By Mary Callender
NIRSA Headquarters is working with Election America to conduct the Association’s 2016 NIRSA volunteer leadership elections. All student and professional members are eligible to vote; to ensure receipt of the proper ballot, members should make sure that their NIRSA Connect profiles are updated with their current email address, NIRSA region, and membership status. The member list for voting will be locked at 11:00am Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, January 19—to be eligible to vote in the 2016 elections, individuals must be a current member in good standing at that time. Individuals who join or renew after January 19 will not be eligible to vote until the 2017 elections.
Voting timeline and process
For each individual standing for election to the Board of Directors and the Member Network, members can read—in advance or via links throughout the voting process—a candidate bio as well as answers to a standard set of questions; meet the candidates.
On January 20, 2016, all current professional and student members will be sent a personalized email inviting them to vote in the 2016 NIRSA elections. The email will be sent from help@election-america.com, and the friendly-from name will be 2016 NIRSA Elections. Keep an eye out for this email in your inbox, junk mail, or clutter folder. Consider notifying your IT department of this expected email to ensure it isn’t blocked from your departmental or university servers.
The invitation email announcing the opening of the 2016 elections period will include a link to the voting website along with a personalized election code and a unique voting pin. To vote, members will need to navigate to the voting website and enter their individual voting credentials before gaining access to the ballot that matches their member type and regional status.
Upon opening their ballots, members will have approximately 10 minutes before the elections tool times out. Once you make your selections, click the submit button. You will then have a chance to review your ballot. To make a change, click Return. To cast your vote, click Vote. Once you cast your vote, you will be directed to a thank you page. You cannot change your selections or withdraw once you come to this page. If you start the voting process but are unable to get through all of the voting options in 10 minutes, you will need to re-enter your election code and voting pin and begin the voting process again from the start. Choices will not be saved if you do not complete the voting process within the allotted time.
Personalized ballots
Ballots for professional members in Regions I, III, and V—as well as those for the Student Leadership Team—will have options for members to vote for President Elect and At-Large Director on the NIRSA Board of Directors, and on the proposed amendments to the NIRSA Bylaws.
Ballots for professional members in Regions II, IV, and VI will have options to vote for President Elect and At-Large Director on the NIRSA Board of Directors, for Regional Representatives on the Member Network in their respective regions, and on the proposed amendments to the NIRSA Bylaws.
Ballots for student members will have options to vote for the NIRSA Student Leader as well as for the Regional Student Leader on the Member Network in their respective regions.
If you experience technical difficulties, contact information for the Election America help desk will be included in the email. If you have questions about your NIRSA membership status, you can contact the NIRSA Membership Department or NIRSA Senior Director of Professional Development Mary Callender.
