A few weeks ago, I wrote about this year’s PSF Election, three proposed bylaws changes, and how I intended to vote. I’m happy that the membership overwhelmingly approved all three proposed bylaw changes. Here is this year’s results.

Merging Contributing and Managing member classes

This change is a good step toward consolidating two membership classes and a commitment to acknowledging that all community contributions are important, not just code contributions.

Simplifying the voter affirmation process by treating past voting activity as intent to continue voting

If you voted in last year’s election, there are fewer barriers to voting in the next election. With a 76% turnout this year, I suspect next year will still yield over a 50% voter turnout, and I suspect turnout will continue to be high.

Allow for removal of Fellows by a Board vote in response to Code of Conduct violations, removing the need for a vote of the membership

This one means the most to me. When I joined the board, our Code of Conduct was barely two paragraphs long and said little. We rewrote it and formed the PSF Code of Conduct workgroup. From today forward, we can appreciate that the Python Code of Conduct applies to everyone.

Overall

We also gained three new directors, including two returning directors. This election may be the first time we have had an election in which no one running from North America made it on the board. (Possibly Europe, too, but I didn’t dive as deep to verify that.) Either way, this is a noteworthy milestone.

I’m proud of the Python community for embracing our Code of Conduct and membership changes. A few of these were overdue, but updating the voter affirmation process is an excellent proactive step and a shift for the board.

I also want to thank Débora Azevedo, the PSF’s vice chair-elect and our outbound director. I was impressed with Débora when we served on the board together, and I thought she brought valuable insights. When she put her name forward to run for vice chair, I was impressed because it’s an intimidating group to put yourself out there, and I thought Débora managed it well.

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