Every Python Software Foundation (PSF) voting-eligible Member (Supporting, Contributing, and Fellow) needs to affirm their membership to vote in this year’s PSF Board and Python Packaging Council (PPC) elections.
If you wish to vote in either the PSF Board or Python Packaging Council elections, you must affirm your intention to vote for each election no later than Tuesday, August 25th, 2:00 pm UTC, to participate in this year’s elections. This year’s election votes begin Tuesday, September 1st, 2:00 pm UTC, and close on Tuesday, September 15th, 2:00 pm UTC.
Election communications from psfmember.org
You should have received an email from "psf@psfmember.org <Python Software Foundation>" with the subject "[Action Required] Affirm your PSF Membership voting intention for the 2026 PSF Board Election" and/or “2026 Python Packaging Council Inaugural Election Information & Schedule” that contains information on how to affirm your voting status. If you were expecting to receive the email but have not (make sure to check your spam!), please email psf-elections@pyfound.org for the PSF Board election or pc-elections@python.org, and we’ll assist you. Please note: If you opted out of emails related to your membership, you did not receive these emails.
PSF Members should review their communication preferences on psfmember.org if you would like to opt in or out of receiving emails about the PSF Board, PPC elections, or both. Here’s how:
- Login to psfmember.org
- Navigate to your “Profile” page
- Click the “Name and Address” tab
- Scroll down, designate your preferences
- Click submit
If you had previously opted out of communications from the PSF through psfmember.org and would like to review or change your preference, we encourage you to update them using the instructions above. The PSF only sends a handful of election and fundraising related communications every year via psfmember.org. The PSF newsletter runs through a separate mailing list (and we welcome you to sign up!).
How to affirm your intention to vote
You can affirm your voting intention by following the steps in our video tutorial:
- Log in to psfmember.org
- Choose “Your Memberships” page at the top right to check your eligibility to vote (You must be a Contributing, Supporting, or Fellow member)
- Choose “Voting Affirmation” page at the top right
- Select your preferred intention for voting in 2026 (which now includes a second affirmation regarding your intention to vote in the Python Packaging Council election)
- Click the “Submit” button
Need to check your membership status?
Log on to psfmember.org and visit your PSF Member User Information page to see your membership record and status. If you are a voting-eligible member (active Supporting, Contributing, and Fellow members of the PSF) and do not already have a login, please create an account on psfmember.org and then email psf-elections@pyfound.org so we can link your membership to your account. Please ensure you have an account linked to your membership so that we can have the most up-to-date contact information for you in the future.
PSF Bylaws
Section 4.2 of the PSF Bylaws requires that “Members of any membership class with voting rights must affirm each year to the corporation in writing that such member intends to be a voting member for such year.”
Our motivation is to ensure that our elections can meet quorum as required by Section 3.9 of our bylaws. As our membership has grown, we have seen that an increasing number of Contributing and Fellow members with indefinite membership do not engage with our annual election, making quorum difficult to reach.
An election that does not reach quorum is invalid. This would cause the whole voting process to be re-held, resulting in fewer voters and an undue amount of effort on the part of the PSF Staff.
Reminders about membership and voting
Reminder: If you were formerly a Managing member, your membership type was changed last year to Contributing per 2024’s Bylaw change that merged Managing and Contributing memberships.
Per another recent Bylaw change that allows for simplifying the voter affirmation process by treating past voting activity as intent to continue voting, if you voted last year, you will automatically be added to the 2026 voter roll. Please note: If you removed or changed your email on psfmember.org, you may not automatically be added to this year's voter roll.
What happens next?
You’ll get an email from OpaVote with a ballot (or two!) on or right before September 1st, and then you can vote!
Check out our PSF Membership page to learn more. If you have questions about membership, nominations, or this year’s Board election, please email psf-elections@pyfound.org or join the PSF Discord for the upcoming Board Office Hours on August 11th, 9 PM UTC. You are also welcome to join the discussion about the PSF Board election on the Python Discuss forum.
