Every three years, Animation Guild members have an opportunity to run for office or elect fellow members to represent them. The Animation Guild offices up for election include: PRESIDENT, BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE, VICE-PRESIDENT, TREASURER, SECRETARY, SERGEANT-AT-ARMS and 11 EXECUTIVE BOARD members. In November 2025, Active members in Good Standing will have the opportunity to vote for candidates for those offices by secret mail ballot. Elected officers will serve a three-year term, expiring in 2028.

The Nominations

Nominations for the above positions will be taken at the General Membership meeting on Sept. 30, 2025. You must meet the following criteria to be eligible for nomination:

1. You must have joined the Animation Guild on or before Sept. 30, 2023.
2. You must be an Active member in Good Standing of The Animation Guild as of Sept. 30, 2023, with dues paid up (zero balance owing) through the third quarter 2025. Please visit this link to review what it means to be in Good Standing per the IATSE Constitution.
3. You must not have been suspended from membership at any point since Sept. 30, 2023.
4. You must not have been on Honorable Withdrawal at any point since Sept. 30, 2023. 
5. You must have worked in the industry under TAG’s jurisdiction for at least 120 days since Sept. 30, 2022. Time served as an officer or employee of TAG is applicable. (This requirement is listed in the IATSE Constitution and By-Laws in Article 19, Section 4.) 
6. Additional U.S. Department of Labor provisions to run for a union office can be found here.

As there is currently no way to determine eligibility during the meeting, the final determination of eligibility will be made as soon as practicable following the nomination meeting. Eligibility criteria can be found in Article 6, Section 1(i) of the Guild’s Constitution and By-Laws.

Candidates may only be nominated for one position and they must be nominated by an Active member in Good Standing. To be nominated, candidates must be present at the meeting in person or on Zoom, OR if they cannot be present, they must have indicated in writing to the Secretary their intent to accept nomination. TAG’s Secretary is Paula Spence and she can be emailed at paula.spence@tag839.org.

IMPORTANT: Intent letters cannot be retroactive; they must be received by the Secretary by the call to order (before 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST) of the Sept. 30, 2025 General Membership Meeting. No exceptions! Regardless of whether a candidate is present, they must be nominated by an Active member in Good Standing who is present at the meeting. (Candidates present at the meeting may nominate themselves.)

Nominations cannot be withdrawn after the adjournment of the Sept. 30, 2025 General Membership Meeting. Nominees may announce that they are withdrawing their candidacy, but their name will still appear on the ballot. Any votes for a withdrawn nominee will not be transferred.

The nomination procedure is described in Article 6, Section 2 of TAG’s Constitution and By-Laws.

The Campaign

For information on campaign rules and procedures—including campaign statements, campaigning rules, Labor Department regulations, and more—please review this page.

The Vote

The American Arbitration Association (AAA), which is the judge of the election, will mail the ballots out in October 2025 (mailing date to come). Ballots will be mailed to all members who are New (in the process of joining), Reinstating, and Active. Only those members who are Active in Good Standing and whose fourth quarter 2025 dues have been paid in full (zero balance owing) by 3 p.m. on Nov. 7 2025 will have their ballots counted. Once you have received your ballot, you may vote even if you are not in Good Standing, as long as you have zero balance owing by 3 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2025. Active members who take withdrawals or suspensions before November will not have their ballots counted. To learn more about making sure you are eligible to vote, please review our Voting Eligibility page.

The AAA is responsible for printing and mailing the ballots, then counting the ballots and certifying the election results. The ballots will list all nominees, with instructions to vote for no more than one nominee for each contested officer position, and no more than 11 nominees for the Executive Board (if contested). Write-in votes will not be allowed, and any write-in attempt will invalidate that portion of the ballot.

The ballots will be mailed from the AAA. The mailing will contain the ballot and two envelopes—a ballot envelope and a return envelope with the voter’s name and address on the back. Ballots must be returned to the AAA in those envelopes and NOT to the Guild office.

Before the ballots are counted, the ballot envelopes will be separated from the return envelopes and shuffled to ensure a secret ballot count. The label on the return envelope is part of the validation process; any attempt to remove or deface the name and address will invalidate the entire ballot.

The election procedure is described in Article 6, Section 3 of the Constitution and By-Laws.

The Results

Ballots will be counted at the Los Angeles office of the American Arbitration Association. The Los Angeles office of the AAA is located at 725 S. Figueroa St., Suite 400 Los Angeles, CA 90017-5424. Nominees have the right to observe the election themselves, or to appoint no more than one observer who must be an Active member in Good Standing. No other observers will be allowed.

Observers must make advance arrangements with the Election Judge. On the Monday following the count, the results will be posted on The Animation Guild website and sent out through the Guild’s email list. The results will be reported at the November General Membership Meeting. The elected officers will be sworn in at the Executive Board meeting in December.

The counting and certification of the ballots procedure is located in Article 6, Section 4 of the Constitution and By-Laws.

This page contains summaries of the TAG’s Constitution and By-Laws. The language of the Constitution and By-Laws will prevail should there be any inconsistencies in the information provided. The 839 Constitution and By-Laws can be found here.