![]() | The following is a draft working towards a proposal for adoption as a Wikipedia policy, guideline, or process. The proposal must not be taken to represent consensus, but is still in development and under discussion, and has not yet reached the process of gathering consensus for adoption. Thus references or links to this page should not describe it as policy, guideline, nor yet even as a proposal. |
Administrator elections are a proposed process for selecting administrators – users with access to additional technical features that aid in maintenance. It is an alternative to requests for adminship (RfA), which has been the only way to become administrator on the English Wikipedia since 2003.[1] The first trial election will be held in October 2024. After this trial, the community will discuss if and how to proceed with administrator elections.
The elections do not replace requests for adminship. Prospective administrators may freely choose which process to use.
Rationale
editAdministrator elections are conducted by secret ballot using the SecurePoll software. A list of voters is available, but their votes are kept secret. The intent is to reduce the amount of contentious discussion amongst voters, thus making the process less antagonistic and increasing the number of candidates willing to volunteer to be administrators.
The number of requests for adminship declined year-on-year from a peak of 920 in 2007 to just 36 in 2016, and has since averaged around 23 per year.
Eligible candidates
editThe only formal prerequisite for adminship is having an extended confirmed account on Wikipedia (500 edits and 30 days of experience).[2] To get an insight of what the community is looking for, you could review some successful and some unsuccessful RfAs, or start an RfA candidate poll.
Procedure
editThe overall process lasts 10 days: an initial 3-day period for discussion and questions, and a 7-day period for a secret ballot vote. Candidates sign up by a specified date prior to the discussion and questions period.
Election cycles are advertised in advance, including watchlist notices. The process is managed by the bureaucrats, initially in concert with the WMF to set up the SecurePoll software.
Period 1: discussion and questions
editDuring this 3-day period, the community can ask questions and raise issues, as well as provide positive feedback. Candidates are encouraged to participate in the discussion period, answering questions and responding to feedback. During this time, commenters must not indicate their support or opposition.
Period 2: voting
editOnce the discussion period is complete, a secret ballot is held for 7 days, using SecurePoll. During this period, discussion is closed. Candidates may be asked direct questions on their user talk pages, but they are not expected to watch their discussion page, nor the election page for the full period, to allow them a respite from community vetting.
Who can vote
editAdministrator elections use the Arbitration Committee Election suffrage requirements. To vote, an editor must meet the following criteria:
- registered over 2 months before election
- have 150 mainspace edits by 1 month before election
- have 10 live edits in the year running up to 1 month before election
- not be sitewide blocked during the election
- not be vanished
- not be a bot
Tallying
editAt the end of Period 2, votes are scrutinised and tallied, results are announced, and new admins are granted administrative privileges. The pass threshold is 70% or greater. The vote tally is calculated by Support / (Support + Oppose) for each candidate.
Election dates
editAdministrator elections are approved for one election cycle as a trial run, then will need to be renewed with an RFC. This trial will take place in October 2024.
Are RFCs required before the trial?
editNo. The result of the corresponding request for comment discussion is The community supports trying this proposal for 1 election, after which it will be reviewed in Phase II.
While there are concerns regarding the implementation details of this proposal, given this is a trial run, there is sufficient support to run the election as written.
Accordingly, one election will be held, with implementation details (such as scrutineering) worked out based on discussions on this page's talk page. After the trial, request for comment discussions will be held to discuss how to proceed, thus allowing the community to alter the process if desired, or choose not to continue.
Comparison with requests for adminship
editProcess Features
|
Requests for adminship | Administrator elections |
---|---|---|
Discussion period | 2 days[3] | 3 days |
Voting period | 5 days | 7 days |
Ballot | Open | Secret (using SecurePoll) |
Success criterion | Consensus | Supermajority |
Success threshold | 65–75%[4] | 70% |
Suffrage | Extended confirmed account | See § Who can vote |
When | Any time | October 2024 |
Newsletter
editIf you'd like to receive a user talk message when important administrator election milestones are reached, such as when a date is chosen and when the "accepting candidates" phase opens, please add yourself to the mailing list.
See also
edit- Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2021 review/Proposals#Closed: 8B Admin elections – no consensus for admin elections
- Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2021 review/Proposals/Admin elections – detailed proposal
- Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase I#Proposal 13: Admin elections – consensus for a trial admin election
References
edit- ^ Before June 2003 it was possible to request adminship on a mailing list and some admins were appointed directly by Jimmy Wales.
- ^ Candidates were restricted to editors with an extended confirmed account following the discussion at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase I § Proposal 25: Require nominees to be extended confirmed.
- ^ As per consensus at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase I § Proposal 3b: Make the first two days discussion-only (trial), for a trial period, there is 2-day discussion-only period.
- ^ As RfA is a consensus-based process, there is not exact threshold for success, but in practice a candidate with below 65% support is almost always unsuccessful, and above 75% almost always successful. Candidates with between 65 and 75% support are typically subject to a bureaucrat discussion about the consensus for their request, and outcomes vary on a case-to-case basis.