Division Elections Conducted by APA and the Apportionment Ballot

The following information has been developed to answer general questions that divisions may have with regard to the election of division officers and the annual Apportionment Ballot used to determine seating on the Council of Representatives. For further information contact the Election Office. 

Each year APA offers divisions the opportunity to include their slates of candidates for election on the APA Council representatives election ballot. Divisions may opt to conduct their own elections with the exception of APA Council representative(s) which must be done by APA. APA members receive only those slates for divisions in which they hold membership (as noted on the members' APA database record).

APA sends the ballot to all voting members of APA (Fellows, Members and, voting Associates and eligible Graduate student members) as well as any affiliate or student members who have voting privileges. 

October

Election Office contacts divisions to find out who to send the call for candidates to.

January

Call for candidates for Council Representative and division officers to be included on the APA ballot are sent to divisions and states. Deadline: February 13.

Early April

Candidates must submit their statements. Each candidate will receive an email to submit a statement of no more than 250 words (strictly enforced) that will be accessible to all voters.

April 15 or Next Business Day

APA election ballot launch. Deadline: 30 days later or next business day.

Mid-May

Results are certified by the APA Elections Committee. APA contacts the division's nominations chair or the person who approved the final slate. The division is responsible for notifying the candidates of the election results.

The APA Bylaws carry few restrictions as to the qualifications of a division's officers and the manner in which they are chosen.

• APA Bylaws require that each division have a president and a secretary.

• APA Bylaws require that only voting members of APA are allowed to nominate and elect their Council representatives.

• Additional officers, qualifications for officers, and the means by which they are elected or appointed is determined by the division.

• The criteria for candidates and the terms of division officers are established by the division and reflected in its bylaws.

• Unless specifically prohibited by divisional bylaws, a person may hold as many offices within divisions to which s/he is elected.

• A candidate for APA Council must be an APA Member and a member of the division or state/provincial association which s/he represents.

• No person is eligible to serve as Council representative at one time in more than one position or to run for the office of Council Representative from more than one voting unit.

• A Council member who has served six consecutive years is not eligible for election or appointment for a period of one year as a representative from any eligible unit.

• No individual may serve more than twelve years as a member of Council when representing a Division, State/Provincial/Territorial Psychological Association or Ethnic Minority Psychological Association, whether as a representative or as an alternate unless an exemption has been granted by the Board of Directors.

• If an elected Council representative is no longer a Member of APA, the division may designate another eligible member as its representative for the remainder of the term. Notice of the election or appointment should be sent to the APA Recording Secretary.

The APA Council of Representatives urges divisions and state/provincial associations to keep in mind the need for ethnic minority representation when election ballots for Council membership are prepared.

The final election ballot must present at least two candidates for each Council seat allocated to the division.

If the division's bylaws do not specify the number of candidates to be placed on the ballot for other division offices, the chair of the nominating committee or secretary/treasurer of the division is responsible for determining the number of candidates needed and the preparation and submission of the slate of candidates.

Divisions are responsible for determining the eligibility and willingness to serve of each nominee. The list of candidates for each office should be submitted in alphabetical order. The draft slates are sent to each division's nominations/elections chair or secretary/treasurer for confirmation.

APA uses the Hare system for division officer and Council representative elections. This is a preferential system of counting that asks the voter to rank the candidates in order of his/her preference. In tallying the vote, a quota is established by totaling all valid ballots, dividing the total by one more than the number of persons to be elected, and adding one to the result. Ballots are sorted by first choice on each ballot. A candidate is elected if he/she reaches the quota. If no individual reaches the quota on this first count, then the candidate with the fewest choices is declared defeated, and the ballots of that candidate are redistributed to the remaining choices, if any. This procedure is continued until an individual has reached a majority vote or until all but one candidate is defeated.

The nominations/elections committee chair or the secretary/treasurer is sent a copy of the vote tabulation for his/her division.

It is the responsibility of the divisions to inform the successful and defeated candidates of the results of the election ballot.

The Apportionment Ballot is conducted annually to determine the composition of the following years' Council.

Each voting member of APA receives a ballot with ten votes to distribute among eligible constituencies (divisions and state/provincial associations) according to his/her interests. 

The number of seats for representatives from divisions and state/provincial/territorial psychological associations allocated through the apportionment vote process shall be 162. Each division and each state/provincial/territorial association shall be allocated a minimum of one seat on council. The 162 seats will be divided into two pools, one for state/provincial/territorial psychological associations and one for divisions. The percentage of the 162 seats for state/provincial/territorial psychological associations shall correspond to the percentage of total apportionment votes allocated to state/provincial/territorial psychological associations and the percentage of the 162 seats for divisions shall correspond to the percentage of total apportionment votes allocated to divisions. If either pool is not large enough to give one seat to each unit, enough seats will be transferred from the other pool to accomplish that requirement.

The awarding of additional seats from those remaining in each pool shall be based on the percentage of allocated votes received by a division or state/provincial/territorial psychological association and calculated as follows:

1.5% to less than 2.5%, 1 additional seat
2.5% to less than 3.5%, 2 additional seats
3.5% to less than 4.5%. 3 additional seats
etc.

Additional seats will be allocated to those units in a pool entitled to additional seats in the following manner. The unit with the highest percentage in the pool will receive the first additional seat and an additional seat will be assigned to other units entitled to one or more additional seats in descending order of their percentages. If, after all units in a pool entitled to one or more additional seats have received one additional seat, there remain units that are entitled to two or more additional seats, and if the seats allocated to the pool have not been exhausted, the unit in the pool with the highest percentage will receive a second additional seat and a second additional seat will be assigned to other units entitled to two or more additional seats in descending order of their percentages. This process shall be continued until either all additional seats allocated to the pool have been assigned or until all units in the pool entitled to additional seats have been assigned all of the seats to which their percentages of allocated votes entitle them.

If, after all units in a pool have been assigned the additional seats to which they are entitled by virtue of their percentages, there remain seats allocated to a pool which have not been assigned, those remaining seats shall be assigned to the units in the pool in the order in which the units came closest to being awarded another seat as a result of the allocated votes.

The results of the apportionment ballot, together with the current membership of council, are taken into account as the Election Office generates a listing of division and state/provincial association vacancies on council for the following year. It is important to note that:

• A division or state/provincial association that is allocated fewer seats for one year than those allocated the previous year must recall the appropriate number of representatives.

• If the division has more than one representative serving on Council, it will be the division's responsibility to determine which representative will be recalled.

• Once a representative is recalled, the individual's term is over (APA Bylaws, Article V, Section 4). Even if the division regains the lost seat on the next apportionment vote, a new election for Council representative must be held to fill the seat.

To increase the chance of a good turnout for your division on the Apportionment Ballot, alert your members that the ballot is coming and let them know that you would like their support. Encourage your members to vote.

For purposes of timing your membership notice, APA sends the Apportionment Ballot by email out on November 1 (or the next business day).

Making certain that your members know the value of the division's participation in Council activities is also important. Information on current APA Council activities in your division's newsletter and listserv will serve to highlight that importance and increase the chance that your members will understand the implications of the Apportionment Ballot and, thereby, increase the chance that they will fill out and return their ballots.

November 1 or Next Business Day

Apportionment ballot emailed. Deadline: December 15 or next business day.

First Week of January

Apportionment ballot results announced.