Building on the successful operation of both committees, the 2026 elections follow a transparent, verifiable process designed to maintain continuity and reduce the voting burden. In response to community feedback, committee terms have been adjusted so that half of the seats continue for an extended two-year term, while the remaining seats are opened for election.
Open seats for the 2026 elections include Academics, Committers, and Large Businesses on both Advisory Committees – Business and Technical.
Members of the Advisory Committees proposed using the OpenSSL Library itself, together with independent hardware-based entropy sources, to determine seat rotation. The process was overseen by the OpenSSL Corporation Election Committee, consisting of the Board of Directors.
Entropy was generated using multiple hardware devices, including an idQuantique Quantis Quantum Random Number Generator, an Entrust nShield HSM, a Securosys Primus HSM, and a number of entropy sources used by the Advisory Committee members. This approach reflects the OpenSSL Project's values of openness, transparency, and technical rigour, and ensures the process is fair, externally verifiable, and fully reproducible, with all inputs and code published.
Further background and motivation for this approach, as well as the code, are available in the OpenSSL Corporation random voting motivation document.
Find out the results of the voting based on the randomised process for the Business and Technical Advisory Committee.
Upcoming Timeline
- Registration: Open now
- Nomination Period: January 19 - February 1, 2026
- Voting Period: February 2 - 20, 2026
- Announcement: February 23, 2026
- New Terms Will Commence: March 1, 2026
"The OpenSSL Corporation is committed to governance structures that place the community at the heart of the OpenSSL Project. Through the Advisory Committees' elections, community and stakeholder voices play a central role in shaping the direction and long-term sustainability of the project." – Tim Hudson, President.
"Active community participation matters to the OpenSSL Project and plays an important role in how it develops. These elections put contributors and users into trusted advisory roles, giving them a direct and practical way to influence how the project grows and evolves over time." – Anton Arapov, Director.
For more information about the OpenSSL Corporation Advisory Committees, please refer to our website.
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
Source: OpenSSL Corporation
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