From: Ian Kelling Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2025 15:36:04 +0000 (-0400) Subject: Add petition and ballot pictures X-Git-Url: https://iankelling.org/git/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=refs%2Fheads%2Fmain;p=election-results-2025 Add petition and ballot pictures --- 10ec76c6195f72b3f8952045bccf828ebadd1ad2 diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e259d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE @@ -0,0 +1,121 @@ +Creative Commons Legal Code + +CC0 1.0 Universal + + CREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION IS NOT A LAW FIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE + LEGAL SERVICES. DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE AN + ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. CREATIVE COMMONS PROVIDES THIS + INFORMATION ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS. 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Affirmer understands and acknowledges that Creative Commons is not a + party to this document and has no duty or obligation with respect to + this CC0 or use of the Work. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0b4d78 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,107 @@ +# Petition to the Open Source Initiative: Publish the Full 2025 Election Results + +**We, the undersigned, petition the Open Source Initiative +(OSI) to release the complete, unaltered results of its 2025 Board of +Directors elections**. We believe that by removing candidates and votes +*after* voting concluded, OSI has damaged its credibility. +We call for transparency as a first step toward repairing +OSI's integrity and reputation. + +## Background context + +**OSI relies *entirely* on community deference and respect** +for its authority in promoting Open Source and the +consistent use of the term "Open Source." + +- In 2012, OSI shifted toward operating as a member-driven organization. +- Every year since 2013, OSI has held elections where Individual and Affiliate members + vote on directors to represent them. +- Although OSI is not legally bound to accept the results, + the elections have been a key part of community and membership engagement, + and OSI has always worked to follow best practices for public elections. +- Until 2025, OSI has published the full results of elections. + +## 2025 election + +**In 2025, OSI excluded all votes for three candidates before publishing results.** +The announcement of the +[altered voting results](https://opensource.org/blog/announcing-the-new-directors-of-osi-board) +did not name the removed candidates, but they were Bentley Hensel, +Bradley Kuhn, and Richard Fontana (incidentally, a former OSI director). + +Notably, Kuhn and Fontana campaigned on a joint +[OSI Reform platform](https://codeberg.org/OSI-Reform-Platform/platform#readme) +which included four proposals, the most significant being a call to repeal +the newly-adopted Open Source AI Definition (OSAID). +They also advocated for revising the +[OSI Board Member Agreement](https://opensource.org/board/board-member-agreement), +because they interpreted the clause requiring members to "support publicly all Board +decisions" as being overly expansive and stifling. They proposed clarifying or +limiting the clause to achieve a better balance. + +Normally, as in prior years, as with other organizations, and as stated during +candidate orientation, signing of the Board Agreement would happen only +with the election winners as part of getting seated as new directors. +Kuhn and Fontana say that they brought up their concerns about the Agreement +during candidate orientation and came away with the understanding that they +would be able to discuss how to resolve the issue later if they won the election. + +Then, **about one hour after voting ended, OSI emailed a *new* requirement +to the 11 non-incumbent candidates. They gave a 47-hour deadline for all to +sign the board member agreement or be disqualified.** + +Hensel missed the deadline simply by not checking his email soon enough. +Having no chance to otherwise resolve or discuss their agreement +concerns, Fontana and Kuhn returned signed board member agreements that included +their proposed changes. OSI then published the announcement which +excluded all votes for the three candidates. + + +## Ramifications + +In general, changing election rules mid-process and altering vote counts +undermines the integrity of any election. +Results must be published transparently — regardless of whether a +candidate withdraws, dies, or is disqualified for any reason. Once a +candidate appears on the ballot, the only way to respect voters is to +count and report the votes as cast. Presenting altered voting results +*misrepresents* and disrespects the electorate. + +Regardless of particular concerns about the Board Agreement, for the +current OSI Board to remove critical candidates while hiding +the voting results presents a clear conflict of interest and invites +community speculation about motives and corruption. As +[*LWN* OSI election coverage](https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/1014603/ac0cfc0a74755501/) +noted, "a cynical person might conclude that the last-minute +requirement to sign the agreement was to disqualify one or both because +they would have won otherwise; and that the OSI leadership was unwilling +to have even a minority number of board members who might seek to steer +the ship in a different direction." + +## Call for resolution + +Many of us are community members who care about OSI's mission and wish +to see OSI thrive in good standing. This petition does not endorse +particular candidates or policy positions. We believe that everyone +should care about transparency regardless of whether we are supportive, +critical, or neutral on the policy concerns brought up in the election. + +**To restore credibility and integrity, we call on OSI to:** + +- Publish the full, unaltered election results. +- Credibly recommit to working with the community on all steps necessary to repair lost trust. + +## Petition Details + +**The petition is open. Signatures are welcome.** + +- **How to sign**: Submit your signature via a merge request on [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025) +- **When signing, please**: + - Indicate your relationship to OSI if applicable (Member, Former Director, etc.) +- **For OSI affiliates**: + - Affiliate Representatives should sign on behalf of their organization. + - Employees/volunteers may also sign separately in their individual capacity. + +Respectfully, + +SIGNATORIES HERE diff --git a/osi-2025-marked-ballot-example.png b/osi-2025-marked-ballot-example.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93d05c0 Binary files /dev/null and b/osi-2025-marked-ballot-example.png differ diff --git a/osi-2025-unmarked-ballot-example.png b/osi-2025-unmarked-ballot-example.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3bb62cb Binary files /dev/null and b/osi-2025-unmarked-ballot-example.png differ