Dear Esteemed Council Members,

The Masquerade Observations, Discourse, and Revisions have all been collected and now it is time to vote.

Though there is plenty to “judge”, you’re measuring something intangible. The rubric for what makes winning contributions will be defined by each of you, individually, and you do not need to factor in my thoughts. However, if you’re looking for them , I believe that life requires the attempt: what we can give of ourselves to keep the whole thing going. Those who put energy into this in any form: whether communally, vulnerably, hilariously, brazenly, whatever exertion - their life, the one unique variable they have. Those are the three who should win The Masquerade. 

I ask that you commit to honor the secrecy of these deliberations and swear to keep your votes unknown to outsiders until the public results are announced. After the fact, I will not be sharing who voted for what but you are welcome to if you choose.

DIRECTIONS 

• Sign into the Nifty Gateway account you provided to us for the Masquerade 

• There is a button for Council only to ENTER VOTING

• You have each been divided up into 1 of the 12 Regions for the first round of Voting

• You have the ability to heart/like as many comments as you wish to help you curate before you submit.  The hearts will not influence the winners, they are just to keep tabs on your preferences.

• Any Observation without a vote box to check is blacklisted (ex. Councilmembers, family, reserved, incompletes)

VOTING ROUNDS 

Voting is done in 2 Rounds. 

Round 1 -  Voting  starts now and ends this Friday, March 7 at 12p EST.

Select & Submit 1 Observation, 1 Discussion, and 1 Revision; 3 selections total.  This first vote is only in the region you’ve been designated.

Round 2 -  Voting starts Monday, March 10 at 12p EST through Wednesday, March 12 at 6p EST.

Review the finalist contributions and select & submit 1 Observation, 1 Discussion, and 1 Revision; 3 selections total. This second vote you can select any contribution from the finalists, except for those from your original region.

RULES

Round 1

• Select your vote for your Top 1 Observation, 1 Discussion and 1 Revision; 3 votes total. 

• There is 1 Vote for each of the 3 categories per Skull. If you have multiple Skulls, your choices will be double weighted.

• You may not vote for yourself or other Council members. Councilmembers are not eligible to win, nor are Sam, members of our family or Incomplete Masks. They have been omitted from each of your ballots. 

• All Discourse that receives at least 1 Vote will become a finalist and move onto the next round. 

• Contributions that receive multiple votes are equally weighed and move to the next round the same way, there is no additional weight if multiple Council members vote for the same ones. 

• You must submit your vote by Friday, March 7 at 12p EST to be eligible. 

• Should there be a tie in either round, Sam will serve as the tiebreaker. 

Round 2

• Same process & rules as Round 1, with the addition: 

• You may not vote on any contributions from your assigned region submitted in Round 1.

• The top contribution for each phase that receives the most votes in each category will win their respective mask. 

• You will need to submit your vote by Wednesday, March 12 at 6p EST to be eligible. 

Honor the secrecy of these Council deliberations; keep your votes unknown to non-Council members until after voting is complete and I have publicly announced the results.

We are here to answer any questions. 

-Sam & Rachel