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 2025 National Officer Elections

AAJA’s National Officer Elections for our 2026-2027 term are now open! Positions up for the 2026-2027 term are: 

      • Senior Vice President
      • Vice President of Journalism Programs
      • Vice President of Communications

Any active member in good standing can submit nominations using the Nomination Form.

Nominate here

Nomination and Candidate Eligibility 

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.

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

Candidate Forum

The candidate forum will take place after the nomination period closes and is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, July 23. This forum will provide a platform for candidates to share their visions for AAJA. All members are invited to join this town hall, where you’ll hear remarks from all candidates and can participate in a Q&A session. The forum will be recorded and made available online for those unable to attend. 

Election Timeline:

      • Nomination period: Thursday, June 26 – Sunday, July 13, 2025
          • Any active member in good standing can submit nominations using the Nomination Form
      • Voting and Campaign period: Wednesday, July 16 – Thursday, July 31, 2025
          • Ballots are only sent once on July 16. You must have an eligible membership by July 14.
      • Results announced: Saturday, Aug 2 at #AAJA25 Gala

Voting Period

Ballots will only be sent once. If you are unsure of your membership status or email, we encourage you to check here. 

All eligible members (current Professional, Gold Professional, Platinum Professional, Lifetime, retired or student members) in good standing on July 14 will receive their voting ballots at the email associated with their AAJA membership on July 16, 2025.

Ineligible Voters:
Associate/Ally Members and Corporate Members are ineligible to vote.

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.

For more questions about the election, please contact Anika Varty, Vice President of Communications, at vpcomms@aaja.org.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES

Candidates will be announced after the nomination period.

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:

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