diff --git a/voltha/leader.py b/voltha/leader.py
index 62bf1d5..60d1e6c 100644
--- a/voltha/leader.py
+++ b/voltha/leader.py
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@
                     returnValue(False)
 
                 # Tackle the simplest scenario - #members >= #old_assignment
-                if len(members) >= len(old_assignment):
+                if members is not None and len(members) >= len(old_assignment):
                     returnValue(False)
 
                 # Everything else is a temporal state