# How to run a club committee election

## The meeting day run sheet

Print this and give it to the returning officer. The returning officer should not be a candidate, and ideally is not on the outgoing committee at all — a life member, a member from another club, or the auditor are all good choices.

1. **On arrival.** Mark attendees against the frozen voter roll. Issue voting cards only to eligible members. Record proxies received and who holds them.
2. **Before business.** Confirm quorum aloud and minute the number. If quorum fails, do not proceed to an election.
3. **Hand over the chair.** The president vacates the chair for elections; the returning officer takes it and remains in it until all positions are declared.
4. **Position by position, in order.** Read the position, read the valid nominations in the order received, and confirm each candidate is present or has consented in writing.
5. **Uncontested.** Declare elected unopposed. Do not hold a confirming vote unless your rules require one.
6. **Contested.** Allow each candidate up to two minutes to speak, in an order drawn by lot. Distribute ballot papers, collect them in a single container, and appoint two scrutineers who are not associated with any candidate.
7. **Count out of the room but with the door open.** Returning officer plus both scrutineers, nobody else. Count twice.
8. **Declare the winner without the numbers** unless your rules require the tally, or the meeting resolves to hear it. Ask the meeting to accept the result and move on.
9. **Retain the ballot papers** in a sealed envelope, signed by the scrutineers, for the period your rules or your records policy require.

If a count is tied, your rules will usually specify a casting vote or a fresh ballot. If they do not, the safest course is a second ballot, then a lot drawn in front of the meeting — and a rules amendment next year.

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