It would seem that this years elections have been so tarred with lies and smear jobs, the Secret BoardVote would be the only option. When someone like Ryan Postlethwaite can write a load of bullshit about Cool Hand Luke "outing" someone on WR, to scupper his bid - and onlookers who don't know any better have taken the bait - the process is completely screwed.
QUOTE(Opposers who fell for Ryan Postletwaite's scam so far)
# Oppose I just saw what Ryan had said and I have to oppose. Sorry! iMatthew 20:38, 2
# Definitely not. I have nothing against people who write on WR for that reason (I like some WR posters and don't like others), but the allegations against you specifically, per Ryan in particular and your insufficient defence against them on the talk page of this page, are enough reason to strongly oppose this nomination. Orderinchaos 03:00, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
# Oppose the WR incident is disturbing. Dreadstar †03:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
# Oppose - whatever the details of the events on WR, it was a mess, and suggests to me a misjudgement, however well intentioned. Warofdreams talk 23:36, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
# Ryan Postlethwaite is making some points which I do find very disturbing. One wouldn't believe an editor would act like that, certainly not somebody I would like to see on ArbCom. --Kanonkas : Talk 23:19, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
# Oppose per the WR matter and Ryan's take on it. An arbcom member cannot have even the slightest whiff of controversy surrounding them in such matters, and this is much more than a whiff. — Gavia immer (talk) 16:39, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
# Per Prodego and Ryan P - Rjd0060 (talk) 16:02, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
# Really sorry, but based on Ryan's evidence, I can't trust you with checkuser data and private correspondence. Sceptre (talk) 16:21, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
# Strong Oppose per Ryan Postlethwaite. No way. Sarah 06:19, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
But there is little chance of Wikipedia changing this and adopting the same ballots they have for WMF elections. There is too much Drama and Revenge in this current Arbcom voting system for Wikipedos to scrap it. Drama and Revenge is the lifeblood of Wikipedia, and they pay for Jimbo's gold plated washing machines.