The Steering Committee has responsibilities, and it's important that those responsibilities are enforceable. For example, in the event that a Steering Committee member doesn't attend 75% of the year's meetings, the other Steering Committee members and the Software Carpentry community at large should be able to evict the delinquent member.
An early election must be immediately scheduled if:
- The Steering Committee passes a motion of no confidence or
- The Foundation Membership submits a petition signed by over half of the Foundation Members.
The early elections may occur no sooner than 45 days and no later than 60 days from the motion's passing or petition's submission. Other than the shorter lead time, the usual election rules apply. In particular, the existing Steering Committee members are free to run for and win re-election. Until the elections take place, the existing Steering Committee shall continue to function as usual, but they are not allowed to reschedule the early elections.
The newly elected Steering Committee members will serve the full annual term. For example, if elections are held in January, and a motion of no confidence passes on April 1st, elections could be scheduled between May 16th and May 31st. If they were scheduled to end on the 31st, the next election would end no later than May 31st of the following year.