Unit Elections

The information on this page concerning elections, eligibility, voting, etc. comes from the November 2025 edition of the Handbook for Officers and Advisors - a publication of the Order of the Arrow that contains the current policies concerning the organization and administration of an Order of the Arrow Lodge.

All unit elections and adult nominations are handled through the Inductions Module in Lodgemaster (the master tracking software we use to track everything about our Lodge and our members).

Our Lodge election year runs from November 1 to October 31. Each unit (Troop, Crew, Ship) can hold an election once within this election year cycle. Elections must be held by an election team sanctioned by the Lodge - this is delegated to each of the Chapters. Units CANNOT conduct their own elections.

On December 15 of each new year, an email automatically goes out to all unit leaders of record inviting them to schedule an election. This could be any time in the coming year.

Until the unit either schedules an election or declines to hold one, a reminder email is sent to the unit leader every 2 weeks until March 31 following up on scheduling an election.

To become a member of the Order of the Arrow, a Scout is chosen by vote of the youth in their unit. This is a unique feature of the OA since the majority of those who select their candidates for this honor are not members of the Lodge. However, youth Lodge members in the unit have a vote as well as nonmembers. In this way membership is controlled by the youth in their own units and not by those who are already Arrowmen.

If you have questions about unit elections or any of the information on this page, please contact David Stroud.

Please make sure you are following two-deep protocols on any emails.

Youth Eligibility Requirements

To become eligible for election, a Scout must be registered with Scouting America and have the approval of their unit leader prior to the election. The unit leader must certify their Scout spirit (i.e., their adherence to the Scout Oath and Law and active participation in unit activities). The unit leader must also certify that the nominee meets all specified requirements at the time of the election.

All member of, or candidates for membership in, the Order of the Arrow who are under 21 years of age shall be considereed youth members or candidates for youth membership, subject to meeting these requirements:

Be a registered member of Scouting America.
At the time of their election, youth must be under the age of 21.
Youth must hold one of the following ranks (or higher) according to the type of unit in which they are being considered for election:
- Scouts BSA First Class rank for Scouts BSA Troops
- Venturing Discovery Award for Venturing Crews
- Sea Scout Ordinary Rank for Ships
Youth must be approved by the Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor, or Sea Scout Skipper prior to the election. The unit leader cannot remove a youth once that youth has been elected by the unit.
Must have experienced 15 nights of camping while registered with a troop, crew, or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of Scouting America. Only five nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.

Adult Eligibility Requirements

Adults may be nominated by the unit after a youth election is held that results in at least one youth candidate being elected.

Any adults nominated must meet the following requirements:

Be a registered member of Scouting America.

At the time of their nomination be 21 or older.
Must have experienced 15 nights of camping while registered with a troop, crew, or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of Scouting America. Only five nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.

The number of adults that can be nominated depends upon the number of youth candidates elected. The number of adults can be no more than two-thirds of the number of youth candidates elected, rounded up where the number of youth candides is not a multiple of three.

In plainer English, each unit can nominate two adults for every three youth candidates elected. In the event only one or two youth are elected, the unit may still nominate one adult. The Lodgemaster Inductions Module calculates the correct number of adult nominations that can be submitted based on the youth election results.

In addition to the two-thirds limit, the unit committee may nominate the currently serving unit leader (Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor, Sea Scout Skipper - but not assistant leaders), as long as he or she has served as unit leader for at least the previous 12 months.

Because the Order of the Arrow is principally a youth organization, unit Scouters (adults) are not selected for membership as a recognition. Selection should take place only when the adult's position in Scouting will make OA membership more meaningful in the lives of the youth membership.

Conducting the Election

Each chapter (corresponds directly to our council districts) will conduct all elections for units within their boundaries. The election team will provide a brief history of the OA, what our mission is, and will then conduct the election.

Units CANNOT conduct their own elections. Members of the unit where the election is occurring may help with distributing and collecting ballots but are not to be involved in the election process otherwise.

Prior to the election, it is the responsibility of the unit leader or his designee to provide the chapter election team (or the Chapter Advisor) a list of all eligible youth members that should appear on the election ballot. There are specific information items that are required for each eligible youth.

There is a template available to facilitate gathering the required information that can be imported into the Lodgemaster Inductions Module. It is recommended that one of the unit Key 3 go to my.scouting and download a youth roster as the starting point. This report contains all the required information with the exception of date of birth - which will need to be added for each eligible youth. This report can be imported as well. More information about this is available on the Inductions Module Information web page.

Ballots are produced by the Inductions Module of Lodgemaster and the election team will email a copy to the unit leader. It is the responsibility of the unit to make sure there are enough copies of the ballot (along with writing instruments) for the expected number of youth that will be in attendance.

The unit leader determines the number of active youth for the unit based on their participation with the unit. There must be 50% of the active youth present for an election to take place. If at least 50% are not present, an election cannot be held. The youth must be physically present in the room where the election is being held - virtual presence does not count.

All eligible youth who receive votes from at least 50 percent of those who turn in ballots are elected. If no one is elected, a second vote may be held immediately, and the results of this second vote will be final.

A voter may select any or all of the eligible candidates on the ballot who he or she believes are worthy to become members of the Order of the Arrow. If they believe no one is worthy, they should not mark anyone on the ballot and turn it in blank.

Youth eligible for election also vote and they can vote for themselves, if they think they are worthy.

If a voter is new to the unit (freshly crossed over AOL, just moved to town, etc.) and do not know any of the candidates well enough to vote wisely, they should be encouraged to abstain by not turning in a ballot. This will not affect the final result.

Once voting is finished, the election team collects the ballots and retires to count the votes. First, the number of ballots turned in is counted. This establishes the minimum number of votes each eligible Scout needs to be elected. If the number of ballots turned in was even, divide by two. If the number was odd, add one and then divide by two.

For example: The unit has 26 active youth. 23 ballots are actually turned in. One is added to 23 to make 24 and then divided by 2 to set the minimum number of votes required at 12. Each candidate must receive at least 12 votes to be elected.

The votes are counted in private by the election team and the unit leader to determine who has been elected. All votes count equally. If at least one youth has received the minimum number of votes required to be elected, the election result is final. If no one is elected, the election team will announce this and give further information about the OA and what it does and then give the unit the opportunity to vote again. No information about the votes received by candidates is to be revealed at any time. The second ballot is then held immediately, and if the unit still elects no one, this is the final result for the year's election.

Announcement of Results

As soon as the election if completed, the unit leader may or may not choose to announce to the entire unit the names of members who have been elected. The election team has a short ceremony they can conduct following the election if this is desired.

Often, if the unit will be participating in a call-out, the announcement of results may be postponed until the call-out. The unit leader will inform the election team of when the anticipated call-out will occur which the election team will relay to the Chapter Advisor.

It is ultimately the responsibility of the unit leader to make sure that all elected youth receive notification that they are eligible to attend an Ordeal - regardless of how they receive it.

Call-outs

Lack of participation in a call-out ceremony does not affect eligibility to attend an Ordeal. All candidates are welcome to attend any upcoming Ordeals.

Call-outs usually occur at district camporees or other events. Units may also conduct their own call-out ceremonies. The Chapter Advisor can help point units to resources for call-out ceremonies.

If a unit is going to participate in a call-out at summer camp and it is held outside our council, the unit will need to request a letter from the Chapter Advisor requesting an out-of-council call-out be sent to the Lodge representing the camp and explicitly identifying the members that will be called out.

Again, candidates do not have to participate in a formal call-out ceremony to attend an Ordeal. The call-out ceremony is just a public recognition of the honor they have received. Units should be sensitive to making sure that candidates are given timely notification so that they have as many opportunities to attend an Ordeal as possible.

Candidate Status

Scouts and adults remain candidates until completion of the Ordeal and the Ordeal ceremony. Candidates must attend the entire Ordeal weekend.

Candidates have 18 months from their date of election (nomination in the case of adults) to attend an Ordeal. If the candidate does not attend an Ordeal within these 18 months, their name is dropped from the candidate list. To become a candidate again, they must be elected/nominated again.

Ordeals

Tonkawa Lodge normally conducts three Ordeals each year - the first weekend of May, the first weekend of October, and the first weekend of December. These are advertised on the council web site and through email communications to members and candidates.

The May and October Ordeals start on Friday and end Sunday Morning. The December Ordeal starts Saturday evening and ends Sunday evening. Candidates must remain for the entire duration of the Ordeal.

Candidates may choose to attend any of these Ordeals. It is usually best practise to attend one as soon as possible - there is an 18 month limit on eligibility to attend and Ordeal once elected/nominated.

A candidate must attend an Ordeal and complete the Ordeal ceremony to become a member of the Order of the Arrow.

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