Publications

Preparation of the ballots

The ballot should be headed “Official Ballot,” followed by the name and number of the local 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.

If the election is one in which offices will be voted on both at-large (local-wide) and also on a regional, district or other similar basis, separate ballots must be used for those offices which are to be elected at-large and those which are to be elected on a regional or district basis.

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.

DO NOT print anything on the ballot to indicate a candidate’s job title, work location, etc., unless this information is necessary for the voter to know. If, for example, in the election of three executive board members the local constitution requires that at least one must be a clerical employee and at least one a custodial employee, it may be necessary to add the word “clerical” or “custodial” in parentheses after the name. Absent such a constitutional requirement, any such identification could only be construed as a use of the ballot itself for campaign purposes.

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 the candidate to indicate, preferably in writing, how the candidate’s 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 the candidate should be given the opportunity to make that decision as well as giving the accurate spelling of the candidate’s name.

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

Most locals print the names of the ballot in the order in which the candidates were nominated, and this practice is perfectly proper.

Some locals list the candidates in alphabetical order, and this practice is also perfectly proper.

Some locals 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) 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 copying machine or printer, 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 is in fact printed.
  3. Take charge of the ballots immediately upon completion of the printing, safeguarding them until the election is completed. All election materials, including any unused ballots, must be retained by the election committee for one year after the election.
Print Version