Process

Three Elections…

An “International Director”, or “ID”, is a Lion who has been elected to serve on the Lions Clubs International Board Of Directors.

The Lions International Board of Directors is comprised of the Lions International President, Immediate Past President, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Vice Presidents, and 35 elected “directors”.

The 35 elected directors serve staggered, two year terms: 18 are elected in even–numbered years and 17 are elected in odd–numbered years.

Directors are elected at the annual Lions International conventions from candidates that have been “endorsed” by their district conventions (multiple and sub, or single districts).

Multiple District 19 is composed of 5 subdistricts. That means a Lion from a club in MD19 who wants to run for one of the open international director seats must be endorsed by both her or his district convention and an MD19 convention.

Seats on the International Board of Directors are allocated across 8 “Constitutional Areas.” MD19 has clubs in two Constitutional Areas: CA1 (the United States, Bermuda and the Bahamas) and CA2 (Canada). International directors elected from clubs located in MD19 represent all of MD19 regardless of whether her or his club is located in Canada, Washington or Northern Idaho.

Constitutional Area 1 is currently allocated 11 of the 35 International director positions — there can only be 11 directors from CA1 on the International Board of Directors at a time: 5 are elected in even–numbered years and 6 in odd–numbered years. There also can be only one director from the same district, subdistrict or multiple district on the Board at the same time. (There are rumblings that CA1 will soon be reduced to 10 Directors, with 5 Directors elected each year).

The Elections

I will actually need to “win” three “elections” to secure one of the seats on the International Board of Directors allocated to CA1:

1. The first “election” will take place at the Disrict 19N Convention on April 19 and 20, 2024. That will be an endorsement election — I have to be “endorsed” by the District 19N convention. Any Lion who is a member in good standing of a District 19N Lions club in good standing and has served a term as a Dstrict Governor is eligible to seek the endorsement of a District 19N convention. A candidate who receives a majority (at least one more than 50%) of the votes cast by the delegates at the convention wins the endorsement. Only one candidate can be endorsed by the District 19N convention. The endorsement is valid for three years, and no other candidate may be endorsed by a District 19N convention while another endorsement is valid.
2. The second “election,” also an endorsement election, will be for the endorsement of the MD19 convention on May 24 and 25, 2024. Only Lions who have been endorsed by their district convention are eligible to be endorsed by the MD19 convention (each of the other four MD19 district conventions can also endorse one international director candidate to the MD19 convention). Only one international director candidate can be endorsed by the MD19 Convention. Once again, a candidate who receives a majority (at least one more than 50%) of the votes cast by the delegates at the convention wins the endorsement. As with the district endorsement, an MD19 endorsement is valid for three years, and no other candidate may be endorsed by an MD19 convention while another endorsement is valid.
3. The third elction, the actual “election”, takes place at an International convention. Endorsed candidates may stand for election at any of the next three International conventions that will be held 60 or more days after the MD19 endorsement is certified to Lions International. Those conventions are:
   • Mexico City, July 4–8, 2025 (6 open seats),
   • Atlanta Georgia, July 3–7, 2026 (5 open seats),
   • Washington D.C., July 2–6, 2027 (6 open seats).

Of course, there are rules that govern how and when a Lion can be elected. For example:

• District, subdistrict, and multiple district endorsements are determined by a simple majority vote (at least one vote more than 50%) of club delegates who attend the conventions. If no candidate obtains a simple majority in any round of voting, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the club delegates vote again on the remaining candidates.
• Voting is conducted by secret, written ballot during the applicable convention. No proxy voting is allowed.
• A Lion seeking an endorsement of the District 19N convention must deliver or mail a Notice of Intention and proof of qualification to the District Governor of the district from which an endorsement is sought, and to the MD19 Executive Secretary 30 or more days before the district convention. My Notice of Intention was mailed to District 19N Governor Lisa Ikeda and MD19 Executive Director Peter Anderson on July 11, 2023.
• A candidate endorsed by an MD19 convention must be certified by the MD19 Excutive Secretary to Lions International 60 or more days before the International Convention at which she or he seeks to be nominated and stand for election. Of note is that the 2024 International Convention in Melbourne, Auatralia convenes less than 60 days after the 2024 MD19 convention.
• At each level, district, multiple district and international, a “nominating committee” reviews all candidate credentials of each Lion seeking an endorsement or nomination for International director. The nominating committee's job is to verify compliance with the applicable (sub and multiple, or single district's) constitution and bylaws. All candidates who meet the applicable constitutional requirements to be an International director are nominated by the Committee for endorsement or election, as the case may be, at her or his annual convention. The District 19N Nominating Committee has determined and reported to the District 19N cabinet that I have met the constitutional requirements and am qualified to be endorsed for International director by the District 19N Convention.

Not every International director candidate gets elected. An endorsed candidate must wait 2 years to again seek the endorsements and run for international director if she or he is not elected to the International Board of Directors within 3 International conventions after first becoming eligible to be elected — endorsements certified to Lions International are valid for 3 consecutive International conventions.

Election Timeline