2026 NAHJ ELECTIONS HUB
National Elections
Chapter Elections
National Board Elections
NAHJ has created this Elections Hub landing page as part of our commitment to remain transparent about the election process. This page contains important information for members about the 2026 NAHJ elections.
This year we will be electing 9 national board positions and a student representative:
The 2026 NAHJ National Board elections will take place between November 2, 2026 and November 13, 2026.
Officers must receive the nomination of at least 25 members who are Regular or Academic Members in good standing. Candidates must be working journalists, defined as earning 51 percent or more of their income from practicing journalism or its instruction.
The student representative, to represent students nationwide, must gather 25 signatures of student members with a current membership and be a full-time student at a recognized and accredited college or university. Moreover, the student must remain a full-time student at a recognized and accredited college throughout his/her tenure. The student representative serves a one-year term.
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Description of each position
President
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The President shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, generally supervise, direct, and control the business and the officers of the corporation. They shall preside at all meetings of the members and at all meetings of the Board of Directors. They shall have such powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the bylaws.
Note: A candidate is only eligible to run for president if they have previously served on the board.
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Vice President (Print, Digital, Broadcast)
- In the absence or disability of the president, the Vice Presidents shall perform all the duties of the president, and when so acting shall have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions upon, the president. The vice president receiving the most votes from the general membership during the most recent election shall be the first to succeed the president in case of absence or vacancy. The vice presidents shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as from time-to-time may be prescribed for them, respectively, by the Board of Directors.
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Vice President for Print: The Vice President for Print must work to gather, edit, present or supervise news that is delivered primarily via text and still photographs.
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Vice President for Broadcast: The Vice President for Broadcast must work to gather, edit, present or supervise news that is delivered primarily via audio or video.
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Vice President for Digital: The Vice President for Digital must work to gather, edit, present or supervise news that intrinsically requires the use of digital technology to communicate with their audience beyond the simple dissemination of text-first or broadcast-first news.
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Financial Officer
- The Financial Officer shall keep and maintain the organization's accounts, including its assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, gains, losses, capital, retained earnings, and other matters customarily included in financial statements; shall be responsible for depositing and disbursing the organization's money and valuables; shall keep a record of all of their transactions as financial officer and of the financial condition of the corporation; and shall have other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the bylaws.
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Secretary
- The Secretary shall keep and maintain the minutes of all the meetings and actions of directors, the names of those present at such meetings, the number of members present or represented at members’ meetings, and the proceedings of such meetings; shall keep a record of the corporation’s members, showing the names of all members, their addresses, and the class of membership held by each; and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the bylaws.
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Spanish Language At-Large Officer
- The Spanish Language At-Large Officer is the board's liaison for members who work for Spanish language media outlets, or who write or communicate primarily in Spanish. They shall keep abreast of the concerns and activities of those members, and advice on programming and other courses of action.
- The At-Large Officer for Spanish Language must work in Spanish-language media.
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General At-Large Officer
- The General At-Large Officer is the board's liaison for NAHJ's general membership. They shall keep abreast of the concerns and activities of the general membership, and advice on programming and other courses of action.
- The General At-Large Officer must be a Regular, Academic, Retired, or Associate member of the organization.
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Academic At-Large Officer
- The Academic At-Large officer is the board's liaison for academic members teach at institutes of higher education. They shall keep abreast of the concerns and activities of those members, and advice on programming and other courses of action.
- The At-Large Academic Officer shall be a full- time instructor of journalism at a high school, college, or university.
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Student Representative
- The Student Representative is the board liaison for NAHJ's student members. They should keep abreast of student member concerns and activities and relay them to the board, and advice on programming for student members and other courses of action.
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Chapter Board Elections
Each year, NAHJ chapters elect their local leadership. Regional Directors serve as Election Chairs for Professional Chapters in their region, while each chapter establishes an Election Committee consisting of a chair and two chapter members who are not running, endorsing or campaigning for candidates.
Election Committees will:
- Participate in training with the National Election Committee.
- Manage nominations, candidate vetting and communications.
- Use NAHJ's nomination and voting systems.
- Support candidates and members throughout the election.
- Announce candidates and election results.
Candidate Requirements:
- Receive 5 signatures from eligible voting chapter members.
- Live or work within the chapter's geographic area.
- Maintain an active, paid NAHJ membership.
- Meet the membership eligibility requirements for the position they are seeking.
Voting Eligibility:
Regular, Academic and Retired members may run, nominate and vote. Associate members may participate in a General At-Large position, if the chapter has one. Student members may participate in student chapter elections.
Each chapter must elect a minimum of two board members — at least a President and Secretary/Treasurer — to remain active with NAHJ.
All candidates must be vetted for eligibility before the nomination deadline. Election Committees should begin vetting candidates as they receive signatures rather than waiting until nominations close.
See the timeline below for important election dates and deadlines.
Description of each position
President
- Ensures the chapter works to fulfill the strategic plan on the local level.
- Carries out requirements to maintain chapter certification, including submitting the annual report.
- Makes statements on behalf of the chapter and presides at most chapter events.
- Serves as the primary contact person for potential members.
- Works with chapter leaders to recruit new members and retain existing members.
- Is acquainted with most chapter members and works to meet their needs within the NAHJ mission. It is often the president’s vision that guides the programming at the chapter level and helps develop the national organization through chapter work.
- Grooms a successor through outreach, recruitment and skills building. It is often the case that you will need to ask people to run for office, tell them what the job entails and encourage them with some examples of how it has benefited you.
- Facilitates, supports and assists with activities intended to support the mission of NAHJ, as managed by the NAHJ staff and approved by the Board of Directors.
- Keeps members informed of chapter activities through newsletters, e-mails, and social media.
- The president or any other board member from the chapter board must attend the annual conference. (Chapter may use its funds to pay for all or part of the conference expenses, however this is up to the chapter board's discretion). Convening with other chapter presidents once a year is important. This meeting can also help with leadership training, skills building and networking.
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Vice President
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Treasurer
- Responsible for submitting an annual chapter budget to the national office and completing annual financial reports.
- Recipient of the chapter’s bank statements
- Keeping the local bank account open and in good standing
- Issuing checks from the local bank account to pay for chapter expenses.
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Secretary
- Taking minutes at meetings and sending them to chapter leaders and members.
- Greeting attendees at NAHJ events and asking them to sign in and make a nametag.
- Writing chapter newsletters, e-mails or other communications.
- Creating fliers, signs or other communication materials for the chapter as needed.
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*Chapters may opt for additional elected leadership roles, including but not limited to: social media coordinator, web master, job fair chair, etc. The chapter may appoint members to non-elected positions based on its needs.
2026 ELECTIONS TIMELINE
Monday, September 21: Announcement & Call for nominations.
Sunday, September 21, 11:59pm ET: The date of record. Members must be in good standing by this date to be eligible to vote. Click here to renew your dues.
Sunday, October 4, 11:59pm PT: Last day to submit nominations & Deadline to qualify for the ballot. (25 signatures required for National Elections; 5 signatures required for Chapter Elections)
Monday, September 21- Monday, October 5: : Vetting period conducted by the Elections Committee.
Monday, September 28: Candidate statements and candidate videos due to election committee
Monday, October 5: NAHJ announces candidates. Email with candidates’ messages will be sent to current members by NAHJ.
Monday, October 19: Candidates videos published
Monday, October 26: Candidates second campaign message is due to the elections committee.
Monday, November 2: Candidates second message will be emailed to current members by NAHJ
Monday, November 2: Election begins. Polls are open for two weeks.
Friday, November 13: Elections close at 5:00 p.m. EST. NAHJ will announce winners immediately following.
You can find the 2026 elections guidelines about NAHJ’s election process here.
You can find the 2026 Elections FAQs here.
Interested in serving on the board?
Here’s how you can qualify to appear on the ballot:
- Make sure you’re a member in good standing, which means your dues must be up-to-date. Need to renew? Click here to renew your dues.
- All executive board candidates must collect 25 nominations from NAHJ members in good standing. NOTE: Only Regular, Retired and Academic members are eligible to sign nominations and vote for all board positions. Student representative candidates would need 25 unique nominations.
For more information on eligibility requirements, you can read the full NAHJ election guidelines here.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the 2026 elections -- we want to hear from you! Please email [email protected].
The 2026 Election Committee:
Jess Elizarraras, NAHJ Region 5 Director
NAHJ support contacts:
[email protected] - NAHJ membership & training services
NAHJ Member Services
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