Publications

Preparation of Ballots

The ballot should be headed "Official Ballot," followed by the name and number of the Sub-Chapter and the date of the election.

The ballot should also include instructions: "Mark an 'X' in the squares next to the names of those for whom you wish to vote," or some similar simply worded directions. It is also advisable to add "Do not sign your name" and "Do not make any other marks on this ballot." (If the voting is to be done by mail, the instructions must be more complicated. See the section on "VOTING BY MAIL.")

The various offices to be voted on should be listed one at a time and after the designation of each office, the words "Vote for One" or "Vote for Three" or "Vote for No More than Three" or whatever is appropriate should appear. This should be followed by a listing of the candidates, with a box or circle next to each name.

Do not list on the ballot any office for which there is only one candidate. That candidate has already been declared elected, and placing that office on the ballot can only lead to confusion.

Do not print anything on the ballot to indicate which candidates are the incumbents.

The Election Committee is responsible for seeing that all names are correctly spelled on the ballot. The surest way to do this is by contacting the candidate personally and asking him or her to indicate, preferably in writing, how his or her name is to be placed on the ballot.

William Stuyvesant Jones may want to be listed on the ballot as William Stuyvesant Jones, William S. Jones, W. Stuyvesant Jones, W. S. Jones, or Bill Jones, and he should be given the opportunity to make that decision as well as to give the accurate spelling of his name.

The next question is, "In what order will the names appear on the ballot?"

Most Sub-Chapters print the names on the ballot in the order in which the candidates were nominated, and this practice is perfectly proper. Some Sub-Chapters list the candidates in alphabetical order, and this practice is also perfectly proper.

Some Sub-Chapters determine the order of names by drawing lots, and this practice is also perfectly proper.

What is not proper is to change from the method used previously to a new method after the nominations have taken place. If a change from one method to another is desirable, the new procedure should be approved by membership vote (or announced by the Election Committee, if one has been established) before the nominations begin.

The final step in preparing the ballots is the actual printing. This may be done by a commercial printer, on an office mimeograph machine, or in any other manner that will produce easily read ballots. The number to be printed should substantially exceed the number actually needed to take into account the possibility of spoilage during the election itself.

The Election Committee should:

  1. Determine how many are to be printed.
  2. Make sure that the exact number are in fact printed.
  3. Take charge of the ballots immediately upon completion of the printing, safeguarding them until the elections take place.
Print Version