Scientific Association Elections: Reinvent Your Science Election with ElectionBuddy

Scientific societies and associations support research endeavors by scientists and scholars. Scientific societies often work as a part of broader:

• Educational missions
• Federal agencies
• Private foundations

These scientists associations can also provide funding that supports research and collaboration between scientists. A scientific society can provide members with access to meetings, journals and other publications, educational and training programs, and even advocacy assistance for science policy.

These science societies are made up of:

Members

Members are usually invited or apply to join organizations that promote research and collaboration in the field of science. Members of the science society could be anyone such as a university professor or a researcher. Typically, member certifications are based on their interest and existing work or efforts in the sciences.

In the majority of science associations, members are nominated by current members based on the quality of their existing research, published findings, and other accomplishments in the sciences. The existing member submits the nomination materials to voting officers and the council to vote on during the next member proposal meeting.

These science associations should have a council or board of members that represent the best interests of the science community. The board is made up of all voting officers, and typically focuses on particular subsections within the sciences, such as biology, psychology, and physics. Depending on the science association, these can be further broken down into more nuanced subsections. The science board will support the organization and may hold an annual meeting for an official election.

The Science Board of Officers is responsible for governing the association, which includes maintaining governance structures, providing oversight, and ensuring access to resources for members. These are elected positions within the science association.

Members of the Science Board of Officers include:

• President: This figure represents the science association and is a regular, voting, and working member of the board. They provide active leadership regarding program and policy development.
• Vice president and president-elect: This position acts as the president if the president is ever absent, and serves as a regular, working, and voting member of the science board.
• Immediate past president: This position is acquired immediately after serving as the science association’s president. Typically, this is a non-voting position, unless both the president and vice president are absent.
• Executive director: The executive director oversees setting and managing programs, including implementing the board’s policies, overseeing day-to-day operations, and sharing certain responsibilities with other science board members, such as the treasurer and secretary.
• Other officers: Not every science board includes the same titles and officers, but other common positions include publications coordinators, editors, archivists, and more.

To earn a leadership position on the board of a science association, you must begin with the nominations process. In a nomination cycle, fellow members must submit a formal nomination that includes:

• A brief curriculum vitae
• A statement of the nominee’s accomplishments
• A list of publications, including published reports or papers in science journals

For some science associations, the next steps in membership nomination can be simple or more complicated. Both routes must include procedures for two mandatory ballots–an informal and a formal ballot. Science association bylaws determine the maximum number of members elected annually.

Generally, the science association election process follows these steps:

• First, active members nominate candidates for member proposals.
• Next, the science board reviews submissions from members for member proposals.
• Then, an informal ballot is used for voting. Typically, candidates who receive less than a 40% vote can be eligible for reproposal. Candidates who receive a 40% or more vote progress to the formal ballot.
• Candidates who receive two-thirds or more of the vote become nominees to be considered by the board.
• The nominee progresses to a class membership committee, composed of representatives from all sections of that class. They discuss the merits of all progressed nominees.
• The Class Membership Committee creates a rank-ordered list of science nominees from this group that the class may elect. This is called a ‘preference ballot.’
• Members vote on the preference and final ballots, finalizing the election.