We're proposing a new voting membership status to help us track active members. If you've voted in a Board election in the last two years, you're active, and you count toward quorum. If you haven't, you're still a member, but you won't count toward quorum until you tell us you want to vote.
Why make this change?
Quorum today is measured against every member on the rolls, including members who no longer take part in elections. As membership grows, quorum becomes harder to reach and puts our elections' validity at risk.
Defining a quorum around active members is standard practice for nonprofits. Counting the entire membership roll is the outlier.
The Python Software Foundation takes a similar approach. Its voting members are asked to affirm that they intend to vote, and in June 2024 the PSF board approved waiving that affirmation for anyone who voted in the previous board election (board minutes).
No one loses their membership under this change. You remain a member and stay listed on the website. Active status only affects how we count quorum. This keeps our rolls accurate and our elections valid.
We don't want anyone excluded because they missed an email. We'll send reminders before each election and post on our blog and the forum, so everyone has plenty of notice. If you want to vote, contact us before the election opens, and we'll add you to the roll.
We've proposed the corresponding bylaw change on GitHub, discussed this proposal on the Django Forum for a while, and talked it through in person at DjangoCon US.
Next steps
This is a call for public comment. Please share your feedback by October 7, 2026, either on the pull request or, if you're a DSF member, in the members-only Forum thread.
The Board will review the comments, and if the community raises no major objections, the Board will vote on the change at our October 8th Board of Directors meeting.
