Inside the 2024 AGU Election: Results and Participation Insights

In AGU’s 2024 biennial election, which concluded on 29 October, members elected 62 new leaders to serve two-year terms from 2025 to 2026.

The Leadership Development/Governance Committee sincerely thanks all members who took part in the election, whether by casting a vote or being considered for office. Your engagement and dedication are the cornerstones of AGU’s vibrant and forward-thinking community.

To explore the individual results and learn more about the new leadership, please visit our detailed election results post, “Benjamin Zaitchik Elected AGU President-Elect for 2025-2026 Term.”

Electronic Voting
Members participated in the election through electronic voting, with access provided to all eligible voters for a period of 30 days.

As in previous years, Survey and Ballot Systems, Inc. (SBS) facilitated the election, providing secure access to voting and managing the process. Voters received their unique login links via email from SBS starting on 30 September, with four reminder emails sent to those who had not yet voted or submitted all their ballots. On 31 October, SBS certified the results, which were then reviewed by the AGU Leadership Development/Governance Committee.

Participation Rate
The total number of validated ballots in the 2024 election was 5,692, with a participation rate of 14.45% among the 39,396 eligible voters. This rate shows a slight decrease from the participation rate in the 2022 election, where 16.15% of eligible voters cast their ballots. The Leadership Development/Governance Committee will continue to analyze voter statistics to find ways to improve voter engagement in future elections.

As part of the election process, SBS invited voters to rate their satisfaction with the voting experience. A total of 1,877 surveys were received, and 88.2% of voters indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with the process. The feedback gathered will be carefully reviewed to help AGU refine and enhance the voting experience for upcoming elections.

Election Innovations in 2024
This election marked a significant evolution in AGU’s commitment to inclusivity and transparency. For the first time, ranked choice voting was introduced in four key elections, allowing members to express their preferences more comprehensively. Additionally, both candidates for the President-elect position were elected to the Board—one as President-elect and the other as a director—ensuring that AGU benefits from the leadership of both individuals. For a detailed explanation of these innovations and their implementation, please refer to our earlier From the Prow post, “Experiment. Learn. Adapt.: Ranked Choice Voting in the 2024 AGU Elections.”

Campaign and Outreach
This year’s election campaign was supported by a comprehensive outreach plan that included From the Prow posts, targeted social media posts, and promotions across AGU’s various newsletters. The proposed slate of candidates was published on the AGU website on 1 August, with the final ballot released on 29 August.

To assist members with the voting process, AGU created a dedicated election webpage, which included detailed candidate profiles, Q&A sections and voting instructions. The sections were encouraged to promote the election among their members, fostering a community-wide engagement.

Notifications
Following the certification of the election results by SBS, the Leadership Development/Governance Committee initiated the process of notifying all 123 candidates before the results were publicly announced. Each of the 25 participating sections, as well as the College of Fellows, provided a single point of contact to communicate the results to their candidates. Leadership Development/Governance Committee members personally contacted candidates for Board positions and student and early-career Council positions. The official results were released online on 19 November.

Next Steps
The newly elected leaders will officially take office on 1 January 2025. As part of their onboarding process, they have been invited to observe the remaining Board and Council meetings this year. The formal orientation is scheduled in early 2025.

Leadership Development/Governance Committee
The AGU Leadership Development/Governance Committee is composed of the following members who have been instrumental in guiding the 2024 election process:

Richard W. Murray, Committee Chair
Regupathi Angappan
Carol Finn
Denise Hills
Elizabeth Johnson,
Jenny Riker
Wonsuh Song
Janice Lachance, AGU, Interim Executive Director/CEO
Cheryl Enderlein, AGU, Vice President, Leadership and Governance

The committee’s dedication to fostering leadership and enhancing governance practices is central to AGU’s mission of advancing Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity and our planet.