The CHAOSS Community’s Election Officers would like to officially announce that the first ever community-driven CHAOSS Board Election is now officially open!
In January 2026, the CHAOSS Governing Board decided to revise the CHAOSS Charter to allow for a new process by which members join the Governing Board.
This change accomplishes several things:
- Allows any eligible CHAOSS community member to run for a seat
- Allows eligible CHAOSS community members to vote for Governing Board candidates
- Limits commitment for Governing Board seats to 2 years, with the option for Board members to run for re-election as many times as they wish
- Secures representation for the software projects within CHAOSS through dedicated seats on the Governing Board
In this way, new voices can be included in the governance of the CHAOSS project and the CHAOSS community can participate in the process.
The mechanics and details of this election can be found on GitHub. This document includes details on topics such as Board composition, which seats are open and when, eligibility requirements for candidates and voters, how the election process works, and what happens with vacancies.
This document also outlines the composition of an elections committee, made up of Elections Officers who are responsible for administering the elections and verifying results. This committee is made up of:
- Emma Irwin
- Ali Ok
- Elizabeth Barron
Taking inspiration from the Knative community, the CHAOSS elections will run on the secure and non-biased Elekto platform.
Starting today, interested candidates may nominate themselves for election to the CHAOSS Governing Board by following the steps outlined in the Candidate Guide.
The Election Officers will be hosting an Open Office Hours on April 23, 2026 to answer any questions you might have about the nomination or voting process. Additionally, we have compiled a set of comprehensive resources for the CHAOSS community.
We highly encourage the CHAOSS community to read through the documentation and to get ready to participate in the first community-driven CHAOSS Governing Board election process!
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
