WSFS Constitution(as of September 5, 2022)
of the World Science Fiction Society
SECRETARY’S NOTE: Items in green are hyperlinked cross-references.
Section 1.1: Name. The name of this organization shall be the World Science Fiction Society, hereinafter referred to as WSFS or the Society.
Section 1.2: Objectives. WSFS is an unincorporated literary society whose functions are:
(1) To choose the recipients of the annual Hugo Awards (Science Fiction Achievement Awards).
(2) To choose the locations and Committees for the annual World Science Fiction Conventions (hereinafter referred to as Worldcons).
(3) To attend those Worldcons.
(4) To choose the locations and Committees for the occasional North American Science Fiction Conventions (hereinafter referred to as NASFiCs).
(5) To perform such other activities as may be necessary or incidental to the above purposes.
Section 1.3: Restrictions. No part of the Society’s net earnings shall be paid to its members, officers, or other private persons except in furtherance of the Society’s purposes. The Society shall not attempt to influence legislation or any political campaign for public office. Should the Society dissolve, its assets shall be distributed by the current Worldcon Committee or the appropriate court having jurisdiction, exclusively for charitable purposes. In this section, references to the Society include the Mark Protection Committee and all other agencies of the Society but not convention bidding or operating committees.
Section 1.4: Membership. The Membership of WSFS shall consist of all people who have paid membership dues to the Committee of the current Worldcon.
Section 1.5: Memberships.
1.5.1: Each Worldcon shall offer WSFS memberships and attending supplements.
1.5.2: The rights of WSFS members of a Worldcon include the right to receive all of its generally distributed publications. WSFS memberships held by natural persons may not be transferred, except that, in case of death of a natural person holding a WSFS membership, it may be transferred to the estate of the decedent.
1.5.3: The rights of WSFS members who have an attending supplement of a Worldcon include the rights of WSFS members plus the right of general attendance at said Worldcon and at the WSFS Business Meeting held thereat.
1.5.4: Members of WSFS who cast a site-selection ballot with the required fee shall be supporting members of the selected Worldcon.
1.5.5: Voters have the right to purchase an attending supplement in the selected Worldcon within ninety (90) days of its selection, for an additional fee set by its committee. This fee must not exceed four (4) times the site-selection fee and must not exceed the price of an attending supplement for new members.
1.5.6: The Worldcon Committee shall make provision for persons to become supporting members for no more than one hundred and twenty-five percent (125%) of the site-selection fee, or such higher amount as has been approved by the Business Meeting, until a cutoff date no earlier than ninety (90) days before their Worldcon.
1.5.7: Other memberships and fees shall be at the discretion of the Worldcon Committee.
1.5.8: No convention committee shall sell a membership that includes any WSFS voting rights for less than the cost of the Supporting Membership required by Article 4 in the selection of that convention.
1.5.9: No convention committee shall sell a membership that is available to persons of the age of majority at the time of the convention (as defined by the laws of the country and other jurisdictions where the convention is being held), that allows attendance and full participation for the entire duration of the convention and that does not include all WSFS voting rights. Should no law of the country and other jurisdictions where the convention is being held define an age of majority, the convention shall consider all persons 18 years of age or older as being of age of majority.
1.5.10: No convention shall terminate the sale of supporting memberships prior to the close of site selection.
Section 1.6: Authority. Authority and responsibility for all matters concerning the Worldcon, except those reserved herein to WSFS, shall rest with the Worldcon Committee, which shall act in its own name and not in that of WSFS.
Section 1.7: The Mark Protection Committee.
1.7.1: There shall be a Mark Protection Committee of WSFS, which shall be responsible for registration and protection of the marks used by or under the authority of WSFS.
1.7.2: The Mark Protection Committee shall submit to the Business Meeting at each Worldcon a report of its activities since the previous Worldcon, including a statement of income and expense.
1.7.3: The Mark Protection Committee shall hold a meeting at each Worldcon after the end of the Business Meeting, at a time and place announced at the Business Meeting.
1.7.4: The Mark Protection Committee shall determine and elect its own officers.
Section 1.8: Membership of the Mark Protection Committee.
1.8.1: The Mark Protection Committee shall consist of:
(1) One (1) member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future selected Worldcon Committee and each of the two (2) immediately preceding Worldcon Committees,
(2) One (1) member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future selected NASFiC Committee and for each Committee of a NASFiC held in the previous two years, and
(3) Nine (9) members elected three (3) each year to staggered three-year terms by the Business Meeting.
1.8.2: Newly elected members take their seats, and the term of office ends for elected and appointed members whose terms expire that year, at the end of the Business Meeting.
1.8.3: If vacancies occur in elected memberships in the Committee, the remainder of the position’s term may be filled by the Business Meeting, and until then temporarily filled by the Committee.
Section 2.1: Duties. Each Worldcon Committee shall, in accordance with this Constitution, provide for
(1) administering the Hugo Awards,
(2) administering any future Worldcon or NASFiC site selection required, and
(3) holding a WSFS Business Meeting.
Section 2.2: Marks. Every Worldcon and NASFiC Committee shall include a notice in each of its publications that clearly acknowledges the service marks of the Society. The Mark Protection Committee shall supply each Worldcon committee with the correct form of such notice.
Section 2.3: Official Representative. Each future selected Worldcon Committee shall designate an official representative to the Business Meeting to answer questions about their Worldcon.
Section 2.4: Distribution of Rules. The current Worldcon Committee shall publish the WSFS Constitution and Standing Rules, together with an explanation of proposed changes approved but not yet ratified. The Committee shall distribute these documents to all WSFS members at a point between two hundred seventy (270) and ninety (90) days prior to the Worldcon, and shall also distribute them on paper to all WSFS members in attendance at the Worldcon upon registration.
Section 2.5: Bid Presentations. Each Worldcon Committee shall provide a reasonable opportunity for bona fide bidding committees for the Worldcon to be selected the following year to make presentations.
Section 2.6: Incapacity of Committees. With sites being selected two (2) years in advance, there are at least two selected current or future Worldcon Committees at all times. If one of these should be unable to perform its duties, the other selected current or future Worldcon Committee shall determine what action to take, by consulting the Business Meeting or by mail poll of WSFS if there is sufficient time, or by decision of the Committee if there is not sufficient time. Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee pursuant to this section, they are not restricted by exclusion zone or other qualifications.
Section 2.7: Membership Pass-along. Within ninety (90) days after a Worldcon, the administering Committee shall, except where prohibited by local law, forward to the Committee of the next Worldcon its best information as to the names and contact information of all of its Worldcon members who have given permission for that data transfer and only for the purposes for which permission to use that data transfer and only for the purposes for which permission to use that data was given.
Section 2.8: Financial Openness. Any member of WSFS shall have the right, under reasonable conditions, to examine the financial records and books of account of the current Worldcon or NASFiC Committee, all future selected Worldcon or NASFiC Committees, the two immediately preceding Worldcon Committees, and the Committees of any NASFiCs held in the previous two years.
Section 2.9: Financial Reports.
2.9.1: Each future selected Worldcon or NASFiC Committee shall submit an annual financial report, including a statement of income and expenses, to each WSFS Business Meeting after the Committee’s selection.
2.9.2: Each Worldcon or NASFiC Committee shall submit a report on its cumulative surplus/loss at the next Business Meeting after its convention.
2.9.3: Each Worldcon or NASFiC Committee should dispose of surplus funds remaining after accounts are settled for its convention for the benefit of WSFS as a whole.
2.9.4: In the event of a surplus, the Worldcon or NASFiC Committee, or any alternative organizational entity established to oversee and disburse that surplus, shall file annual financial reports regarding the disbursement of that surplus at each year’s Business Meeting, until the surplus is totally expended or an amount equal to the original surplus has been disbursed.
2.9.5: All financial reports shall include the convention’s name, mailing address and other contact information, including the name of the person certifying and submitting the report and, if applicable, the name of the convention’s parent organization, its tax-exempt status, the location of incorporation, its address, website, email and other contact information, and the names and titles of its current officers.
Section 3.1: Introduction. Selection of the Hugo Awards shall be made as provided in this Article.
Section 3.2: General.
3.2.1: Unless otherwise specified, Hugo Awards are given for work in the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year.
3.2.2: A work shall not be eligible if in a prior year it received sufficient nominations to appear on the final award ballot.
3.2.3: Publication date, or cover date in the case of a dated periodical, takes precedence over copyright date.
3.2.4: Works appearing in a series are eligible as individual works, but the series as a whole is not eligible, except under Section 3.3.5. However, a work appearing in a number of parts shall be eligible for the year of the final part.
3.2.5: In thestory categories (3.3.1-3.3.6), an author may withdraw a version of a work from consideration if the author feels that the version is not representative of what that author wrote.
3.2.6: The categories of Best Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, and Series shall be open to works in which the text is the primary form of communication, regardless of the publication medium, including but not limited to physical print, audiobook, and ebook.
3.2.7: The Worldcon Committee shall not consider previews, promotional trailers, commercials, public service announcements, or other extraneous material when determining the length of a work. Running times of dramatic presentations shall be based on their first general release.
3.2.8: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a story into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the story is within twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.
3.2.9: No work shall appear in more than one category on the final Award ballot.
3.2.10: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within twenty percent (20%) of the new category boundary.
3.2.11: A Professional Publication is one which meets at least one of the following two criteria:
(1) it provided at least a quarter the income of any one person or,
(2) was owned or published by any entity which provided at least a quarter the income of any of its staff and/or owner.
3.2.12: The Worldcon Committee is responsible for all matters concerning their Awards.
Section 3.3: Categories.
3.3.1: Best Novel. A science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
3.3.2: Best Novella. A science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
3.3.3: Best Novelette. A science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
3.3.4: Best Short Story. A science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
3.3.5: Best Series. A multi-installment science fiction or fantasy story, unified by elements such as plot, characters, setting, and presentation, appearing in at least three (3) installments consisting in total of at least 240,000 words by the close of the previous calendar year, at least one (1) installment of which was published in the previous calendar year, and which has not previously won under 3.3.5.
3.3.5.1: Previous losing finalists in the Best Series category shall be eligible only upon the publication of at least two (2) additional installments consisting in total of at least 240,000 words after they qualified for their last appearance on the final ballot and by the close of the previous calendar year.
3.3.6: Best Graphic Story or Comic. Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in the previous calendar year.
3.3.7: Best Related Work. Any work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year or which has been substantially modified during the previous calendar year, and which is either non-fiction or, if fictional, is noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text, and which is not eligible in any other category.
3.3.8: Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Any theatrical feature or other production, with a complete running time of more than 90 minutes, in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.
3.3.9: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. Any television program or other production, with a complete running time of 90 minutes or less, in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.
3.3.10: Best Editor Short Form. The editor of at least four (4) anthologies, collections or magazine issues (or their equivalent in other media) primarily devoted to science fiction and / or fantasy, at least one of which was published in the previous calendar year.
3.3.11: Best Editor Long Form. The editor of at least four (4) novel-length works primarily devoted to science fiction and / or fantasy published in the previous calendar year that do not qualify as works under 3.3.10.
3.3.12: Best Professional Artist. An illustrator whose work has appeared in a professional publication in the field of science fiction or fantasy during the previous calendar year.
3.3.13: Best Semiprozine. Any generally available non-professional periodical publication devoted to science fiction or fantasy, or related subjects which by the close of the previous calendar year has published four (4) or more issues (or the equivalent in other media), at least one (1) of which appeared in the previous calendar year, which does not qualify as a fancast, and which in the previous calendar year met at least one (1) of the following criteria:
(1) paid its contributors and/or staff in other than copies of the publication,
(2) was generally available only for paid purchase,
3.3.14: Best Fanzine. Any generally available non-professional periodical publication devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects that by the close of the previous calendar year has published four (4) or more issues (or the equivalent in other media), at least one (1) of which appeared in the previous calendar year, that does not qualify as a semiprozine or a fancast, and that in the previous calendar year met neither of the following criteria:
(1) paid its contributors or staff monetarily in other than copies of the publication,
(2) was generally available only for paid purchase.
3.3.15: Best Fancast. Any generally available non-professional audio or video periodical devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects that by the close of the previous calendar year has released four (4) or more episodes, at least one (1) of which appeared in the previous calendar year, and that does not qualify as a dramatic presentation.
3.3.16: Best Fan Writer. Any person whose writing has appeared in semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electronic media during the previous calendar year.
3.3.17: Best Fan Artist. An artist or cartoonist whose work has appeared through publication in semiprozines or fanzines or through other public, non-professional, display (including at a convention or conventions, posting on the internet, in online or print-on-demand shops, or in another setting not requiring a fee to see the image in full-resolution) during the previous calendar year.
3.3.18: Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is given for a book published for young adult readers in the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year, with such exceptions as are listed inSection 3.4.
3.3.19: Additional Category. Not more than one special category may be created by the current Worldcon Committee with nomination and voting to be the same as for the permanent categories. The Worldcon Committee is not required to create any such category; such action by a Worldcon Committee should be under exceptional circumstances only; and the special category created by one Worldcon Committee shall not be binding on following Committees. Awards created under this paragraph shall be considered to be Hugo Awards.
Section 3.4: Extended Eligibility.
3.4.1: A work originally appearing in a language other than English shall also be eligible for the year in which it is first issued in English translation.
3.4.2: Works originally published outside the United States of America and first published in the United States of America in the previous calendar year shall also be eligible for Hugo Awards.
3.4.2.1: For finalists in the Series category that have previously appeared on the ballot for Best Series, any installments published in English in a year prior to that previous appearance, regardless of country of publication, shall be considered to be part of the Series’ previous eligibility, and will not count toward the re-eligibility requirements for the current year.
3.4.3: In the event that a potential Hugo Award nominee receives extremely limited distribution in the year of its first publication or presentation, its eligibility may be extended for an additional year by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the intervening Business Meeting of WSFS.
Section 3.5: Name and Design. The Hugo Award shall continue to be standardized on the rocket ship design of Jack McKnight and Ben Jason as refined by Peter Weston. Each Worldcon Committee may select its own choice of base design. The name (Hugo Award) and the design shall not be extended to any other award.
Section 3.6: “No Award”. At the discretion of an individual Worldcon Committee, if the lack of nominations or final votes in a specific category shows a marked lack of interest in that category on the part of the voters, the Award in that category shall be canceled for that year.
Section 3.7: Nominations.
3.7.1: The Worldcon Committee shall conduct a poll to select the finalists for the Award voting. Each member of the administering Worldcon or the immediately preceding Worldcon as of January 31 of the current calendar year shall be allowed to make up to five (5) equally weighted nominations in every category.
3.7.2: The Committee shall include with each nomination ballot a copy of Article 3 of the WSFS Constitution and any applicable extensions of eligibility under Section 3.4.
3.7.3: Nominations shall be solicited only for the Hugo Awards, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book.
Section 3.8: Tallying of Nominations.
3.8.1: Except as provided below, the final Award ballots shall list in each category the six eligible nominees receiving the most nominations as determined by the process described in Section 3.9.
3.8.2: The Worldcon Committee shall determine the eligibility of nominees and assignment to the proper category of works nominated in more than one category.
3.8.3: If any series and a subset series thereof both receive sufficient nominations to appear on the final ballot, only the version which received more nominations shall appear.
3.8.4: Any nominations for “No Award” shall be disregarded.
3.8.5: If a nominee appears on a nomination ballot more than once in any one category, only one nomination shall be counted in that category.
3.8.6: If there are more than two works in the same category that are episodes of the same dramatic presentation series or that are written works that have an author for single author works, or two or more authors for co-authored works, in common, only the two works in each category that have the most nominations shall appear on the final ballot. The Worldcon Committee shall make reasonable efforts to notify those who would have been finalists in the absence of this subsection to provide them an opportunity to withdraw. For the purpose of this exclusion, works withdrawn shall be ignored.
3.8.7: The Committee shall move a nomination on an individual ballot from another category to the work’s default category only if the member has made fewer than five (5) nominations in the default category.
3.8.8: If a work is eligible in more than one category, and if the work receives sufficient nominations to appear in more than one category, the Worldcon Committee shall determine in which category the work shall appear, based on the category in which it receives the most nominations.
3.8.9: If a work receives a nomination in its default category, and if the Committee relocates the work under its authority under subsection 3.2.8 or 3.2.10, the Committee shall count the nomination even if the member already has made five (5) nominations in the more-appropriate category.
Section 3.9: Finalist Selection Process
3.9.1: For each category, the finalist selection process shall be conducted as elimination rounds consisting of three phases:
(1) Calculation Phase: First, the total number of nominations (the number of ballots on which each nominee appears) from all eligible ballots shall be tallied for each remaining nominee. Next, a single “point” shall be assigned to each nomination ballot. That point shall be divided equally among all remaining nominees on that ballot. Finally, all points from all nomination ballots shall be totaled for each nominee in that category. These two numbers, point total and number of nominations, shall be used in the Selection and Elimination Phases.
(2) Selection Phase: The two nominees with the lowest point totals shall be selected for comparison in the Elimination Phase. (See 3.9.3 for ties.)
(3) Elimination Phase: Nominees chosen in the Selection Phase shall be compared, and the nominee with the fewest number of nominations shall be eliminated and removed from all ballots for the Calculation Phase of all subsequent rounds. (See 3.9.3 for ties.)
3.9.2: The phases described in 3.9.1 are repeated in order for each category until the number of finalists specified in 3.8.1 remain. If elimination would reduce the number of finalists to fewer than the number specified in section 3.8.1, then instead no nominees will be eliminated during that round, and all remaining nominees shall appear on the final ballot, extending it if necessary.
3.9.3: Ties shall be handled as described below:
(1) During the Selection Phase, if two or more nominees are tied for the lowest point total, all such nominees shall be selected for the Elimination Phase.
(2) During the Selection Phase, if one nominee has the lowest point total and two or more nominees are tied for the second-lowest point total, then all such nominees shall be selected for the Elimination Phase.
(3) During the Elimination Phase, if two or more nominees are tied for the fewest number of nominations, the nominee with the lowest point total at that round shall be eliminated.
(4) During the Elimination Phase, if two or more nominees are tied for both fewest number of nominations and lowest point total, then all such nominees tied at that round shall be eliminated.
3.9.4: After the initial Award ballot is generated, if any finalist(s) are removed for any reason, they will be replaced by other works in reverse order of elimination.
Section 3.10: Notification and Acceptance.
3.10.1 Worldcon Committees shall use reasonable efforts to notify the finalists, or in the case of deceased or incapacitated persons, their heirs, assigns, or legal guardians, in each category prior to the release of such information. Each person notified shall be asked at that time to either accept or decline the nomination. If the person notified declines nomination, that finalist(s) shall not appear on the final ballot. The procedure for replacement of such finalist(s) is described in subsection 3.9.4.
3.10.2 In the Best Professional Artist category, the acceptance should include citations of at least three (3) works first published in the eligible year.
3.10.3 Each finalist in the categories of Best Fanzine and Best Semiprozine shall be required to provide information confirming that they meet the qualifications of their category.
Section 3.11: Voting.
3.11.1: Final Award voting shall be by balloting in advance of the Worldcon. Postal mail shall always be acceptable. Only WSFS members may vote. Final Award ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces to be filled in by the voter; however, if the voter does not have their membership number, it may be supplied by the Hugo Administrator or their designated staff member.
3.11.2: Final Award ballots shall list only the Hugo Awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book.
3.11.3: “No Award” shall be listed in each category of Hugo Award on the final ballot.
3.11.4: The Committee shall, on or with the final ballot, designate, for each finalist in the printed fiction categories, one or more books, anthologies, or magazines in which the finalist appeared (including the book publisher or magazine issue date(s)).
3.11.5: Voters shall indicate the order of their preference for the finalists in each category.
Section 3.12: Tallying of Votes.
3.12.1: In each category, tallying shall be as described in Section 6.4. “No Award” shall be treated as a finalist. If all remaining finalists are tied, no tie-breaking shall be done and the finalists excluding “No Award” shall be declared joint winners.
3.12.2: “No Award” shall be given whenever the total number of valid ballots cast for a specific category (excluding those cast for “No Award” in first place) is less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total number of final Award ballots received.
3.12.3: “No Award” shall be the run-off candidate for the purposes ofSection 6.5.
3.12.4: The complete numerical vote totals, including all preliminary tallies for first, second, . . . places, shall be made public by the Worldcon Committee within ninety (90) days after the Worldcon. During the same period, the results of the last ten rounds of the finalist selection process for each category (or all the rounds if there are fewer than ten) shall also be published.
Section 3.13: Exclusions. No member of the current Worldcon Committee or any publications closely connected with a member of the Committee shall be eligible for an Award. However, should the Committee delegate all authority under this Article to a Subcommittee whose decisions are irrevocable by the Worldcon Committee, then this exclusion shall apply to members of the Subcommittee only.
Section 3.14: Retrospective Hugo Awards.
3.14.1: A Worldcon held in a year that is an exact multiple of 25 years after a year in which no Hugo Awards were awarded may conduct nominations and elections for retrospective year Hugo Awards for that year with procedures as for the current Hugo Awards, provided that year was 1939 or later and that no previous Worldcon has awarded retrospective year Hugo Awards for that year.
3.14.2: In any listing of Hugo Award winners published by a Worldcon committee or WSFS, retrospective Hugo Awards shall be distinguished and annotated with the year in which such retrospective Hugo Awards were voted.
Section 4.1: Voting.
4.1.1: WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held two (2) years from the date of the current Worldcon.
4.1.2: Voting shall be by written ballot cast either by mail or at the current Worldcon with tallying as described in Section 6.4.
4.1.3: The current Worldcon Committee shall administer the voting, collect the advance membership fees, and turn over those funds to the winning Committee before the end of the current Worldcon.
4.1.4: The site-selection voting totals shall be announced at the Business Meeting and published in the first or second Progress Report of the winning Committee, with the by-mail and at-convention votes distinguished.
Section 4.2: Voter Eligibility.
4.2.1: Voting shall be limited to WSFS members who have purchased at least a supporting membership in the Worldcon whose site is being selected.
4.2.2: The supporting membership rate shall be set by unanimous agreement of the current Worldcon Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the default fee shall be the median (middle value) of the US dollar fees used in the previous three (3) Worldcon site selections.
Section 4.3: Non-Natural Persons. Corporations, associations, and other non-human or artificial entities may cast ballots, but only for “No Preference”. “Guest of” memberships may only cast “No Preference” ballots. Memberships transferred to individual natural persons may cast preferential ballots, provided that the transfer is accepted by the administering convention.
Section 4.4: Ballots.
4.4.1: Site-selection ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces. The ballot should be filled in by the voter; however, if the voter does not have their membership number, it may be supplied by the Site Selection Administrator or their designated staff member. Each site-selection ballot shall list the options “None of the Above” and “No Preference” and provide for write-in votes, after the bidders and with equal prominence. The supporting membership rate shall be listed on all site-selection ballots.
4.4.2: Worldcons may, with the agreement of all active bids, choose to offer any electronic signature means legal in the seated Worldcon’s home jurisdiction.
4.4.3: Worldcons must offer the option to receive a paper site selection ballot regardless of that member’s selection for other publications. Should they choose to include other material (such as an addressed envelope and stamp or International Reply Coupon), they may charge a reasonable fee for such materials.
Section 4.5: Tallying.
4.5.1: The name and address information shall be separated from the ballots and the ballots counted only at the Worldcon. Each bidding committee should provide at least two (2) tellers. Each bidding committee may make a record of the name and address of every voter.
4.5.2: A ballot voted with first or only choice for “No Preference” shall be ignored for site selection. A ballot voted with lower than first choice for “No Preference” shall be ignored if all higher choices on the ballot have been eliminated in preferential tallying.
4.5.3: “None of the Above” shall be treated as a bid for tallying, and shall be the run-off candidate for the purposes of Section 6.5.
4.5.4: All ballots shall be initially tallied by their first preferences, even if cast for a bid that the administering Committee has ruled ineligible. If no eligible bid achieves a majority on the first round of tallying, then on the second round all ballots for ineligible bids shall be redistributed to their first eligible choices, and tallying shall proceed according to Section 6.4.
4.5.5: If “None of the Above” wins, or if two or more bids are tied for first place at the end of tallying, the duty of site selection shall devolve on the Business Meeting of the current Worldcon. If the Business Meeting is unable to decide by the end of the Worldcon, the Committee for the following Worldcon shall make the selection without undue delay.
4.5.6: Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a win by “None of the Above,” they are not restricted by exclusion zone or other qualifications.
4.5.7: Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a tie in tallying, they must select one of the tied bids.
Section 4.6: Bid Eligibility.
4.6.1: To be eligible for site selection, a bidding committee must file the following documents with the Committee that will administer the voting:
(1) an announcement of intent to bid;
(2) adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed site’s facilities, such as a conditional contract or a letter of agreement;
(3) the rules under which the Worldcon Committee will operate, including a specification of the term of office of their chief executive officer or officers and the conditions and procedures for the selection and replacement of such officer or officers.
4.6.2: The bidding committee must supply written copies of these documents to any member of WSFS on request.
4.6.3: For a bid to be allowed on the printed ballot, the bidding committee must file the documents specified above no later than 180 days prior to the official opening of the administering convention.
4.6.4: To be eligible as a write-in, the bidding committee must file the documents specified above by the close of the voting.
4.6.5: If no bids meet these qualifications, the selection shall proceed as though “None of the Above” had won.
Section 4.7: Site Eligibility. A site shall be ineligible if it is within five hundred (500) miles or eight hundred (800) kilometers of the site at which selection occurs.
Section 4.8: NASFiC. If the selected Worldcon site is not in North America, there shall be a NASFiC in North America that year. Selection of the NASFiC shall be by the identical procedure to the Worldcon selection except as provided below or elsewhere in this Constitution:
4.8.1: Voting shall be by written ballot administered by the following year’s Worldcon, if there is no NASFiC in that year, or by the following year’s NASFiC, if there is one, with ballots cast at the administering convention or by mail, and with only members of the administering convention allowed to vote.
4.8.2: NASFiC Committees shall make all reasonable efforts to avoid conflicts with Worldcon dates.
4.8.3: The proposed NASFiC supporting membership rate can be set by unanimous agreement of the administering Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the default fee shall be the median (middle value) of the US dollar fees used in the previous three (3) Worldcon site selections.
4.8.4: If “None of the Above” wins, or if no eligible bid files by the deadline, then no NASFiC shall be held and any supporting membership payments collected for the NASFiC site selection shall be refunded by the administering convention without undue delay.
4.8.5: In the case the administering convention is a NASFiC, it shall hold a Business Meeting to receive the results of the site selection voting and to handle any other business pertaining directly, and only, to the selection of the future NASFiC convention. This meeting shall have no other powers or duties.
4.8.6: For the purposes of this Constitution, North America is defined as: Canada, the United States of America (including Hawaii, Alaska, and the District of Columbia), Mexico, Central America, the islands of the Caribbean, St. Pierre et Miquelon, Bermuda, and the Bahamas.
Section 5.1: WSFS Business Meetings.
5.1.1: Business Meetings of WSFS shall be held at advertised times at each Worldcon.
5.1.2: The current Worldcon Committee shall provide the Presiding Officer and Staff for each Meeting.
5.1.3: Standing Rules for the Governance of the Business Meeting and related activities may be adopted or amended by a majority vote at any Business Meeting. Amendments to Standing Rules shall take effect at the close of the Worldcon where they are adopted; this rule may be suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
5.1.4: Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of (in descending order of precedence) the WSFS Constitution; the Standing Rules; such other rules as may be published in advance by the current Committee (which rules may be suspended by the Business Meeting by the same procedure as a Standing Rule); the customs and usages of WSFS (including the resolutions and rulings of continuing effect); and the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
5.1.5: The quorum for the Business Meeting shall be twelve members of the Society physically present.
5.1.6. Deadline for Submission of New Business. The deadline for submission of non-privileged new business and committee reports to the Business Meeting shall be thirty (30) days before the first Preliminary Meeting. Proposed agenda items may be withdrawn by the consent of all proposing members at any time up to fourteen (14) days before the published deadline for submitting new business. A list of such withdrawn business must be made available to the membership. The Presiding Officer may accept otherwise qualified motions and reports submitted after the deadline, but all such motions shall initially be placed at the end of the agenda. This rule may be suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
Section 5.2: Continuation of Committees. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, any committee or other position created by a Business Meeting shall lapse at the end of the next following Business Meeting that does not vote to continue it.
Section 5.3: Constitutional Pass-along. Within sixty (60) days after the end of each Worldcon, the Business Meeting staff shall send a copy of all changes to the Constitution and Standing Rules, and all items awaiting ratification, to the next Worldcon Committee
Section 6.1: Conduct. The conduct of the affairs of WSFS shall be determined by this Constitution together with all ratified amendments hereto and such Standing Rules as the Business Meeting shall adopt for its own governance.
Section 6.2: Natural Persons. In all matters arising under this Constitution, only natural persons may introduce business, nominate, or vote, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Constitution. No person may cast more than one vote on any issue or more than one ballot in any election. This shall not be interpreted to prohibit delivery of ballots cast by other eligible voters.
Section 6.3: Electronic Voting. Nothing in this Constitution shall be interpreted to prohibit conducting Hugo Awards nominating and voting and Site Selection voting by electronic means, except that conducting Site Selection by electronic means shall require the unanimous agreement of the current Worldcon committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. Valid paper ballots delivered by any means shall always be acceptable. This section shall not be interpreted to require that such elections be conducted electronically, nor shall it be interpreted to allow remote participation or proxy voting at the Business Meeting.
Section 6.4: Tallying of Votes. Votes shall first be tallied by the voter’s first choices. If no majority is then obtained, the candidate who places last in the initial tallying shall be eliminated and the ballots listing it as first choice shall be redistributed on the basis of those ballots’ second choices. This process shall be repeated until a majority-vote winner is obtained. If two or more candidates are tied for elimination during this process, the candidate that received fewer first-place votes shall be eliminated. If they are still tied, all the tied candidates shall be eliminated together.
Section 6.5: Run-off. After a tentative winner is determined, then unless the run-off candidate shall be the sole winner, the following additional test shall be made. If the number of ballots preferring the run-off candidate to the tentative winner is greater than the number of ballots preferring the tentative winner to the run-off candidate, then the run-off candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.
Section 6.6: Amendment. The WSFS Constitution may be amended by a motion passed by a simple majority at any Business Meeting but only to the extent that such motion is ratified by a simple majority at the Business Meeting of the subsequent Worldcon.
Section 6.7: Commencement. Any change to the Constitution of WSFS shall take effect at the end of the Worldcon at which such change is ratified, except that no change imposing additional costs or financial obligations upon Worldcon Committees shall be binding upon any Committee already selected at the time when it takes effect.
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The above copy of the World Science Fiction Society’s Constitution is hereby Certified to be True, Correct, and Complete.
Jared Dashoff, Presiding Officer
Linda Deneroff, Secretary
2022 WSFS Business Meeting
