§ 452.112 Form of ballot; slate voting.

The form of the ballot is not prescribed by the Act. Thus, a union may, if it so desires, include a proposed bylaw change or other similar proposal on a ballot along with the candidates for office so long as this is permissible under the union's constitution and bylaws. A determination as to the position of a candidate's name on the ballot may be made by the union in any reasonable manner permitted by its constitution and bylaws, consistent with the requirement of fairness and the other provisions of the Act. For example, candidates may be listed according to their affiliation with a particular slate. However, while “slate voting” is permissible, the balloting must be consistent with the right of members to vote for the candidates of their choice. Thus, there must be provision for the voter to choose among individual candidates if he does not wish to vote for an entire slate. To avoid any misunderstanding in this regard, the voting instructions should specifically inform the voter that he need not vote for an entire slate.