For the sixth consecutive year Worldcon members have cast a record number of Hugo nominating ballots, truly annihilating the old standard with an increase of 43%.
Loncon 3 received 1,923 ballots (1,889 electronic and 34 paper), exceeding the 1,343 received by LoneStarCon 3 last year. Prior to that, Chicon 7 received 1,101 in 2012, Renovation received 1,006 in 2011, Aussiecon 4 received 864 in 2010 and Anticipation received 799 in 2009, each a record-setting figure at the time.
This record-breaking trend gained momentum from a rules change effective in 2012 which broadened the voting base. Now members of the forthcoming Worldcon are allowed to nominate too, just as members of the current and previous Worldcon have long been able to do. And I imagine that because Loncon 3 is a European Worldcon it has attracted many members who don’t typically join when the con is in North America, making the universe of potential Hugo voters that much larger.
The 2014 Hugo Award nominees will be announced this afternoon Saturday, April 19, starting at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The announcement will be live-streamed from Glasgow, via Ustream, and broadcast simultaneously at two conventions in the United States.
- Satellite 4, the British National Science Fiction Convention (Eastercon), in Glasgow, Scotland (8:30 p.m. BST).
- Norwescon 37, in SeaTac, WA (12:30 p.m. PDT)
- Minicon 49, in Bloomington, MN (2:30 p.m. CDT)
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Not much is likely to change by allowing members of future Worldcons to nominate. After all, members of past, present and future Worldcons are largely the same people — fans with money to buy memberships and who expect to attend the Worldcon.
Taral: What about the >1200 people who bought basic (supporting) memberships? They aren’t going to Worldcon.
I want to know who those 34 people who are still mailing in paper ballots. Will they get a print version of the voter packet? Are they not voting for anything that appears online?