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, such as this year (2022), 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 composed of five elected board members who are members of the AAJA Advisory Board: 2 board members representing small chapters (less than 50 full members) and/or medium chapters (50-99 full members), 1 board member representing a large chapter (100 or more full members), and 2 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 will be 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 2022 Senior Vice President Special Election
AAJA will be holding a special election for the remainder of the 2022-2023 term. This election will be taking place to fill the role of Senior Vice President, as the position will be vacant starting in January 2023.
Nominations are due no later than Wednesday, September 21 at 8 p.m. ET and electronic voting via e-ballot will begin Monday, October 3. This year’s special election schedule is as follows:
- Monday, September 12 – Nomination period starts
- Wednesday, September 21 – Nomination period ends at 8 p.m. ET
- Monday, September 26 – Announcement of candidates
- Friday, September 30 – Candidate forum hosted by AAJA-HQ. Register in advance HERE.
- Monday, October 3 – Voting period begins
- Thursday, October 6 – Deadline to renew your membership to vote
- Wednesday, October 12 – Voting period ends at 8 p.m. ET
- Monday, October 17 – Result announced
AAJA 2022 Elections
Each year, the timeline for national officer elections is determined by the Election Officer and the Executive Director. AAJA’s national officer elections run for six weeks and take place in conjunction with the summer convention. The Board of Directors, in conjunction with the Executive Director, shall establish the procedure and the time frame for elections, per AAJA’s bylaws.
Open Positions
The nomination period is currently CLOSED for the position of Senior Vice President serving for the remainder of the 2022-2023 term. Candidates for national office can be nominated by any full member in good standing. Candidates must also be full members in good standing. All candidates must agree to and abide by the AAJA Code of Conduct. Nominations were due September 21, 2022 at 8 p.m. ET.
FRANK BI
AMRITHA ALLADIN JOSEPH
SVP Special Election Winner 2022-2023
FRANK BI
Voting Eligibility and Process
The voting period for our special election was Monday, October 3 through Wednesday, October 12.
AAJA HQ will distribute information on the voting method. Members will also receive timely communications about election deadlines at the email address associated with their membership.
***The most common cause for members “not receiving” AAJA emails is that the email address associated with their membership is not current. Members are urged to check their email addresses associated with their AAJA account so that they can receive AAJA communications.***
ELIGIBILITY
All eligible voters – Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, Retired or Student members in good standing – are entitled to cast one vote and will receive their eBallots today, sent to the email with which they signed up for their AAJA membership. If you are not currently eligible to vote, you may become eligible by registering or renewing your membership. For questions on joining or renewing, visit the Membership FAQ.
BALLOTS
Once ballots are cast, they cannot be changed. Only ballots originating from the principal office, with the sanction of the vice president of communications or the Election Officer, shall be considered bona-fide. Absentee ballots must be received by AAJA at least two weeks prior to the election date. An absentee ballot is considered cast when received by the principal office.
BALLOTS SCHEDULE
Ballots will be sent via eBallot. Please remember to check your spam or junk mail folders, and ensure that you are checking your email address associated with your AAJA membership.
Members must activate or renew their membership in order to be eligible to vote in the elections. Please note that once you renew your membership or join as a member. The SVP special election ballots schedule is as follows:
- Ballots will be sent via email beginning Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.
- Members must activate or renew their membership by Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 at 8 p.m. ET.
- If you are a current member, you should receive your eBallot by Monday, Oct. 3.
- If you renew/join by Thursday, Oct. 6, you will receive your eBallot by Friday, Oct. 7.
Voting will end on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET. There will be no exceptions.
AAJA National Officers Election Guide
For more information on the elections process, please review our AAJA National Officers Election Guide, which incorporates updated practices and standards governing AAJA’s elections. This guide was approved by non-candidate members of the Board of Directors in July 2021.
This guide will serve as an addendum to AAJA’s bylaws, which govern AAJA’s elections. Portions of this guide are drawn directly from the bylaws. For matters not addressed in this guide, please consult AAJA’s bylaws. It was produced in July 2021, and will be reviewed every year prior to the beginning of AAJA national officer elections. This guide codifies longstanding practices and standards of AAJA elections in order to ensure continuity, fairness, transparency, and a shared understanding of expectations and standards. It incorporates updated practices and standards approved by the non-candidate members of the Board of Directors in July 2021.
If you have additional questions regarding elections, please contact vpcomms@aaja.org.