The following procedures have been approved by the executive board for the MCMF ballots:

Ballot structure
A two part ballot will be used: Nomination ballots will be mailed no later than January 15, and a final ballot will be mailed no later than six weeks prior to the awards show.

Nominations
An open write-in ballot will be sent to the revised MCMF mailing list asking each voter to write-in up to two names for each category.

The same group or individual cannot be nominated in more than one "artist/group" category within a field or in more than two fields. Restricted categories will be clearly marked on the ballot with an asterisk.

An artist may vote for himself.

A list of recordings released during the eligible time period will be included with the nominating ballot for reference. The list will clearly indicate that it is not exclusive and that any qualified recording may be nominated.

To discourage ballot stuffing, ballots will be numbered, and nominations must be signed, phone number optional.

Completed ballots may be mailed or faxed back to MCMF.

Votes will be tabulated by a pre-determined counting committee following verifiable procedures. Nomination ballots will be retained for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed two years, and made available for inspection by interested parties.

The full tally count will be presented to the entire nominating committee for verification and final selection.

Verification and selection
The top six verified vote-getters that meet qualifying criteria will be on the final ballot in most categories. Outstanding Musician categories will have eight finalists.

The nominating committee will be responsible for verifying that nominated artists meet eligibility criteria, are in appropriate categories and that names are spelled correctly.

In the event of a tie, the committee has discretion to use more or fewer than six nominees, or to move a nominee to another appropriate category. If the tie results in an unwieldy number of verified nominees, the tie will be broken by random drawing.

Names may not be added by the nominating committee.

The committee has discretion to eliminate a category if there is an insufficient return or fewer than three qualified nominees.

The final ballot will be proofread by at least two committee members other than the person who compiled the ballot.

Disqualification of ballots
Ballots will be disqualified and not counted for any of the following reasons:

f the ballot has been altered in any way, or reproduced (not an original numbered ballot)

if voting directions were not followed

if writing is illegible

if the nomination ballot is not signed

if the committee determines that the ballot was otherwise tampered with or represents an attempt to improperly influence the final outcome.

Disqualified ballots will be clearly marked "disqualified" and retained and made available for inspection by interested parties.

Final Ballot
Final ballots will have six verified nominees in each category. (See nomination information above).

Voters from the MCMF database will choose one from each category in which they vote. Voters will be encouraged to vote only in categories they are knowledgeable in and to objectively consider quality of musicianship and artistry.

Ballots must be returned by mail. No facsimiles will be accepted.

The winners will be the artists with the most votes.

Ballots will be numbered and matched with the database on a sample basis to prevent stuffing and will be printed on non-white, non-standard sized paper to discourage unauthorized duplication.

Tabulation is done on the computer tabulation database and a random sample can be tested to ensure accurate data entry. Results will be retained for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed two years, and will be available for inspection by interested parties.

Qualification and Eligibility Criteria; Definitions
To be eligible, artists must have a tie to southeast Michigan. Such ties include nativity, long term residency, current residency, or having done a body of work within the southeast Michigan area that has resulted in permanent and indelible identification with the area.

Recordings must be by local artists (defined above) and were first made available for sale to the public between December 1, 1999 and November 30, 2000.

National Recordings are records that have national retail distribution.

General
The approved procedures will be published on our web site and in the Metro Times.