Movement Charter/Ratification/Voting/Frequently asked questions

How can I verify my eligibility?

Editors can utilize the AccountEligibility tool to verify eligibility in the current election. The global account information page is available to learn more about your edit count and contribution history.

How are eligibility requirements set?

These are the same requirements used for the Board of Trustees elections.

Eligible voter is unable to vote or you receive the message: "Sorry, you are not in the predetermined list of users authorized to vote in this election."

Make sure you are logged in. Make sure you are voting from Meta-wiki, you can use this link to go to the voting start page. If you are a developer, Wikimedia Foundation staff member or Advisory Board member, we may not have been able to match you to a specific username. You should contact cecwikimediaorg to be added to the list. If you are still unable to vote and believe you should be able to please leave a message on the election talk page or contact cecwikimediaorg. A response should be sent within 72 hours.

I cannot log into VoteWiki.

You do not need to log into VoteWiki to vote. If you see the ballot, then SecurePoll has successfully identified you. For security reasons, only a limited number of accounts are registered on VoteWiki.

Is anyone able to see how I voted (as an individual)?

No, the election is secure. The election uses SecurePoll software. Votes are secret. No one from the Board or anyone on the Wikimedia Foundation staff has access to them. A member of the Trust & Safety team at the Wikimedia Foundation holds the encryption key for the election. Once the key is activated, the election is halted.

What data is collected about voters?

Some personally identifiable data on voters, including the IP address and user agent, is viewable by a select few persons who audit and tally the election, in particular the scrutineers. This data is automatically deleted 90 days after the election.

How will this data be used?

Metrics about this election will be summarized on the election pages results on Meta and the post-analysis report of the election. No personally identifiable information will be published. This personally identifiable information may be used to determine the number of independent voters and the global spread of voters.

When I vote, I see no acknowledgement that the vote was received, and an automated message appears saying that I need to be logged in to vote. What is happening?

You do not need to log into votewiki to vote. This error is likely a caching issue. We apologise for this problem: please try to vote again at SecurePoll landing page. This should prompt you with a message saying "The vote will be conducted on a central wiki. Please click the button below to be transferred." Clicking on the button will send you to the voting server and should allow you to vote. Also note that you are free to assign or change your voting preferences as many times as you like. Only one vote per user will be stored, and the system will simply replace your old vote(s) with the new one, and discard any previous vote(s). When your voting process is complete, a receipt is displayed on your screen, which you may retain as evidence that you have voted.

How is the voting system safeguarded from users entering multiple votes?

Only one vote per user is stored on the system. You are free to assign or change your voting preferences as many times as you like. The system will simply replace your old vote(s) with the new one, and discard any previous vote(s).

What does the ballot say and how do I understand it?

Both the individual and affiliate votes have the same ballot. The ballot asks one simple question: "Do you/your affiliate support the ratification of the Wikimedia Movement Charter?" The options for this question are: yes, no, -. Please select "yes" or "no" to cast a vote. Selecting "-" does not count for or against ratification - it is essentially a neutral or abstain vote - but it will allow you to leave a comment. There's an optional field for you to leave a comment with your vote (regardless of how you vote); the comment will be public, but will not be attributed to you as the voter.

Other questions not mentioned here

For technical or vote system errors, please email cecwikimediaorg. Please specify the username you are trying to vote with and the project where you are trying to vote. A member of the project team will respond to your email as soon as possible.