How to Conduct an Election of Officers

Co-authored by Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: January 9, 2024

Elections are an important part of any organization, especially if you’re choosing new officers to lead your group. If you’re a member of a large club or council, you might find it easier to vote with ballots. If you’re part of a small organization, you can save time by hosting a voice vote, where everyone states their voting decision when prompted. With a proper system in place, you can elect new officers in a fairer and more organized manner!

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Holding a Ballot Election

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1
Set a date for the election and a deadline for nominations. Whenever your organization meets, specify when the election will be, as well as when the due date for officer nominations. If you’re preparing and distributing a typed ballet, set the nomination deadline to be 2-3 weeks before the actual election takes place. At this point, decide if the election should happen in person or if voters will be given mail-in ballots to cast their votes.^{[1]
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- If you’re part of a formal organization, like a city council, consider creating a nominating committee for the election. Members of this committee can work to find suitable officer candidates.
- For instance, if the election is February 15, make it clear that the deadline for nominations is on January 31.
- If you aren’t preparing ballots ahead of time, you can close nominations on the same day as the election.
2
Nominate candidates during a formal meeting. If you haven’t formed a nominating committee, choose a neutral third-party to manage and compile the different nominations for an officer position. During your group meeting, set aside time to accept verbal nominations from any member of your organization.^{[2]
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- When nominating someone in person, try saying something like this: “My name is Sarah Jackson. I would like to nominate Clarissa Montgomery for President.”
- If your organization has an official nominating ballot, fill out the form and mail it to the proper committee or individual. If multiple people support a single candidate, they can sign a petition and send this document to the nominating committee, instead.
Tip: When designing a nomination ballot, provide space for the nominee’s name, email, phone, and home address, as well as the position they’re being nominated for. To make your form look especially official, consider including your organization’s logo in the top left-hand corner.

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3
Conduct a vote to see if the organization supports the nomination. Wait for the leader of the meeting to present the nomination to the rest of the group. When the nominee is mentioned, state “aye” or “nay” at the specified time to declare your support or disapproval for the candidate. If the majority vote passes, then the nominee will be included on the ballot.^{[3]
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- For instance, a meeting could go like this: “If you support the nomination of Terry Williams for Vice President, please say ‘aye.’”
4
Provide options on the ballot for the available candidates. Create an official form that contains all of the collected nominations, as well as the positions that each individual is running for. Design the ballots with clear check marks, or some other system where voters can fill out their ballot. To make the voting process more consistent and uniform, print clear instructions on the ballot that explain how to cast a vote correctly.^{[4]
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- For instance, a checkmark or “x” symbol could be the designated symbol used for voting.
- If you’d like to give your voters more freedom, add a write-in spot to the ballot.
Hand out the printed ballots to everyone in your organization so the election can run more efficiently. If you don’t have a formal ballot created, hand out blank slips of paper to the voters.^{[5]
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6
Give voters a set amount of time to complete and submit their ballots. Tell the members when their votes need to be filled out. If your organization is smaller, you could set a time limit of 5 minutes before collecting the ballots. If your group is large and extensive, establish a mailing system for people to submit their votes. Stress that the voting deadline is absolute, and that late ballots won’t be accepted or counted.^{[6]
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- If you allow members to mail in their ballots, specify an exact address where they can send their postage.
7
Sort the ballots to get rid of any illegal votes. Collect all of the votes in 1 area, then search the pile for any joke, “troll,” or otherwise illegal ballots that were cast. Specifically, throw out any unintelligible ballots, votes cast for fictional characters or inanimate objects, or 2 completed ballots combined together. Additionally, check that each ballot selects only 1 candidate per position.
- It’s okay if ballots aren’t filled out completely—just count the votes that are included.
- If a completed ballot is submitted with a blank ballot, then only the completed form can be counted.
- For instance, a ballot that includes “Mickey Mouse” as a candidate for President would be considered an illegal vote.
8
Count the ballots to determine the winner of the election. Use a blank sheet of paper or computer to tally and combine the total votes. Once you’ve done an initial counting, double-check your math and tally the votes again. If you want to be extra safe, ask a neutral third party to count the votes and confirm your results.^{[7]
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- If you’re holding a large election, it might be easier to use a digital spreadsheet to count the votes.
9
Report the results of the election to the voters. Submit the tallied votes the organization’s current President, or whomever is leading the meeting. Wait for this individual to share the finalized results at the meeting and declare the newly elected officers of the organization.
- If you need extra time to count the votes, consider hosting a separate meeting to reveal the results of the election.
10
Recount the votes if there’s a tie for a certain position. If the election doesn’t yield an obvious winner, examine the votes again and recount them carefully for accuracy. If a clear winner is found after the recount, announce the new officer. If no winner is found, reset the election by opening the floor to new nominations. After this, hold a follow-up election at a later date.^{[8]
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- Check your organization’s rulebook to see if there are any procedures or policies regarding recounts.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Carrying out a Vocal Election

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1
Ask for nominations for an officer position. State which position is open for election or re-election, and invite members of the organization to come forward with their nominations for the position. If you have a nominating committee in place, ask this group to declare their nominee for a specific officer role. Try to conduct all of the nominations during the meeting so the whole organization can be involved.
- For instance, a nomination could go like this:
  “Fred Summers, could you share your name and officer nomination?”
  “My name is Fred Summers, and I’m nominating Jason Morgan for Treasurer.”
- There may be multiple nominations for each position. To keep the process running smoothly, say something like this: “Jason Morgan has been nominated to be our new Treasurer. Would anyone else like to submit a nomination?”
- Use this period of time to collect nominations for all available officer positions.
2
Check to see if the nominees accept the nomination. After a verbal nomination, speak with the nominee to make sure that they’re interested in serving as an officer. If the nominee isn’t interested, you can disregard their nomination altogether.
- For example, you could ask something like this: “Mr. Morgan, are you interested in serving as Treasurer?”
3
Close the nominations so you can start the election. Give all members enough time to share their desired candidates for different officer positions. When no more requests are submitted, state that the nominating period is closed so the voting process can begin.^{[9]
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- For instance, say something like this: “The nominating period is now over, and we’ll proceed to voting.”
4
Ask for a majority consensus if only 1 person is nominated. If there’s only 1 candidate for an officer position, invite the members of the organization to support or dissent the nominee. Give the voters time to vote “aye” and “nay,” then confirm the election result based on the verbal votes.
- For instance, you could organize the vote like this: “Denise Lewis is the sole nominee for the position of Vice President. If you’re in favor of her holding this position, please say ‘aye.’ If you aren’t in favor, say ‘nay.’”
- At the end of the voting period, you could say: “Denise has received most of the votes for the position of Vice President. May I receive multiple motions to declare her as our new Vice President? Is there any more discussion on this matter? Is everyone in favor of this decision? Is anyone opposed?”
5
Name the first candidate on the list if there are multiple candidates. Read the first name listed for a specific officer position, like President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer. State the name clearly, so there’s no doubt or confusion during the voting process.^{[10]
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- For example, say something like: “The first nominee for the role of Secretary is Andrew Mitchell.”
6
Tell voters to support or dissent the nomination vocally. Give voters at least 5 seconds to verbally support and vote for the nominated candidate by using predetermined phrases like “aye” or “nay.” Once everyone has spoken, offer voters a chance to disagree with the nomination.^{[11]
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- For instance, you could structure the vote like this: “Everyone in favor of electing Andrew Mitchell as Secretary, please say ‘aye.’ Anyone who disapproves of this nomination, please say ‘nay.’”
7
Tally the voiced results on a separate sheet of paper. Assign a specific person like a clerk to write down the voting results for each nominee. If the election is taking place with a larger group, have this person note if the majority of voters expressed “aye” or “nay” during the voting period.^{[12]
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- You can also use terms like “yeah” or “no” when running a verbal election, as long as these options are clearly given to the voters.
Tip: In a larger organization, it may be easier to have a roll call election. With this method, a designated clerk or secretary will ask each member of the organization for their vote so the results can be tallied individually.^{[13]
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Keep reading down the list of nominees, giving voters enough time to say “aye” or “nay” in response. Continue this process until you’ve gone through all the nominees. As the voting process continues, make sure that a designated third party is recording the results.^{[14]
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9
Confirm the winner based on the voiced votes. Review the results of the election based on the clerk or secretary’s notes. At this time, declare the name and role of the newly elected officer.^{[15]
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- For example, you could say something like: “Please welcome Vera Smith, your new Treasurer for the current fiscal year.”
Read from the list of nominees for a different officer position, then give members time to vote verbally in support of each candidate. After all of the nominations are voted on, declare a winner based on the verbal results of the election. You can continue this process until all officer positions are filled.^{[16]
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Warnings

Voice elections aren’t a great option for large organizations, since you can’t vote for all the candidates at once.^{[17]
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