Short answer: Not under the current text. BLET's Bylaws (revised 2022, effective October 2023, as filed with the Department of Labor) require mail ballots for Division officer elections (Local Division Rules, Sec. 8(a)). Electronic voting appears only as a future possibility: "Should electronic voting become legally permissible under federal law, the National Division may adopt a process to conduct elections by electronic means."
| Verdict | Lists methods that don't include electronic voting |
| Ratification / strike votes | Contract ratification: by majority vote of active members casting a ballot, with a ballot and return envelope sent to each affected member (GC Rules Sec. 42(a)); for system/local agreements, by poll at a division meeting or a GCA-adopted referendum (Sec. 42(b)). Strike votes: by majority of ballots cast, with National President permission (Sec. 18(a)). Electronic voting is not mentioned for either. |
| Confidence | Medium |
| Last verified | 21 October 2026 |
What the text says
How local officer elections are run
"The officers of divisions shall be elected by secret ballot triennially for the ensuing three (3) years at the first meeting in December;"
"The election committee shall oversee the election of officers. It shall work with the secretary-treasurer to provide all required notices, prepare and mail ballots, pick up and process undeliverable ballots, pick up voted ballots immediately prior to the election meeting, and act as board of tellers at the election meeting."
"Not less than fifteen (15) days prior to date of election in divisions, the election committee shall deliver to each member of its division, by government mail, directed to his last known address, a ballot together with two (2) envelopes,"
"The completed ballot must then be folded and placed in the small envelope which is provided for that purpose. The small envelope must then be sealed and placed in the larger envelope, upon which the member will clearly mark his name and return address before placing same in the government mail for delivery to the post-office box designated thereon."
Electronic, internet, phone or remote voting
"Should electronic voting become legally permissible under federal law, the National Division may adopt a process to conduct elections by electronic means."
"The ballot must be put out by the National President within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the request, and sent to every active member by government mail. [...] This does not preclude electronic voting, the means to be determined by the ND."
International approval of local bylaws or election rules
"Each division shall be permitted to prepare its own ballots, following a form which will be furnished by the BLET."
"A division may adopt standing rules for its governance, provided they have been submitted to and approved by the National President, and do not conflict with the laws and rules of the BLET, the IBT, the Rail Conference, or applicable civil law."
"He shall render interpretations of these bylaws."
Contract ratification and strike votes
"after such permission has been granted, the members on the road, system, or portion thereof shall decide whether they will quit work or not by a majority of the ballots cast by all the members employed on the road, system, or portion thereof where the dispute exists,"
"All wage/rules settlements (concerted movements in the United States, system agreements which may be tied to such concerted movements and system movements initiated by the GCAs, as well as acceptance of proffers of arbitration) shall be ratified by a majority vote of the active members casting a ballot."
"The ND or GCA will also provide a synopsis of the proposal to each affected member, along with an instruction sheet, a ballot and a return envelope."
"The local chairman or chairmen will then poll the active membership attending the first regular or special division meeting following receipt of such proposal and ascertain the wishes of the membership. [...] Each GCA may adopt by resolution, at their option, a form of referendum ratification for their respective committees."
Open questions
Division officer elections must be by mail ballot (Sec. 8(a)); electronic voting is only conditionally contemplated - the National Division (not the division) 'may adopt a process' 'should electronic voting become legally permissible under federal law' - and the text does not say whether that condition is met or whether any process has been adopted (counsel to confirm). Votem editorial note (21 Oct 2026): verdict set conservatively. Division officer elections are by mail ballot (Local Division Rules Sec. 8(a)); electronic voting appears only as a conditional future option for the National Division ('Should electronic voting become legally permissible under federal law...'), and the text does not say whether that condition is met or a process adopted.
Context
- Pending/recent convention amendment: BLET's Sixth National Convention opened Oct. 13, 2026, with delegates voting on proposed bylaw changes (blet.org news, lead only); any resulting edition is not on file with OLMS, so the 2022 edition may be superseded.
- IBT overlay: the bylaws state that eligibility to nominate, second and vote is determined by the IBT Constitution as modified by the IBT/BLE Merger Agreement (Local Division Rules Sec. 6 note), and bylaw changes are subject to IBT General President approval (ND Rules Sec. 42(a)); the IBT Constitution was not examined for this file.
The federal rules still apply
Federal law sits on top of every constitution. For unions covered by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), officer elections must meet Title IV's secret-ballot, notice and observer requirements however members vote. The Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) addresses remote electronic voting in its Compliance Tip Electing Union Officers Using Remote Electronic Voting Systems (updated December 10, 2024). The Tip describes safeguards for secrecy, observation and records, says it "does not offer unions safe harbor," and says each system is evaluated case by case. Federal-sector unions follow 29 CFR Part 458, which applies the same standards; postal unions are covered by the LMRDA. Locals made up entirely of state or local government employees are generally outside Title IV and follow state law and their own rules. OLMS Compliance Tip
Sources
- Bylaws of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, A Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (OLMS attachment 'BLET-Bylaws-2022-Edition.pdf', 'Constitution, Bylaws and Other Attachments', filed with the LM-2 for 2023 by LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, IBT National Headquarters, OLMS file no. 000-101, received 2024-03-28) — Revised at Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2022; effective on and after October 12, 2023 (ND Rules Sec. 42(a)). The filed copy is a marked edition: bold = 2022 additions, strikethrough = deletions; quotes were checked against the page images and contain no struck text; section numbers given are the new (bold) numbers.. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=68451&rptForm=attachment (accessed 2026-10-21)
- On the Right Track (Local Division nomination and election procedure manual), 2024 edition — 2024 triennial election edition - not obtained (members-only). https://members.ble-t.org/Elections (login required) (accessed 2026-10-21)
- On the Right Track: 2024 Triennial Election manual now online (blet.org news; lead only) — 2024. https://blet.org/news/on-the-right-track-2024-triennial-election-manual-now-online/ (accessed 2026-10-21)
Not verified: Obtained 2026-10-21 from the DOL OLMS OLPDR (curl with the Entrust OV TLS Issuing RSA CA 2 intermediate appended to the CA bundle; verification on). BLET national HQ = file no. 000-101; constitution attachments: 2022 edition (attachment 68451, received 2024-03-28) and 2018 edition (attachment 16291). The filed 2022 PDF is a marked (redline) edition; pdftotext output interleaves struck and added text and margin line numbers, so a cleaned text (.clean.txt) was used for quote checking and every quote was compared with the rendered page image. Not obtained: the 'On the Right Track' Division election manual (members-only at members.ble-t.org; not among the OLMS attachments). blet.org / ble-t.org re-tried by curl: 403. Page numbers are printed page numbers.
This page summarizes the published text of a union's governing documents. It is not legal advice and not an official interpretation by the union. Constitutions change at conventions, and locals' own bylaws matter. Confirm with your International and your counsel before changing how members vote. Spotted an error or a newer edition? Tell us at info@votem.com and we'll correct it.
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