Department of Labor · OLMS · LMRDA · IAFF
Union officer elections aren't governed by best practices — they're governed by federal law. Here is what the law actually says, chapter and verse, and how EasySecretBallot.com is built to satisfy each requirement.
The statute
The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), enforced by the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), sets binding rules for how unions elect their officers. Four provisions do most of the work:
"'Secret ballot' means the expression by ballot, voting machine, or otherwise, but in no event by proxy, of a choice… cast in such a manner that the person expressing such choice cannot be identified with the choice expressed."
The legal test is not "we promise not to look." It is that the voter cannot be identified with the choice. A system where an administrator or vendor could connect voter to vote fails this definition even if nobody ever does. That is why our architecture never creates the link at all.
"Every local labor organization shall elect its officers not less often than once every three years by secret ballot among the members in good standing."
Local officer elections must be by secret ballot, at least every three years, among members in good standing. (Nationals and internationals: every five years, by secret ballot of the members or at a convention of delegates themselves chosen by secret ballot; intermediate bodies: every four years.)
"Adequate safeguards to insure a fair election shall be provided, including the right of any candidate to have an observer at the polls and at the counting of the ballots."
Elections must be run with safeguards that make fraud detectable and the count observable. Candidates have a statutory right to observers.
Among other things: notice of the election must be mailed to every member at their last known home address at least 15 days before the election; every member in good standing is entitled to one vote; and the ballots and all other records pertaining to the election must be preserved for one year.
The Department of Labor's regulations elaborate the statute. In particular, 29 CFR §452.97 (secrecy of the ballot) explains that secrecy must be assured both in casting and afterward — a ballot that can later be traced to its voter was never secret — and 29 CFR §452.107 details the adequate-safeguards requirement, including election records and observability. OLMS has stated that electronic voting is not prohibited, provided the system preserves ballot secrecy, one-member-one-vote, the observability of the process, and the records the Act requires.
Primary sources: 29 U.S.C. §481 (LMRDA §401) · 29 U.S.C. §402 (definitions, incl. §3(k)) · 29 CFR Part 452 · OLMS: Conducting Local Union Officer Elections — A Guide for Election Officials · Office of Labor-Management Standards
Point by point
| Legal requirement | How EasySecretBallot.com satisfies it |
|---|---|
| Ballot secrecy §3(k), 29 CFR §452.97 |
The voter↔ballot link is never created. Ballots are encrypted at the moment of casting to a key sealed under a teller passphrase the platform never stores; stored in randomized physical order; stamped with a date, never a time. Not the election committee, not the platform operator, not a database administrator with full disk access can identify a voter with a choice. |
| One member, one vote §401(e) |
Voting requires a match against the certified roster you upload. The voted-flag and the sealed ballot are written in a single atomic transaction conditioned on the member not having voted; simultaneous duplicate submissions cannot both succeed. Optional one-time voting codes add a per-member credential. |
| Adequate safeguards §401(c), 29 CFR §452.107 |
A hash-chained, tamper-evident audit log of every administrative act; a locked roster with a cryptographic fingerprint recorded when the polls open; ballot-box reconciliation (sealed ballots vs. members marked as voting) that must balance before certification; and a count that cannot run early or in secret because it requires the tellers' passphrases. |
| Observers at the count §401(c) |
The count is a single observable event: tellers enter their passphrases in front of whoever your rules put in the room. Dual-teller mode requires two passphrase holders, so no one person can open the box alone. Candidates' observers can verify the reconciliation figures and published receipt list. |
| Records preserved one year §401(e) |
One-command full election backup (sealed ballots, roster, results, audit chain), a printable certified election report, and CSV exports of participation and results for your files. |
| Membership-only access | Ballot access requires matching the eligible-voter roster your committee certifies and uploads. Non-members have nothing to match. |
| Alternative (non-electronic) voting | Built in, not bolted on: mark in-person/paper voters on the roster so they cannot also vote electronically, record the tellers' hand count, and the report totals both methods separately and combined. |
For IAFF affiliates
The IAFF Legal Department's model bylaws language for electronic voting requires: (1) sufficient encryption for security and authenticity of the vote; (2) a mechanism ensuring each member votes only once; (3) secrecy of the member's vote; (4) password protection; (5) the ability to calculate total votes — plus access limited to members of the Local and an alternative way to vote for members who choose not to vote electronically. Every one of those is a core feature here, as the table above details.
For matters requiring a secret ballot under law or the IAFF Constitution — officer elections, delegate elections, dues changes — IAFF guidance requires the Local to obtain approval of the electronic voting platform and its procedures from the IAFF Legal Department before use.
EasySecretBallot.com is built to be the platform you submit: our published security model documents the encryption, the secrecy architecture, and its limits in exactly the detail that review needs.
What software cannot do for you. The LMRDA also imposes duties no platform can perform: mailing the election notice to every member's home address at least 15 days out, honoring nomination rights, allowing candidate observers, and your committee's judgment on eligibility. We handle the technical half of a lawful election; the procedural half belongs to your election committee. When in doubt, consult OLMS's election guide or counsel.
An election you can defend, for $10.