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What are voting credentials?

Voting credentials attest to a county’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) that are authorized to cast those votes.

On what issues or for which candidates do counties/parishes/boroughs vote?

Counties vote on proposed amendments to association bylaws and elect NACo officers for the coming year. The second vice president is typically the only contested position.

When does the voting take place?

This year’s voting will take place virtually on Monday, July 20, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EDT at the NACo’s virtual 2020 Annual Business Meeting, where NACo members will elect our 2020-2021 officers, consider bylaws amendments, review our year of collective achievements and conduct other association business.

What is a voting delegate?

A voting delegate is someone authorized by your county to cast your county’s votes at the virtual Annual Business Meeting.

Who may be a voting delegate?

Any elected or appointed official or staff member from your county/parish/borough may be a voting delegate. That decision is up to your county.

Can more than one voting delegate cast a vote at the NACo 2020 Annual Business Meeting?

To facilitate the voting process, NACo encourages members to authorize ONE voting delegate per county. That individual will be the one who 1.) plans to attend the virtual meeting and 2.) cast the vote(s).

How can a voting delegate become credentialed?

Registrants from NACo member counties can designate themselves as a voting delegate when registering as an individual for the virtual Annual Business Meeting. If you are the authorized voting delegate for your county, individual registration is mandatory. Please note that by choosing this option, you are designating yourself as delegate and are declaring that your county board has agreed that you are a voting delegate. The online credential registration page requires the signature of the designated voting delegate.

Note: Credentials information cannot be accessed through group registration to the Annual Business Meeting.

Voting credentials information was mailed to member chief elected officials and clerks in early June.

What is the deadline for submitting voting credentials information?

The deadline for voting credentials is Friday, July 17, 2020 at noon EDT.

What is a ballot?

A ballot confirms the number of votes that a NACo member county is eligible to cast in the NACo Annual Business Meeting. More information on how to access ballots will be communicated to voting delegates prior to the Annual Business Meeting.

How do I confirm that my county is eligible to vote?

A county must be a NACo member “in good standing” in order to vote.

“Good standing” is defined as having:

1. 2020 NACo membership dues paid in full by Monday, July 13 at 5 p.m. EDT
2. at least one registration for the Annual Business Meeting and
3. proper voting credentials

How does the voting occur?

Information on the online voting process will be communicated to voting delegates prior to the virtual Annual Business Meeting.

Will the state association of counties/parishes/boroughs be able to cast votes on behalf of my county?

Yes. Counties/parishes/boroughs that intend to assign their vote(s) to the state association are required to 1.) complete the voting credentials process and 2.) notify NACo that they will NOT attend the virtual Annual Business Meeting before Friday, July 17 at noon EDT by sending an email to credentials@naco.org. If someone from your county does not complete the credentials process, your county’s votes will not be counted in this year’s Annual Business Meeting. Non-registered counties are not considered credentialed. If the voting delegate does not attend the meeting and did not notify NACo, those votes will NOT be cast by the state association on their behalf.

What happens if I, the voting delegate, do not attend the virtual Annual Business Meeting? Do my county’s votes automatically go to my state association?

No. Delegates are required to notify NACo if they cannot attend the meeting and want the state association to vote on their county’s behalf by on Friday, July 17 by noon EDT. If the designated voting delegate does not notify NACo that they will not attend the virtual Annual Business Meeting those votes will not be cast by the state association.

If my county won’t be registering for this year’s virtual Annual Business Meeting, can we still vote?

No. Per NACo’s bylaws, registration is required for the Annual Business Meeting in order to vote. Please do not submit credentials information to NACo if your county does not plan to register for the Annual Business Meeting.

If I register for the virtual Annual Business Meeting but cannot attend, can I assign a proxy vote?

Yes, but only if another person from your county has not already registered to attend the virtual Annual Business meeting as the voting delegate for the county. For more information regarding proxy requirements or to assign a proxy, please email credentials@naco.org.

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 population. 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 in the year the meeting is held.

• 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

See here for vote totals information. 

My county has 10 votes. How can our voting delegate(s) divide or share the votes?

To facilitate the voting process, NACo encourages members to authorize ONE voting delegate per county. That individual will be the one who 1.) plans to attend the virtual meeting and 2.) cast the vote(s). The vote allocation is up to your county. NACo has no rule as to how the 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.

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. 1.) A voting delegate may challenge the vote for their state, and their state only. 2.) A candidate running to become a NACo officer may challenge the vote of any state. If a challenge is made, the NACo Credentials Committee may audit the ballots.