Voting Open for 2020 Worldcon

Voting has started for the 2020 World Science Fiction Convention. Worldcon 76 San Jose has published the 2020 Worldcon Site Selection ballot on their web site and distributed it to their members, according to an announcement on their web site.

Members of Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California are eligible to vote on the site of the 2020 Worldcon upon payment of a $50 Advance Supporting Membership (“Voting”) Fee. This fee purchases a supporting (voting) membership in the 2020 Worldcon, regardless of who wins or how you vote. It is unrelated to any “pre-supporting memberships” (donations paid to any bid committees). Members can vote before the convention through conventional paper mail by printing the ballot and mailing it with payment, or they can e-mail a signed PDF of their ballot, or they can vote at the convention. Payment mailed in advance must be by check or money order in US dollars. If voting by e-mail or paying by credit card, members can purchase a “voting token” from the Worldcon 76 membership web site using the instructions published on the ballot. If voting at the convention, payment can be by cash, check, or credit card in US Dollars. You can also designate someone else to deliver your ballot to the convention on your behalf.

Voting in advance closes August 11, 2018. Worldcon 76 must receive your ballot by that date. (Postmark date does not count.) Voting at the convention opens on the afternoon of Thursday, August 16, 2018 and closes at 6 PM Pacific Daylight Time on Saturday, August 18, 2018.

Bids for future Worldcons are listed on the Worldcon Bids page. One bid qualified for the 2020 Worldcon Site Selection by filing the required documents with Worldcon 76: New Zealand in 2020. However, World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) rules allow for write-in votes and votes for “None of the Above,” and should no qualified bid receive a majority of the votes cast, the WSFS Business Meeting will select a committee to host the 2020 convention.

The results of the election will be announced at the WSFS Business Meeting on the morning of Sunday, August 19, 2018.

2021 Worldcon Bids: Boston Out, DC In

Two bids for the 2021 Worldcon made announcements on June 12, 2017, with one bid folding its tent and another one launching.

A proposed Boston in 2021 bid announced that they were “not able to find affordable, workable space for 2021” and have decided not to bid after all.

Meanwhile, The Baltimore-Washington Area Worldcon Association (BWAWA) announced that they will bid for Washington DC in 2021. This bid was originally announced for 2024 but has been changed its bid to 2021.

For more information about Worldcon bids, see the Worldcon bidding page.