diff --git a/src/or/dirvote.c b/src/or/dirvote.c
index c5ceefecb4..33e5ea7d51 100644
--- a/src/or/dirvote.c
+++ b/src/or/dirvote.c
@@ -2859,6 +2859,13 @@ static voting_schedule_t voting_schedule;
 time_t
 dirvote_get_next_valid_after_time(void)
 {
+  /* This is a safe guard in order to make sure that the voting schedule
+   * static object is at least initialized. Using this function with a zeroed
+   * voting schedule can lead to bugs. */
+  if (tor_mem_is_zero((const char *) &voting_schedule,
+                      sizeof(voting_schedule))) {
+    dirvote_recalculate_timing(get_options(), time(NULL));
+  }
   return voting_schedule.interval_starts;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/or/networkstatus.c b/src/or/networkstatus.c
index abcd4d8658..e4a6a76749 100644
--- a/src/or/networkstatus.c
+++ b/src/or/networkstatus.c
@@ -1939,13 +1939,17 @@ networkstatus_set_current_consensus(const char *consensus,
   }
 
   if (is_usable_flavor) {
+    /* The "current" consensus has just been set and it is a usable flavor so
+     * the first thing we need to do is recalculate the voting schedule static
+     * object so we can use the timings in there needed by some subsystems
+     * such as hidden service and shared random. */
+    dirvote_recalculate_timing(options, now);
+
     nodelist_set_consensus(c);
 
     /* XXXXNM Microdescs: needs a non-ns variant. ???? NM*/
     update_consensus_networkstatus_fetch_time(now);
 
-    dirvote_recalculate_timing(options, now);
-
     /* Update ewma and adjust policy if needed; first cache the old value */
     old_ewma_enabled = cell_ewma_enabled();
     /* Change the cell EWMA settings */