at any time prior to the completion of the final vote. A proposition must receive the prescribed percentage of the final vote for acceptance. This is regulated by the proposition acceptance rate setting. In the past, most organizations held to the rule that a 51% vote represented acceptance of a proposition. This may only promote disharmony in the organization since, in reality, it means that nearly one out of every two voting members are at odds with each other. When 67% of the vote is required for the acceptance of a proposition, only 1 in 3 is at odds. This is not perfect, but it is an improvement from the previously held level of 1 in 2, and it will be more likely to stimulate harmony within the organization; and at the same time it recognizes that nothing would ever get done if there were a 100% acceptance requirement. It my be possible in time to elevate a voting body to an acceptance level of 75% where only 1 in 4 is at odds. The membership is given the freedom to be flexible and creative as they implement and amend various procedural requirements. In addition to the proposition acceptance rate requirement, the issue voter minimum percentage must be met. This is a setting that the registered members also regulate and it determines the percentage of the total registered members that must participate in a final vote in order for the issue to be legitimately accepted.     index