How to Hold an Election of Officers

Officer elections -- whether for a club, homeowners association or labor union -- must conform to bylaws and any relevant state or federal laws. If you are planning to hold an election for new officers, you can do this by preparing a notice of nominations, holding a nominating meeting, preparing ballots, mailing election notices and holding the election at a site accessible to members.

Prepare a notice of nominations. This may be posted in the workplace, common areas or meeting place, or mailed to members' homes. It should state that nominations are being accepted for officer positions (such as president, vice president, treasurer and recording secretary,) state the term of the offices and announce the time and date of the nomination meeting.

Hold a nomination meeting. The time, date and place should make it easy for members to attend. Nominations may also be accepted by petition and by mail.

Prepare the ballots. These should contain the names of all the candidates and be distributed at the site of the election to be marked in secret by voters. The ballot should contain instructions for how it should be marked and should also state how many candidates for a particular office may be voted for.

Mail the election notices. State the time, date and place of the election and which offices are being contested. Inform voters of the eligibility and identification requirements to vote.

Hold the election at a place accessible to members. Use curtains or partitions to ensure that voting may be done in secret. Prepare adequate numbers of blank ballots. Prevent any distribution of literature or campaigning from being done at the election site. Check the eligibility and identification of voters. Open the voting at the scheduled time and allow those waiting in line to vote before closing.