Hugo Awards – Consultative Vote
Between Monday, July 22 and Monday, August 5, Glasgow 2024 conducted a consultative online vote on a proposed change to the Hugo Awards categories, enabling all WSFS members to express their view on this proposal.
Proposed Change
A resolution passed at the 2023 WSFS Business Meeting in Chengdu would create two new Hugo Award categories, the Best Independent Short Film Award and the Best Independent Feature Film Award. This change would have to be ratified by the 2024 WSFS Business Meeting in Glasgow to take effect, with the first Hugos in these categories being given out at Seattle in 2025. The proposers were invited to write a short statement in support of their proposal, and we have offered a similar facility to opponents.
Result of the Vote
Final Results Tally
For the Consultative Vote by WSFS Members of Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon For Our Futures on the Proposal to add two additional Hugo Award categories for film: Best Independent Film, Short and Feature Length*
- YES: 533 (42.3%)
- NO: 727 (57.7%)
- Total Ballots Cast: 1,260
Note: The consultative vote is not binding. The intent is to inform rather than direct the Business Meeting attendees. Within certain limits, the current proposal could be amended before it is ratified. The decisions made at the Business Meeting will be final.
(*) The full text of the proposal is available in the Agenda, item E.7, which can be accessed on the Business Meeting page
Voting Process
Only WSFS members of Glasgow 2024 were able to take part in this vote. We encouraged people to vote electronically where possible. However, we also supported voting by surface mail.
The ballot presented the proposed change to the WSFS constitution, followed by a statement in favour and a statement against. Members could then vote on a simple yes/no basis as shown below.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the consultative vote, please contact us at hugo-help@glasgow2024.org.
FAQ
Q. Why are you doing this?
A. Among the many potential reforms to WSFS Business Meeting procedures, putting proposals and other matters to a vote of WSFS members is an innovation that has often been mentioned, but has not previously made it beyond the idea stage. In 2016, the idea of an approval vote for Hugo finalists, as a third round in the nomination process, was passed at the Business Meeting, but it was not ratified in 2017. We therefore propose to test the operation of a consultative vote, to explore if and how such a procedure could become part of the permanent rules. Glasgow 2024’s core values are to be caring, inclusive and imaginative as a convention. The consultative vote is imaginative, in that it has not been done before; it demonstrates that we care about our members’ opinions; and it will be more inclusive than a physical meeting can ever be. We also note that we are not exercising the option of a special Hugo category this year; the consultative vote is our contribution to the ongoing development of the awards.
Q. Does this usurp the Business Meeting’s role in changing the constitution?
A. No. The consultative vote will have no constitutional force. The decisions made by the Business Meeting will be final. Within certain limits, the 2024 Business Meeting could also amend the current proposal before it is ratified.
Q. If the consultative vote has no constitutional effect, will people participate?
A. We can only answer that question by carrying out the exercise. However, fans are generally not shy about expressing their opinions in any forum, whether or not doing so has a direct impact.
Q. Why use this method instead of the template for “popular ratification” that has been proposed to the Glasgow Business Meeting?
A. We understand that there is indeed a proposal for constitutional amendments to be approved by vote of WSFS members which has been submitted to this year’s Business Meeting, notably with a much longer voting period envisaged, starting 90 days before the convention and continuing until the middle of the convention. We were not aware of this proposal when we began planning for this year’s consultative vote, and we chose the timing and format to fit in with the other activities of Glasgow 2024.
Q. Why are you singling out this proposal, instead of calling a consultative vote on all constitutional amendments which are up for ratification in 2024, or on any changes to the standing rules?
A. This was the only constitutional amendment creating a new category or categories for the Hugo Awards that received first passage in 2023. If any other new Hugo categories had been approved in Chengdu, we would also have put them forward for a consultative vote in the same way. (Two others were rejected by the Business Meeting in Chengdu.) Several other constitutional amendments were indeed passed in Chengdu, most notably a proposal to set up a regional convention in Asia under the remit of WSFS, and also including some tweaks to the Hugo rules and other issues. Those amendments will also be subject to ratification by the Glasgow Business Meeting, but we did not think that they are suitable material for a consultative vote. Likewise, we don’t believe that amendments to the standing rules, either recent or envisaged, are suitable for this exercise. The new Hugo category proposal is more straightforward and likely of more general interest.
Q. Will you call a consultative vote on any other new proposals to change the Hugo rules, or other parts of the constitution or standing rules, that might be proposed to the Glasgow Business Meeting in advance of the convention? Will you allow the vote to include any amendments to the proposed changes?
A. No, and no.
Q. Will this have a huge cost in terms of time and money?
A. Thus far it has not. We are doing this precisely to identify those costs for potential future reference. The time involved will be considerably less than administering even one Hugo Award category. Software development has been completed by volunteers, to whom we are incredibly grateful.
Q. Will this happen again in the future? And if so, will it be applied to all constitutional changes? Will we eventually change the constitution by vote of WSFS members?
A. Obviously, we think that this is a good idea in principle, or we would not be doing it. But we can only speak for Glasgow 2024, and we do not know how it will work out in practice. We are sure that future Worldcon committees will look at the conduct and outcome of the 2024 consultative vote process and draw their own conclusions; and we will happily advise them on any lessons learned. To give constitutional force to such votes would require constitutional change, and nobody has yet formally proposed such a change – though as noted above, it has been discussed for some time. Hopefully this exercise will reveal some of the hurdles that would need to be overcome if it were ever implemented as a formal procedure.
Q. Are you for or against creating Hugo Awards for Best Independent Short Film and Best Independent Feature Film?
A. Glasgow 2024 has no position on that question, though individual members, including members of the Committee, surely do. We do have a position in favour of being caring, imaginative and inclusive.