Approval Voting for Boards and Committees

How approval voting works

An approval ballot lists the candidates with a checkbox beside each. Voters mark every one they would accept, up to the number of seats. Each mark adds one approval to that candidate's total.

The count is simple addition. The highest approval totals fill the seats, in order. Each candidate ends up with a single number, so results are easy to check.

Approval voting example

Approval voting for boards and committees

Boards and committees use approval voting when a crowded field could split support. If each member can mark only one name, two similar candidates can divide their backers and hand a seat to a third. When members can mark up to one candidate per seat and are asked to mark everyone they would accept, they can back both, and the split shrinks.

It also works for decisions that are not elections. Use it to shortlist event venues, pick projects for a grant round or choose committee members from a volunteer list: set Total winners to the number you need. The totals show how much support each option has across the whole group. Our board elections page shows how approval questions sit alongside other races on one ballot.

Few bylaws name approval voting for director elections. Before you use it for a board seat, confirm with your bylaws and counsel.

Limits of approval voting

Approval does not capture how strongly someone supports a candidate. A voter who loves one candidate and tolerates another gives both the same mark. If intensity of support matters, use ranked choice with Borda points or cumulative voting.

Some voters approve only their favorite to give that candidate an edge. That is allowed. Clear voter instructions help members use the method as intended.

In ElectionChamp, a voter can mark at most as many candidates as there are seats, so a member who would accept more has to choose among them. The single-seat form, where members approve as many candidates as they like and one wins, isn't available. For one seat, use a plurality question.

How to set up approval voting in ElectionChamp

1. On the Ballot step, add a ballot item and choose Plurality.
2. Type the candidates, add photos and bios if you like, and set Total winners. With Up to, each voter can mark as many candidates as there are winners.
3. Write voter instructions, for example: "Mark every candidate you would accept, up to 3."
4. Turn on Allow abstain or Random order if your rules call for them.
5. Add your voters on the Voters step and launch. You choose email, text message or hand-out keys on the Start step.

Approval questions can share a ballot with other races or yes or no motions. Results are counted automatically at close, and weighted voting works with approval too. Every method is included in per-election pricing, with no subscription.