Re: Extend nomination period when only one candidate stands

Hi there,

Thanks for your resolution, but please note it does not follow the basic 
procedure as detailed here. [1]

Per the constitution section 3.1, you must be a Debian Developer to propose or 
sponsor a resolution [2], if this is not the case we will not be able to 
accept the proposal in its current form.

[1] https://www.debian.org/vote/howto_proposal
[2] https://www.debian.org/devel/constitution

Aye yours,
Hibby

On Wednesday, 18 March 2026 23:10:47 Greenwich Mean Time protondebian wrote:
> RESOLUTION
> 
> I propose amending the Debian Constitution as follows:
> >If, at the close of the nomination period for a Debian Project Leader
> >election, only one valid candidate has been nominated, the nomination
> >period shall be automatically extended by 21 days; during this extended
> >period, additional candidates may be nominated in accordance with the
> >usual nomination requirements; if, at the end of the extended period, only
> >one valid candidate remains, the campaigning period shall begin as normal
> >without further delay.
> >
> >If this amendment takes effect at a time when the most recent Debian
> >Project Leader election had only one valid candidate and no extended
> >nomination period was applied, an additional Debian Project Leader
> >election shall be held within 3 months of this amendment taking effect.
> RATIONALE
> 
> As we can presently see, it is possible for a Debian Project Leader Election
> to have only a single candidate, which effectively turns the campaigning
> period into a waste of time devoid of discussion or participation. It is
> not even for a lack of interest that this year's election is uncontested,
> as there is at least one example of an individual unfortunately nominating
> themselves a day late
> (https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2026/03/msg00027.html). Moreover, by
> the current rules, 1 week is deemed plenty of time for nominations, yet
> three weeks of non-campaigning is deemed an essential, productive use of
> time; this contradiction immediately falls apart upon scrutiny because
> these three weeks would be put to better use making the election more
> competitive. Thus, extending nominations to prevent situations like these
> would make election outcomes more legitimate and increase confidence in
> leadership.