Wikipedia:Elections

This is an information page.

It is not an encyclopedic article, nor one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting.

Shortcuts

In general, Wikipedia operates based on consensus, and voting is discouraged as a method of settling content disputes (though well-designed surveys can be useful to gauge and develop consensus). However, in order to fill certain specific functions in the community, there are a few instances in which we use or have used elections to select individuals for particular positions.

Arbitration Committee

Members of the Arbitration Committee are elected annually in the first week of December. Arbitrators currently serve two year terms, meaning only about half of the seats on the committee are open in each election. The committee may also call interim elections in extraordinary circumstances – but this has only happened once, for the first election in June 2004.

The first twelve arbitrators were directly appointed by Jimmy Wales in December 2003. The first regular election took place in December 2004 and has been held annually thereafter. Historically, Arbitration Committee elections were considered advisory and arbitrators were still formally appointed by Wales. He had stopped doing this by 2017 and his 'reserve powers' over the committee were formally removed by the community in 2023.

Administrator elections

Administrator elections is a process, pending a trial run, by which the Wikipedia community decides who will become administrators through a secret ballot vote. It is an alternative to the Requests for Adminship process.

Discontinued elections

The coordinator of the Association of Members' Advocates (AMA) was the first elected position on Wikipedia. Two elections were held: one in 2004 and one in 2006. The group was wound down in 2007.

The Mediation Committee, which was created at the same time as the Arbitration Committee but is now defunct, was not elected. It did elect a chairperson internally.

The Audit Subcommittee (AUSC) of the Arbitration Committee held an election for community members in October 2009 before switching to direct appointments from 2011 onwards.

Checkuser and oversight

Checkuser and oversight permissions are handled by the Arbitration Committee. In 2009 and 2010 the committee tried direct elections for the selection of checkusers and oversighters. There were three such elections:

February 2009 election: three users (Kylu, Lucasbfr, and Versageek) were granted the checkuser permission; four users (Daniel Case, EVula, Luna Santin, and Mailer diablo) were granted the oversight permission.
August 2009 election: three users (Brandon, Hersfold, and J.delanoy) were granted the checkuser permission; nine users (Avraham, Dweller, Howcheng, Keegan, Happy-melon, Hmwith, Mr.Z-man, Nishkid64, and Thatcher) were granted the oversight permission.
May 2010 election: one user (Amalthea) was granted the checkuser permission; no users were granted the oversight permission.

Due to the lack of positions filled in the May 2010 election, the committee reverted to appointing checkusers and oversighters directly, following a period of community consultation.

v t e Wikipedia accounts and governance
Unregistered (IP) users	Why create an account? Create an account Request an account IPs are human too IP addresses are not people IP hopper
Registered users	New account Logging in Reset passwords Username policy Changing username Usernames for administrator attention Unified login or SUL Alternate account
Account security	Password strength requirements User account security Personal security practices Two-factor authentication 2FA for AWB Committed identity On privacy, confidentiality and discretion Compromised accounts How to not get outed
Blocks, bans, sanctions, global actions	Blocking policy FAQ Admin's guide Tools Autoblock Appealing a block Guide to appealing blocks UTRS Unblock Ticket Request System Blocking IP addresses Range blocks IPv6 Open proxies Banning policy ArbCom appeals Sanctions Personal sanctions General sanctions Contentious topics and Log Essay Indef ≠ infinite Long-term abuse Standard offer Global actions
Related to accounts	Sockpuppetry Single-purpose account Sleeper account Vandalism-only account Wikibreak Enforcer Retiring Courtesy vanishing Clean start Quiet return
User groups and global user groups	Requests for permissions Admin instructions Admin guide Account creator PERM (Auto) confirmed PERM Autopatrolled PERM AutoWikiBrowser PERM Bot Request Edit filter helper Request Event coordinator PERM Extended confirmed PERM File mover PERM IP block exempt Request Mass message sender PERM New page reviewer PERM Page mover PERM Pending changes reviewer PERM Rollback PERM Template editor PERM Global rights policy Volunteer Response Team
Advanced user groups	Administrator RfA Bureaucrat RfB CheckUser and Oversight Request Edit filter manager Request Interface administrator Request Founder Importer Researcher
Committees and related	Arbitration Committee Bot approvals group Functionaries Clerks SPI clerks ArbCom clerks
Governance	Administration FAQ Formal organization Editorial oversight and control Quality control Wikimedia Foundation Board Founder's seat Meta-Wiki Proposals WikiProjects Elections Policies and guidelines Petitions Noticeboards Consensus Dispute resolution Reforms

Arbitration Committee

Administrator elections

Discontinued elections

Checkuser and oversight

See also