NACo Voting Credentials

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About Voting Credentials

Voting credentials verify a member county, parish, or borough’s eligibility to vote and the number of votes they can cast at the Annual Business Meeting. To be eligible to vote, NACo members are required to:

  • Register for the 2025 Annual Conference
  • Pay 2025 NACo membership dues in full, and
  • Designate the voting delegate(s) for the county by 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 13.

NACo members are encouraged to authorize only one voting delegate per county and must also provide the cell phone number of the voting delegate. Designate your county's primary voting delegate by using this link to the voting credentials portal.

Voting delegates and proxies decide all business, motions and the election of officers during the Annual Business Meeting.

Voting credentials attest to a member’s ability to vote in the NACo annual business meeting held every year during NACo’s Annual Conference.

Proxy Voting

If a member county would like to proxy their vote(s), they may authorize another member county in the same state to cast proxy votes for the county or their state association president or president's designee.

  • For non-attending counties, the county must still comply with the registration requirements, including payment of the registration fee, and complete the voting credentials process, including designating its delegate for proxy voting.
  • It is important to note that any changes to a county’s designee (including proxy voter) should be completed Sunday, July 13, 2025 at 5 p.m. EDT.* Update your primary voting delegate or proxy voter with this link to the credentials portal.

Eligible Vote Totals

A county’s vote total is determined by the amount of dues paid and dues are based on the population of the 2020 census.

Every county receives one vote and is allotted an additional vote for each $1,200 paid in dues.

  • Counties with dues of $450 to $1,199 receive one vote.
  • Counties with dues of $1,200 to $2,399 receive two votes.
  • Counties with dues of $2,400 to $3,599 receive three votes, and so on.
  • The maximum number of votes a county can receive is 51.

If you would like more details about voting credentials and the elections process, please visit NACo.org/Governance or email credentials@naco.org.

Election Process

Voting delegates and proxies decide all business, motions, and the election of officers during the annual business meeting (Article X, Section 6).

  • To facilitate the Annual Business Meeting, NACo will use an electronic voting tool.
    • NACo will host virtual training and sample voting sessions for primary voting delegates and proxies prior to the conference.
    • Prior to the Annual Business Meeting, primary voting delegates and proxies will receive a link via text and email to enter the online voting platform.
    • For roll call votes, the presiding NACo President will announce that voting will begin and continue for a specific duration of time.
    • Primary voting delegates and proxies will enter their votes through their cell phones, computers, tablets, or any other device with a web browser connected to the internet.
    • Once voting is completed, the tally clerk will review and confirm the recorded votes for consistency with the number of credentialed votes per state.
    • Each state’s vote totals will then be communicated to a designated representative from each state, typically designated by the state association(s).
    • The reading clerk and Nominating Committee chair will announce randomized states, and state representatives will announce the votes from their states.
    • The tally clerk will confirm accuracy of the reported votes and the running vote totals will be displayed for everyone to see.
  • According to the bylaws (Article X, Section 6), in any roll call vote for the election of an officer where no candidate receives a majority* of the vote, the candidate with the lowest vote total shall be removed from the ballot and another roll call vote shall be held with the remaining candidates.
    • Voting Scenarios:
      • If there are four candidates where no one receives a majority and there is a tie for last place, no one is dropped and another ballot is distributed.
        • If two candidates are still tied for last place on the second ballot, both will be dropped and another vote will be held. 
    • If there are three candidates on the ballot and no one receives a majority, no one will be dropped and voting will continue until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.

* Majority of the vote is defined as more than half of the votes cast.

QUESTIONS?

Email credentials@naco.org for more information about the voting credentials process.

Frequently Asked Questions

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:

  1. Current year membership dues paid in full prior to the Annual Business Meeting
  2. At least one individual from the county registered for the Annual Conference and
  3. 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?

The official deadline for appointment is Sunday, July 13 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 2020 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 14, 2025 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:

  1. Plans to participate in the Annual Business Meeting and
  2. 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 13, 2025 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 13, 2025 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:

  1. Pay the conference registration fee within 72 hours of the start of the conference and
  2. Assign a proxy voter by Sunday, July 13, 2025 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:

  1. A voting delegate may challenge the vote for their state and only their state.
  2. 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.