Debian Project Leader elections - who votes [LWN.net]

The third call for votes has gone out for this year's Debian Project Leader elections and the project secretary reports a low ebb for voter participation. By this time next week a new DPL will have been chosen. As the Debian developers muddle though their decision, others ask why this election is restricted to Debian Developers. What about all the other people who regularly contribute time and effort to the Debian project?

All Debian elections are open to the Developers, those people who have their key on the official key ring. This makes validation of votes easier. All votes must be signed by a key and if that key isn't on the keyring, it doesn't count. Also the secretary can track who has voted and make sure that each person's vote is counted only once. (It's possible to change your vote by sending in an amended ballot, which then invalidates the previous ballot.)

But the Debian Project continues to grow and part of that is an increasing number of people who contribute to Debian without becoming Debian Developers. They help out as translators, package maintainers, and other places and they care about the issues. What they don't have is their key on the keyring, so they can't vote.

Those people who are Debian Developers have worked hard to get there. Voting is a privilege that they have earned. Still, it seems clear that Debian cannot afford to disenfranchise the many others who contribute to the project. As Benjamin Mako Hill posted, "I'd like to see those who have made long-term, sustained, and significant contributions to Debian enfranchised. That could mean broadening the category of developer through changes to NM or it could also mean another enfranchised category of contributor."

Perhaps it's time for a second keyring. One that doesn't give it's members all the privileges of a Debian Developer (like access to the servers), but shows that one has made a commitment to the project and deserves the right to vote.