What are voting credentials?
Voting credentials attest to a member's eligibility to vote. Credentials contain information on the number of votes a county is eligible to cast and the identity of the delegate(s) who are authorized to cast those votes.
On what issues or for which candidates do counties/parishes/boroughs vote?
NACo members vote on proposed amendments to association bylaws, NACo's policy agenda and elect NACo officers for the coming year. The second vice president is typically the only contested position.
How do I confirm my county is eligible to vote?
A county must be a NACo member “in good standing” to vote. “Good standing” is defined as having:
- Current year membership dues paid in full prior to the Annual Business Meeting
- at least one individual from the county registered for the Annual Conference and
- appointed a voting delegate(s).
What is a primary voting delegate?
A primary voting delegate is someone authorized by your county to cast the county’s votes at the Annual Business Meeting.
Who may be a primary voting delegate?
Any elected or appointed official or staff member from your county/parish/borough may be a voting delegate. The voting delegate can be appointed by your Chief Elected Official (CEO), clerks to the county board or your county's registered conference attendee(s) with this link to the voting credentials portal.
How can a voting delegate become credentialed?
Individuals from NACo member counties can designate themselves as a voting delegate when registering online for the Annual Conference. Additionally, member county chief elected officials and clerks to the county board can appoint a voting delegate. Designate your county's primary voting delegate by using this link to the voting credentials portal. Paper voting credential forms will not be mailed to member counties but can be accessed electronically with this link.
What is the deadline for appointing a primary voting delegate?
We highly recommend appointing your county’s voting delegate(s) by 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, July 8.*
*This is a requested deadline. The official deadline for appointment is Sunday, July 14 at 5 p.m. EDT.
How does NACo determine the number of votes each county receives?
The number of votes is determined by the amount of dues a county pays. Dues are based on the population of the 2010 census. All counties are entitled to at least one vote. Members with more than $1,199 in dues are entitled to one additional vote for each additional $1,200 in dues or fraction thereof paid.
- Counties with dues of $450 to $1,199 receive one vote
- Counties with dues of $1,200 to $2,399 receive two votes, and so on
- The maximum number of votes a county can receive is 51
When does the voting take place?
This year’s voting will take place on Monday, July 15, 2024 at NACo’s Annual Business Meeting. Visit NACo.org/Annual to view the current schedule of events.
How does the voting occur?
Voting will take place using an electronic voting tool. Appointed primary voting delegates must provide their cell phone number to receive ballot(s) and in case NACo staff needs to contact delegates during the business meeting.
Will voting delegates receive training on using the electronic voting tool to cast their ballot(s)?
Yes, NACo will hold webinars and test ballots for registered delegates prior to the Annual Business Meeting. Real time support will be provided for voting delegates.
Can more than one voting delegate cast their county’s vote at the NACo Annual Business Meeting?
Due to the use of electronic voting, we highly recommend appointing one primary voting delegate per county. That individual should be the one who:
- Plans to participate in the Annual Business Meeting and
- will cast the county’s vote(s).
My county has 10 votes. Can we divide or share our votes?
The vote allocation is up to your county. NACo has no rule on how counties decide to allocate their votes and is not involved in the decision. Counties may split their votes amongst the second vice president candidates, but fractions of a whole vote are not permitted.
If my county registers for the Annual Conference and no one can attend, can we assign a proxy voter?
Yes, counties can proxy their votes to another member county in their state that is registered for the conference or to their state association. Voting delegates can assign a proxy voter using the online voting credentials portal linked here.
Proxy voters or any changes to a county’s appointed delegate must be completed by Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 5 P.M. EDT.
What happens if our county’s voting delegate cannot attend the Annual Business Meeting? Do my county’s votes automatically go to the state association?
No. If the assigned voting delegate does not attend the meeting and the county did not proxy those votes to the state association, those votes will NOT be cast by the state association on their behalf.
If the voting delegate cannot attend the Annual Business Meeting, the county must assign another delegate or proxy their votes by Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 5 P.M. EDT. If the county does not assign a proxy for votes and their primary voting delegate does not participate in the meeting, their votes will not be cast.
If my county will not participate in this year’s Annual Conference, can we still vote?
Per NACo’s bylaws, nonattending counties can cast votes if they:
- Pay the conference registration fee within 72 hours of the start of the conference and
- assign a proxy voter by Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 5 P.M. EDT.
What happens if there is a dispute over the voting process?
It is rare, but sometimes irregularities occur with how votes are cast or tallied or how the credentialing process is conducted. As a safeguard, elections of officers may be challenged during the NACo Annual Business Meeting. Challenges are allowed under two circumstances:
- A voting delegate may challenge the vote for their state and only their state.
- A candidate running to become a NACo officer may challenge the vote of any state.
At the beginning of the Annual Business Meeting, the Credentials Committee chair will report the total number of credentialed votes, including per state, and move to approve the certified report. This is the point during the business meeting that any state designee or credentialed member may raise any objection or question related to the credentials process and confirm or challenge the accuracy of the overall total, including state and county allocations, as certified by the Credentials Committee.
If a challenge is made, the NACo Credentials Committee will conduct an audit of the votes cast in the state of the challenge.
For questions, please email credentials@naco.org.