To (ISC)² Members:
A few of you have contacted (ISC)² with questions pertaining to the (ISC)² board of directors’ election, specifically the petition process. In an effort to provide transparency, we feel it is important to review how the petition process works.
Every member included on the slate goes through one of two processes. First, slate candidates may be selected by the board nominations committee. Second, the petition process whereby (ISC)² members can nominate themselves or others through petitioning and providing 500 signatures of members in good standing.
When members submit a petition, (ISC)² performs a thorough, detailed analysis to ensure that each signature meets the established criteria. What constitutes a valid signature? A valid signature is an encapsulated email from a supporter using his/her e-mail address of record and providing his/her (ISC)² member ID number. Regardless of whether a member submits the requisite 500 signatures or hundreds more, (ISC)² reviews each submitted signature.
This year, per the (ISC)² petition process, a member, who wanted to be included on the board slate, submitted materials. In his submission, the member included 514 names of potential supporters and 895 emails as signatures. (ISC)² spent several days reviewing the supporters and emails submitted with the petition. (ISC)²’s analysis determined that the submission included less than 300 valid signatures. Reasons to invalidate a supporter include:
1) Duplicate emails sent from the same member. In this case, the supporter is only counted once;
2) An alleged supporter is listed on the member’s petition, but no email satisfying the requirements is included;
3) The member provided names, emails, and member IDs of individuals who supported his/her petition through an email from prior election years, but not the current year; and
4) Members did not send endorsement from email addresses of record with (ISC)². For example, messages from a social media site such as LinkedIn do not qualify.
Regardless of whether or not a member meets the 500 signature requirement, (ISC)² provides a summary of the reasons for invalidation to the petitioner. We do not send the list of names with our results because we want to protect individuals who may not know their information was included as part of the petition. (ISC)² wants to ensure that members’ validated information, including emails and member numbers, is not disclosed to the public. The petitioner has the original submission information to conduct the analysis him/herself. Please be confident that if you followed the proper procedures to signify your support of a potential candidate, your signature was valid and accepted.
(ISC)² encourages all members to ask questions and seek guidance on the petition process, should they wish to pursue a petition in the future. We never want to discourage our members from participating in the election process; however, each member must understand what is required and be sure to adhere to the guidelines. -- Graham Jackson, (ISC)² General Counsel