National Officer Elections | Chapter elections

AAJA National Officer Elections

Every year, AAJA holds membership-wide elections for national officers. The elections are staggered to ensure continuity on the Board of Directors. In odd years, the positions eligible for elections are Senior Vice President, Vice President of Journalism Programs and Vice President of Communications. In even years, the positions eligible for elections are President, Vice President of Civic Engagement and Vice President of Finance.

The national officers are members of the AAJA Board of Directors. In addition to the six national officers, the Board of Directors is comprised of five elected board members who are members of the AAJA Advisory Board: two board members representing small chapters (fewer than 50 full members) and/or medium chapters (50-99 full members), one board member representing a large chapter (100 or more full members) and two members elected at-large by and from the Advisory Board. These five members’ terms are also staggered to ensure continuity on the Board of Directors. 

AAJA’s elections are rooted in the following core principles: dedication to AAJA’s mission, transparency, respect, empathy, open and constructive debate and the pursuit of organizational and financial stability of AAJA as a nonprofit. 

AAJA 2024 National Officer Elections

Details of the 2025 National Officer Elections (for the 2026-2027 term) will be announced in summer 2025.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES

Candidates will be announced in summer 2025.

Election Timeline

For your reference, the following was the schedule for 2024.

Nomination Period:

    • Opened: Monday, July 8, 2024
    • Closes: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT

Eligible members (current Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, retired or student members in good standing) can submit nominations using the Nomination Form. Renew your membership or join here today to add your submission.

Candidates for national president must have at least one year of experience either on the national board of directors or as a chapter president, per AAJA bylaws.

Campaign Period:

    • Starts: Thursday, July 18, 2024
    • Ends: Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT

You must be an Eligible member (current Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, retired or student members in good standing) to be a candidate.

Voting Period:

Ballots will only be sent once. If you are unsure of your membership status or email, we encourage you to look into it beforehand.

    • Opens: Thursday, July 25, 2024
    • Closes: Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT

All eligible members (current Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, retired or student members in good standing) in good standing as of 11:59 PM PT July 24 will receive their voting ballots at the email associated with their AAJA membership on July 25, 2024.

Results Announcement:

    • Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024, during the #AAJA24 Gala

Voting Eligibility

Eligible Voters in Good Standing:
Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, retired or student members in good standing with no outstanding fees and meeting membership criteria by July 24, 2024.

Ineligible Voters:
Associate/Ally Members and Corporate Members do not have voting rights.

AAJA National Officer Elections Guide:
Please refer to and familiarize yourself with the AAJA National Officer Elections Guide, which incorporates updated practices and standards governing AAJA’s elections.

Chapter Elections

In accordance with our bylaws, every year, all chapter board elections must be completed by Nov. 1 and the full board list must be submitted to AAJA-HQ by Nov. 5. Details of submission will be provided to chapter emails.

AAJA needs you! Becoming an AAJA chapter leader is an incredible opportunity to gain leadership skills in people management, project management, communications, and budgeting. Please consider running to empower others, support AAJA’s mission, and prepare yourself to advance onto other leadership roles, both at AAJA and in your profession. 

For more information on what it means to hold a chapter leadership position, view this webinar:

Join AAJA