Register to Vote on Rebid of ICANN Contracts

James Love writes "After a difficult debate, a body within ICANN, the DNSO "General Assembly," has agreed to hold a vote on whether or not to ask the US Department of Commerce to rebid its contracts with ICANN. A rebid would provide an opportunity for the public to reject the current Lynn/ICANN/Staff/Board proposal for reorganization, and to consider also alternatives to ICANN, including those that would be more accountable, less coercive and considerably less ambitious in terms of exercising control over the Internet. It appears as though this vote will be held the week of May 13-17. The ICANN DNSO General Assembly has historically been a forum for talking about ICANN issues, but it has no actual power, and rarely permits votes on substantive issue. Indeed, since its creation, there have been only 11 votes, just two of which involved policy issues. Anyone can register to vote in these elections, which are not binding on ICANN, but in this case would be timely and important, and could persuade the US Department of Commerce to get serious about dealing with an out of control ICANN. Go here to register to vote." There's a bunch of debate on this in the list archives of the DNSO mailing list.