Worldcon sites are selected two years in advance by a secret ballot of WSFS members. This means that if a person has a Worldcon membership with WSFS rights, they are eligible to vote. Information on how to purchase membership can be found on the Memberships Page.
The entire site selection process is governed by Article 4 of the WSFS Constitution. The current rules can be found on the WSFS website under the rules section. Each year these rules are updated based on the results of the WSFS business meeting. In 2024 language around the ballots and voter eligibility were updated and are “redlined” in the current version of the constitution to indicate they were changed.
What are the steps for Site Selection?
There are several steps to the site selection process.
Step one of the process occurs when bids submit their bid package and eligibility. These are groups/bid committees that have put together a rough plan of where they intend to hold the Worldcon, when they plan to hold the Worldcon, etc. In order for a site to be eligible, it must be at least 500 miles or 800 kilometers from the site at which selection occurs. In the case of Seattle, this means locations like Olympia, Washington, or Portland, Oregon, would not be eligible.
Bids may go to the How to Submit a Site Selection Bid page to learn more about what they must have and submit in order to be an eligible bid.
Step two of the process occurs when submitted documentation from bids that have been deemed eligible is placed on the website for WSFS members to review. Once this information is available you’ll see a page for “Filed Bids for the 2027 Worldcon,” which will contain all the information about who is bidding.
Step three of the process is the voting! More information about voting will be available once there are filed bids, but in general Seattle Worldcon 2025 members with WSFS rights who wish to vote in site selection must first purchase an advance WSFS membership in the 2027 Worldcon. All members who pay this fee automatically become WSFS members of the 2027 Worldcon, regardless of who they vote for (or if they vote at all). These fees are passed on to the successful candidate in the site selection process.
Vote tallying occurs according to procedures specified in Sections 4.5 and 6.4 of the WSFS constitution.
Who will be on the ballot?
Bids have up to 180 days before the current Worldcon to submit documentation to be placed on the ballot. The ballot will also contain options for “No Preference,” “None of the Above,” and the ability to write-in the name of a bid that didn’t submit documentation by the deadline.
What is a write-in bid?
In the event that a bid is unable to meet the filing deadline, it can still campaign as a write-in bid. Its information will not be on the official ballot, and they must still communicate with the site selection team to ensure they follow all necessary steps.
What is the difference between “No Preference” and “None of the Above?”
No preference means that you don’t care who wins the 2027 site selection vote. Any of the bids and their location is okay by you.
None of the above means that you don’t want any of the bids on the ballot to win.
What happens if no one wins?
In the event that “None of the Above” wins, or two or more bids are tied for first place, site selection goes to the business meeting of the current Worldcon. The business meeting then must decide by the end of the Worldcon where to hold the 2027 Worldcon.
If the business meeting fails to decide, the committee for the following Worldcon (LAcon V) must make the selection without delay. If the tallying resulted in a tie, the selection must be made between the tied bids.
How will we vote?
Voting in site selection must, at minimum, take place in person at the Worldcon. There is an option for additional online voting. The WSFS constitution, Section 6.3 Electronic Voting, details the requirements for electronic site selection voting, which requires the unanimous agreement of both our committee and all of the bidding committees that file before the ballot deadline. Therefore, we cannot commit to electronic site selection voting until after that deadline for submitting bids and obtaining the agreement of all parties.
Questions
We understand that some of the details in the Constitution can be confusing, whether it’s your first Worldcon or your forty-first! Please feel free to reach out to us at site-selection-help@seattlein2025.org with any questions you may have.
