TLDR: You are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015> if you have at least one merged commit to WMF utilized git repos in the past 6 months, you can verify if your account is automatically on the voter list because of edits on this tool <https://tools.wmflabs.org/meta/accounteligibility/> and if it isn't (and you think you might vote) you can email me, privately, to ensure you're on before or during the election. Also, apologies to WMF Staff who already received a different version of this email. Hello Wikitech-l, As many of you have probably already realized while browsing the Wikimedia projects the 2015 WMF Election <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015> process is underway to elect the Funds Dissemination Committee <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Funds_Dissemination_Committee> and the WMF Board of Trustees <http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees>. There are multiple ways <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015#Information_for_voters> to become eligible to vote in the elections with the majority of these eligible voters being enfranchised by virtue of their edits (53,712). However, you are also eligible if you are either a Wikimedia server administrator with shell access or have made at least one merged commit on WMF utilized git repos between 15 October 2014 and 15 April 2015. These are two separate elections but they use the same voter list and so if you plan to vote in either election this email is for you. *The Elections* The first election, starting on Sunday (UTC, so 5pm Pacific on Saturday) and running for 8 days is the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) election. The purpose of the FDC is to make allocations to FDC-eligible Wikimedia entities, based on an assessment of the extent to which requested funding will enable those entities to have an impact on realizing the mission goals of the Wikimedia movement. There are 5 members of the committee (The majority of a 9 person committee) up for election at this point and you can read the candidates statements on meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_elections/2015/Candidates> (there are currently 6 candidates but others may apply before the deadline in about 15 hours). There is also 1 spot up for election for the FDC Ombudsperson <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_Ombudsperson_elections/2015> who assists the board investigating complaints about the process. Unfortunately there are no candidates <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_Ombudsperson_elections/2015/Candidates> for that position at the moment and so that particular election may be called off. The 2nd election, starting on May 17th and running for 15 days is the election for 3 members of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. The Board's role (and legal obligation) is to oversee the management of the organization and ensure that it fulfills this role. In the end they are ultimately responsible for its success. You can read the candidate statements on meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Board_elections/2015/Candidates> to learn more about the 7 people currently running and remember that users have about a week left to decide to run and I anticipate that quite a few more will ( for example I know of at least a handful who have accepted private nominations submitted to the election committee but not yet posted their official candidacy). Historically there is always a bit of a rush in the last couple days to submit statements. *What can you do?* 1. *You can ask questions* - You can ask questions for the FDC candidates to answer on meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_elections/2015/Questions> both now and throughout the election process. - You can ask questions for the Board candidates to answer on meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_elections/2015/Questions> both now and throughout the election process including a week and a half specifically dedicated for questions and discussion that starts next Tuesday. 2. *You can vote, and make sure you're on the voter list.* - We will be doing what we can to ensure that eligible developers are already on the voter list when the election time comes however those methods are in no way foolproof. - You can verify if your account is automatically on the voter list (because of your edit count) by typing your username into this tool <https://tools.wmflabs.org/meta/accounteligibility/>. - If you are not automatically eligible and think you are likely to vote in one or both of the elections you can email me (privately) so that I can double check that you're on the eligible voter list. Other then that the elections will start, with banners and emails to notify eligible voters, on Sunday (for the FDC) and on May 17th (for the Board). If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to send me an email! If there are any other lists which would reach eligible developers please feel free to either forward or let me know so that I can reach out. [and for the benefit of those wondering: No, if you're eligible to vote for multiple reasons such as your employment and your edits you can still only vote once. The same thing applies if you are eligible on multiple accounts such as a volunteer account and a work account. :) ] James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur