diff --git a/Lib/subprocess.py b/Lib/subprocess.py
index bafb501fcf..4a0bb33978 100644
--- a/Lib/subprocess.py
+++ b/Lib/subprocess.py
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ class Popen(object):
                   ResourceWarning, source=self)
         # In case the child hasn't been waited on, check if it's done.
         self._internal_poll(_deadstate=_maxsize)
-        if self.returncode is None and _active is not None:
+        if self.returncode is None:
             # Child is still running, keep us alive until we can wait on it.
             _active.append(self)
 

the `_active` is initialized with [] at the beginning of the module.