Scouts are elected to Troop or Patrol leadership positions at the semi-annual Troop Elections which are typically held in October/November and April/May. This allows 1-2 months for the newly elected position holders to learn their responsibilities from the prior position holder.
The Troop follows the following process for these Troop Elections.
Before the Troop Elections
Approximately one month prior to an election, Scouts will have the opportunity to volunteer to run for a Troop or Patrol position. This information is gathered in-person or via an online form.
Scouts interested in running for a position should review the list of Troop Positions and associated responsibilities as posted on the Troop website. When a Scout volunteers to run for a Troop or Patrol position, he is committing to perform the responsibilities of any position he is elected to. Scouts should carefully consider whether to apply for multiple Troop positions to ensure they can consistently fulfill all of the positions’ responsibilities.
The list of candidates for each position will be shared with all Scouts in the Troop at the meeting immediately before the scheduled Troop Elections. This is also the last opportunity for Scouts to declare their candidacy for a position.
Conducting the Troop Elections
A Troop Meeting will be dedicated to the Troop meeting every April/May and October/November and is conducted in two parts:
- Elected Positions – All Scouts will vote on which Scouts will hold voting positions in the Patrol Leader’s Council (Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and their patrol’s Patrol Leader). Assistant Patrol Leaders are also elected at this time but are only voting members of the PLC when the Patrol Leader is not present.
- Appointed Positions – The newly elected voting PLC members will appoint Scouts to fill the other Troop Leadership positions based on the positions Scouts volunteered to fill.
For each position (both elected and appointed):
- Candidates will have one minute to present to the Troop or Patrol and answer questions about why they should be elected to the position.
- Elected Positions:
- Ballots are distributed to the Scouts present at the meeting after all candidates have presented.
- Adult Leaders gather the ballots and count the results.
- Appointed Positions: The newly elected voting PLC members select the Scout to fill the open position.
Voting Rules
- Scouts do not need to be present to run for a Troop Position but must be present to cast a vote.
- Scouts cannot directly run for Assistant positions. These positions are filled by the Scout with the second highest vote count in the primary position’s election.
Ties
In the event of a tie, the following will be followed until a winner is determined:
- Concession: The tied Scouts meet to decide if one of them is best suited to fill the position. If there is a consensus, that Scout fills the position.
- “Run Off”: If there were Scouts in the election eliminated by the original vote, then all eligible Scouts re-vote selecting between the tied candidates.
- Selection by Leadership: If a tie still exists, Troop Leadership will select between the tied Scouts.
- Senior Patrol Leader: existing Senior Patrol Leader (unless he is a candidate), Scoutmaster & Committee Chair
- All other positions: newly-elected Senior Patrol Leader & Scoutmaster
After the Troop Elections
Following the Troop Election, the newly elected Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leaders identify Scouts to fill any open Required Elected Positions (as necessary). This list is submitted to the Scoutmaster for approval.
Scouts who have been newly elected to their positions:
- Work with the Scouts who currently fulfill the position to learn their job responsibilities,
- Review their new position’s roles and responsibilities from Scouting.org, and
- Take any relevant Troop Training courses for their position.
Scouts will be inducted into their positions at the end of the meeting immediately preceding their start of term AND recognized at the Court of Honor nearest to the start of their term.