Union Voting Election Rules

Updated: February 11th, 2025

Union voting election rules are the guidelines that govern how labor unions conduct elections, ensuring a fair and democratic process for members. These rules outline voter eligibility, election procedures, and the methods used to collect votes, including traditional ballots and online union votes. Under these rules, unions must adhere to their bylaws and follow legal regulations to maintain transparency and integrity in the voting process.

Understanding what the union rule of representation is can also help members navigate their rights during elections. This rule requires unions to represent all employees fairly and in good faith, including providing them with the opportunity to participate in union elections. 

If you’re wondering how to vote in a union election, the process typically involves verifying eligibility, receiving a ballot (either in person or digitally), and submitting your vote by the specified deadline. With the increasing shift to secure digital platforms, many unions now offer online voting options to make participation more accessible and efficient.

Common Rules for Union Elections

Every union has slightly different voting rules, so it’s always a good idea to check with yours to make sure you understand them. However, some rules are standard for most, if not all, labor unions. 

Elections Must Follow Bylaws

When conducting elections, union members need to make sure they’re following the bylaws that were written in the organization’s constitution. This is especially true if those bylaws discuss elections and voting, which most do.

You Must Be Eligible to Vote

Not every union member is automatically able to vote in elections; they typically need to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible. They may need to be active for a certain amount of time, pay all dues in a timely manner, and be free from any disciplinary actions that could affect voting rights.

You Can (Usually) Campaign

Whether you’re voting for a person, policy, or issue to bargain for, union members can typically campaign for different outcomes. This can involve talking to other members about what’s on the ballot, holding debates, making presentations, and distributing promotional materials like flyers or buttons.

Members Must Be Aware of the Polling Place

Election officials must make the polling location well-known to everyone in the union. This involves telling union members where they can vote in advance of the date by distributing flyers, sending emails, and using other relevant forms of communication.

You Can Appeal a Decision

If you feel that votes were counted incorrectly or that there was some other error made in the process, you can usually appeal the election decision. Thankfully, with ElectionBuddy, miscounts are nearly impossible, so you likely won’t have to worry about this problem popping up.

Online Voting Complies with Union Rules

Union election voting is relatively simple when the rules are followed. These are often clearly outlined in the union’s constitution. 

Starting December 26th, 2023, a new National Labor Relations Board voting rule for elections regarding unionization will also take effect. The voting process will be streamlined, allowing union elections to be held sooner and giving employers less time to try to prevent this from happening. This will make the process of forming a union more efficient.

If your union is still using paper ballots to run elections, it’s time to try ElectionBuddy. The secure ElectionBuddy platform lets you email and text voters, and it’s free for up to twenty people. Try it today to revamp your election process!