Unit Elections
Step 1: Requesting a Unit Election
All Scouts BSA Troops, Venture Crews, and Sea Scout Ships in Northern Lights Council are encouraged to hold an Order of the Arrow Unit Election. This Unit Election is the annual opportunity to recognize Scouts and Scouters who have exemplified the Scout Oath and Law.
Unit Leaders should have received an email to schedule their unit’s Order of the Arrow election in Lodgemaster (the OA’s member and election management system). In this step, you will input three dates for your unit’s election in order of preference. Please note that we are unable to accommodate election requests less than 48 hours before the requested date/time.
Once requested, a member of Pa-Hin Lodge will contact you to arrange the election which can be either in-person or virtual. If you have questions, please contact info@pahinlodge.org
Step 2: Preparing for Your Unit Election
Once the unit election is requested, please click the below button to download a Candidate Submission Template. Please complete the Excel document listed for each eligible youth member in your unit. Eligible Scouts must meet requirements
1-3 below. Adults (Scouters aged 21+) must meet requirements 1 and 2 as well as be nominated by the adult committee.
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Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America.
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Had experienced 15 nights of Scout camping while registered with a troop, crew, or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. Only five nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night camping requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.
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At the time of their election, youth must be under the age of 21, and hold one of the following ranks corresponding to the type unit in which they are being considered for election: Scouts BSA First Class rank, the Venturing Discovery Award, or the Sea Scout Ordinary rank or higher, and following approval by the Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor or Sea Scout Skipper, be elected by the youth members of their unit.
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Adults (age 21 or older) who meet the camping requirements may be selected following nomination to and approval by the lodge adult selection committee.
Click the button below to download a template to submit your eligible Scouts for candidacy to the Order of the Arrow. Please only use this option if you are unable to upload your unit’s eligible candidates directly into LodgeMaster.
Step 3: Submit Your Eligible Candidates
After entering each eligible Scout into the Excel spreadsheet, upload your eligible candidates to LodgeMaster at the link provided in the scheduling confirmation email.
If you are unable to upload directly into LodgeMaster, click the “Submit Candidtaes” button to upload your unit’s candidates. To check which district your unit is in, visit the Chapters page. Please include your unit number in the email.
Step 4: Conduct the Election
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After submitting your unit’s candidates above, a member of your Chapter’s Unit Elections team will be in contact with you to administer your unit’s election. Unit elections should be held in-person. A virtual option is available for units if an in-person election is not possible. The process for elections is outlined below:
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Elections should be scheduled for a specific day and time (e.g. Tuesday Jan 4, 2024 at 7pm). This day and time is when an OA Member will attend your unit’s meeting to hold the election.
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The OA member holding the election will have a brief presentation of the history of the Order of the Arrow so Scouts in attendance can understand the importance and significance of the election, how the election will occur, and information about Bay-Lakes Council’s Scouts BSA summer camp programs.
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The Election
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The unit must have at least half of all active registered Scouts in attendance in order to hold an election
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Candidates must receive 50% +1 of the votes of those Scouts in attendance in order to be elected
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Scouts may vote for all, none, or a portion of the eligible candidates, or the Scout may opt to not turn in a ballot. These ballots not turned in will not affect the outcome of the election.
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If no one is elected, a second election may be held the same night. If no one is elected in the second election, the election is over.
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Those Scouts elected will be notified at the conclusion of the election and the Unit Leader will receive a letter to give to the parent/guardian containing further information on the Callout and Ordeal which will come later in the spring.
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Step 5: Adult Nominations
After each unit’s youth election is completed and processed, the Lodge will contact the unit with details regarding the adult nomination process.
Each unit is allowed to nominate adults for candidacy in the Order of the Arrow under the following guidelines:
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A unit may nominate two adults for every three youth elected (rounded up when not a multiple of three). For example, a unit with three youth elected may only nominate two adults. A unit with four youth elected may nominate four adults. A unit with six youth elected may only nominate four adults, with seven youth a unit may nominate six adults.
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The unit leader may be nominated in addition to the ratio in (1) if the unit leader is not already a member of the Order of the Arrow.
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Adults must meet requirements 1 and 2 as stated above in the youth requirements and must be nominated by the unit committee.
Step 6: Preparing for the Ordeal
Once a candidate is elected, they should prepare for their Ordeal. Pa-Hin Lodge holds multiple Ordeal weekends each year, called Spring Conclave and Fall Conclave.
Ordeal candidates may, but are not required to, be called out. Call Out ceremonies are held at the discretion of each Chapter, and each week at Scouts BSA summer camp. If your unit is attending summer camp out of council, make contact with that camp prior to arrival there.
For more information on the Ordeal and the new member experience, visit the New Members page.
FAQ:
The BSA already has all of my Scouts' information. Why do I need to provide it again?
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The national Order of the Arrow committee is in the process of building an integration with Scout Book which will be able to feed your eligible Scouts’ information directly into the unit elections system.
I have questions on the Unit Election. Who can I contact?
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Specific questions regarding your unit’s election should be directed towards your local chapter adviser. For general inquiries, please contact info@pahinlodge.org.
How do we determine who is eligible?
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For information on eligibility, visit the Membership page of the national Order of the Arrow website.