Election Process

Elections are a critical part of the democratic process and are one way in which members have a voice in the running of their organization. Members have an opportunity to vote for candidates of a contested Board of Directors' office and decide on language changes to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

Commitments

  • Board of Directors officers serve for 5 years and move in succession from second vice-president to first vice-president to president-elect to president and finally, immediate past-president.
  • Regional vice-presidents positions serve for 3 years.
  • The official board year begins, and incoming board members take office at the conclusion of the Annual Educational Conference (AEC).
  • Quarterly board meetings are held virtually or in person. In person meetings usually occur twice a year. Note that our president can call for a special board meeting at any time, which would be held virtually.
  • Committee participation, depending on board position and willingness to volunteer. Board members participate on an average of three committees.
  • The annual hourly commitment of board members varies depending on position, region served, and committees.

Voting Eligibility

Professional and lifetime members are the two membership classes with voting privileges. To vote, an individual must be a member by February 15.

Application & Election Timeline

AEC

Candidates may make a short speech (less than 2 minutes) announcing their candidacy during the Town Hall, if desired.

December 1

Candidate application deadline (year preceding AEC). Submit election correspondence and application to nehaelections@neha.org.

First Friday in December

Deadline for candidate headshots and profiles for publication in the March issue of the Journal of Environmental Health and NEHA website.

  • Color headshot photograph is required (at least 300 ppi).
  • Short biography to introduce candidate and their platform. Biography is not edited and must meet word count: 2nd VP - 800 words; RVP - 400 words.

March 1-31 (or next business day)

Electronic voting invitations sent to voting members.

April 1 (or next business day)

Election results are sent to the executive director and board president.

  • President notifies candidates of results via phone.
  • Election results are published on NEHA channels.
  • Board Liaison begins onboarding process for new members.

Application Process

Second Vice President

This position is required to be a professional or life NEHA member with at least 3 years of cumulative membership. Second vice-presidents are members of the Board of Directors.

Regional Vice-President

This position is required to be a professional or life NEHA member with at least 3 years of cumulative membership. Regional vice-presidents are members of the Board of Directors and Affiliate Council of NEHA. They represent the members in their region.

Contested Positions

Ballots will be used if the Board of Directors recommends Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws revisions to the membership or if there are contested elections. No ballots will be used for elections in which there is only one candidate. Electronic ballots are activated on March 1 (or the next business day) and reactivated on March 31 (or next business day) and tallied as votes are cast.

In the extremely rare event of a tie for a particular office, the Board of Directors will use the following three hierarchical steps:

  1. Re-ballot the relevant membership. The re-balloting would include only voting members who were eligible for the initial election and would occur within two weeks of declaring a tie in that election. In the event of another tie for that office, the board would continue with step 2.
  2. At a special Board of Directors meeting, designated by the Board President, each candidate would make a short presentation on how they will best represent the membership on the Board of Directors. The presentation would be done electronically via a web meeting, if necessary. Any current board member who was directly involved in the tied election will recuse themself from the voting process. All eligible Board of Directors will vote, by secret ballot, to select the new Officer or Regional Vice-President. The Board President will cast a vote as a member of the board and not to break any tie vote. The Board Officers will vote, by secret ballot, to select the new Regional Vice-President or Officer. In the event of a tie vote (due to any abstentions and/or recusals), the board would proceed to step 3.
  3. The Board President will decide on an appropriate method for resolving the tie, including direct appointment to the board, within the prerogative of the President.

Election Impartiality Requirements

To ensure elections are impartial, candidates:

  • may NOT contact NEHA staff for election-related questions. All questions should be directed to the Nominations Chair.
  • may NOT request support from NEHA staff.
  • may NOT request membership contact information from NEHA staff.
  • may not use the NEHA logo whatsoever as related to the election campaign.
  • may not request or submit paid advertising or links to NEHA staff.
  • may not use any NEHA mailing list or email addresses for the purposes of campaigning.

Roles & Responsibilities

The Immediate Past-Presidents serves as Nominations Chair and is the contact for election questions. The Board Liaison acts as the voting administrator.

Election Guidance PDF