Can SEIU locals vote online?

Short answer: It's up to the local's own constitution and bylaws. The SEIU Constitution (2024) sets no voting method for local officer elections, and local constitutions and bylaws take effect only once the International approves them (Art. XV, Sec. 3). SEIU includes public-sector locals, which the LMRDA does not cover.

Verdict	Method left to local bylaws
Confidence	High
Last verified	21 October 2026

What the text says

How local officer elections are run

"Proxy voting shall not be permitted in any election for an officer, member of the Executive Board, delegate or any other office in the Local Union. Write-in candidates shall not be permitted in any election for an officer, member of the Executive Board, delegate or any other office in the Local Union, except if expressly approved by the International President upon request of the Local Union Executive Board."

— Art. XV, Sec. 2 (Duties of Local Unions - eligibility; proxies, write-ins), p. 35

"Any Local Union may by provision in its Local Constitution and Bylaws dispense with the foregoing provision that officers of the Local Union be ex officio delegates to the International Convention and may provide for nomination and, if required, secret ballot election of such delegates."

— Art. IV, Sec. 3 (Convention delegates), p. 10

Electronic, internet, phone or remote voting

"The International President shall direct whether the membership vote shall be conducted by secret ballot at a membership meeting and/ or by mail referendum, and, if appropriate, a separate method by which dissenting Local Unions or members may assert their dissent. The vote shall be counted by an independent neutral party."

— Art. XXV, Sec. 1 (Dissolution - disaffiliation vote), p. 54

"If circumstances outside of the International Union’s control would make it impracticable, impossible or unsafe to convene the Convention, the International Executive Board may postpone the Convention and/or convene the Convention electronically or by other means consistent with applicable law."

— Art. IV, Sec. 1 (International Convention - emergency provision), p. 9

"the International Secretary-Treasurer shall poll the International Executive Board and such action and vote may be taken by letter, telegram, teletype, facsimile, telephone or any other appropriate means of communication."

— Art. XI, Sec. 5 (International Executive Board - polling), p. 25

International approval of local bylaws or election rules

"The Constitution and Bylaws of all Local Unions and affiliated bodies and amendments thereto must be submitted to the International Union and be approved before they become valid; provided, however, that notwithstanding such approval, the Constitution and Bylaws of all Local Unions and affiliated bodies shall at all times be subordinate to the Constitution and Bylaws of the International Union as it may be amended from time to time."

— Art. XV, Sec. 3 (Approval of Local Constitutions), p. 36

"If a Local Union or an affiliated body shall not have secured the approval of a valid Constitution and Bylaws, the provisions contained in the Constitution and Bylaws of the International Union as it may be amended from time to time shall govern said Local Union and affiliated body insofar as applicable."

— Art. XV, Sec. 3 (Approval of Local Constitutions), p. 36

"Any member or officer of a Local Union aggrieved by any action of their Local Union or affiliated body not covered by the provisions of Article XVII of this Constitution (including determinations of election protests) may petition the International President within 15 days after the act complained of, or may petition the International Executive Board, within 15 days after the action of the International President thereon, to review the action of the Local Union or affiliated body."

— Art. VIII, Sec. 2 (Right to petition the President to appeal actions of a Local Union), p. 20

Contract ratification and strike votes

"the industry divisions shall develop a process to identify such circumstances and in each case, the proposed structure for carrying out the decisionmaking (including membership authorization for strike action and membership voting on contract ratification), and the financing of the bargaining process itself."

— Art. VIII, Sec. 1(f) (International President - coordinated bargaining), p. 19

"No Local Union or affiliated body shall strike without previous notification to the International President, or, where prior notice is not practicable, without notification as soon as possible after commencement of the strike"

— Art. XII (Strikes and Lockouts - strike notification), p. 28

Open questions

The International constitution sets no ballot method for local officer elections (it only bars proxies and, absent International President approval, write-ins); the method is therefore governed by each local's constitution and bylaws, which must be submitted to and approved by the International Union before they become valid (Art. XV, Sec. 3).

Context

Mixed public/private membership: SEIU has both public-sector and private-sector locals; the LMRDA covers only locals with private-sector (or postal) members, while public-sector-only locals fall under state/provincial law - which regime applies is local-specific.

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

SEIU 2024 Constitution and Bylaws — As adopted at the 2024 Convention. https://www.seiu.org/docs/2024SEIUConstitution&BylawsEnglish.pdf (accessed 2026-10-21)

Not verified: Keyword search of the full 2024 text (electron, internet, online, telephon, remote, digital, computer, web, machine, mail ballot, referendum) found no provision on electronic or telephone voting in local officer elections. "Mail referendum" appears only for disaffiliation votes (Art. XXV). No International-issued local election manual or model local bylaws was found on seiu.org via web search; if one exists it was not located. Ratification/strike: the constitution assigns process design for coordinated/national bargaining to industry divisions (Art. VIII, Sec. 1(f)) but prescribes no voting method, so no ratification verdict is given. Page numbers are the printed page numbers, which match the PDF page index for this document.

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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