Each year, Toastmasters members from around the world participate in the important process of electing a new group of leaders. In general, these leadership teams serve one-year terms that run from July 1st to June 30th of the following year. Whether you’re interested in running for office or just want to be an informed participant in the election process, the resources below will provide you with a better understanding of how elections work in our organization.

Club Officer Elections

The Toastmasters Club Leadership Handbook (PDF) describes the various club officer roles, as well as the timing and process for club elections. The handbook states that clubs are expected to “hold elections at the first meeting in May, with new officers taking office July 1.” Electing your incoming officer team in May gives them a chance to shadow the current team and attend a Toastmasters Leadership Institute training event before the start of their term on July 1st.

Note: a few clubs elect officers every six months (this is rare, and only permitted for clubs that meet weekly). If your club elects officers semiannually, the relevant timeline for the additional election is also noted in the Club Leadership Handbook.

For more information on elections at the club level, see the Club Officer Elections page on the Toastmasters International website.

District Officer Elections

In addition to electing leaders at the club level, Toastmasters elect leaders at higher levels of the organization.

Each district is led by a district executive committee, or DEC. In District 28, we elect our district director, program quality director, and club growth director (collectively known as the “Trio”), as well as our division directors. There are a number of other positions on District 28's DEC, all of which are appointed by the district director.

To find out more about what our district officers do, see Toastmasters International’s description of the district executive committee roles. For information on how candidates are nominated and elected to these positions, see Toastmasters International’s Elections Toolkit. If you plan to run for district office or assist someone else in doing so, please review our Guidelines For District Officer Candidates and Campaigns.

Information relating to specific district elections can usually be found on the event page for the associated District Council meeting, which will be posted on our event calendar prior to the election.