Distributions: delegate participation, action needed by Friday June 19
Hi Distributions members,
Following our delegate participation policy, we reviewed voting over the last 12 months. To hold delegate status, a delegate must vote in at least 25% of the community's eligible polls in a rolling year.
How we got here: when the communities were first set up, delegate roles were filled automatically during the bootstrap, on a first-come, first-served basis, without a formal nomination. That got the communities running, but it means several seats were never actively chosen and some delegates have since moved on or changed roles. This is not about blame; it is the first step in moving from that bootstrap state to active, chosen representation.
Why this matters: the community decides through delegate votes. When seats are inactive we cannot reach the participation needed to decide, and our voice in OpenSSL governance weakens. Active delegates are what let us make decisions at all.
The following projects are currently under the 25% bar and their delegate seat is at risk (projects whose delegate joined after the most recent poll are not listed, since they have not yet had a chance to vote):
ArchLinux, CloudLinux, HPE NonStop, Oracle, SUSE, AlmaLinux, Apache for Windows, Canonical, Debian, and FreeBSD.
What to do by end of day Friday, June 19:
If you intend to keep representing your project, please re-engage by voting in the open polls.
Or nominate a new, active delegate.
To change your delegate, reach out to the community's BAC representatives (TAC as failover), as described in the policy.
If we do not hear back by June 19, these seats will be reviewed for reassignment so the community can keep functioning. We would much rather keep you represented, so please step up.
Thank you.
Anton ArapovMon 27 Jul 2026 3:27PM
Update, and closing this out.
Thanks @Gordon Tetlow, and thanks to SUSE and Canonical for the reactions. Gordon, you were right that there were no open polls to vote on when this went out; that was a gap in the framing, not something being held against anyone.
The roster tidy-up is done. Delegate labels inactive over the past year have been retired (label only; memberships and accounts untouched, reversible). FreeBSD, SUSE, and Canonical keep their seats.
Thanks. Closing the thread.
Gordon Tetlow ·Tue 16 Jun 2026 2:14PM
I don't mean to be contrarian, but there aren't any open polls available to vote on....