Cornell degree: AB ’73 (A&S)

Cornell degree: AB ’79 (A&S)

Cornell is one of the few major universities that offer its alumni an opportunity to vote for alumni board members. By voting, you are helping to select members of the Cornell University Board of Trustees who guide the future of our alma mater.

Nominations for the 2025 Alumni Trustee Election are open. Please take a moment to think about the most extraordinary Cornell alumni volunteers you have worked with over the years. Consider nominating an outstanding Cornellian who is qualified and prepared to serve the university as an alumni-elected member of Cornell’s Board of Trustees.

For general questions related to the election or candidates, or to request your Cornell NetID, alumni may contact Cornell at: electalumtrustee@cornell.edu

For customer service related to voting during the month of February (i.e. to request an election code or paper ballot), alumni should contact the help desk of our third-party election vendor, YesElections. The help desk is only open in February when voting is live:
Phone: (844) 413-2929 (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. EST)
Email: Help+Cornell@YesElections.com

Alumni who need technical assistance with their NetID can contact the Cornell IT Service Desk during business hours:
Phone: (607) 255-5500 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. EST)
Email: itservicedesk@cornell.edu

Alumni will receive an email with a personalized link to vote from our election vendor, YesElections, on February 1, as well as several email reminders throughout the month. This is the easiest and preferred method of voting, as the voting link will be personalized for each recipient.

Alumni who arrive at the election website through any other means will be required to log in with their Cornell NetID or an election code (available by request in February at Help+Cornell@YesElections.com).

Alumni will be mailed a paper ballot in early February if they have voted in any of the past three elections, but any alumni can request that a paper ballot be sent to them. Paper ballot requests must be received by February 14 at Help+Cornell@YesElections.com.

The toll-free number to vote is: (877) 246-8619. A numeric election code is required, available on mailed paper ballots or by request from the election vendor in February at Help+Cornell@YesElections.com.

These guidelines are reviewed periodically by the Committee on Alumni Trustee Nominations.

Cornell University desires that the most highly qualified and dedicated individuals serve as alumni trustees of the university. Many who might be superb trustees are financially unable and/or do not desire to engage in campaigning. It is for these reasons as well as having candidates considered solely on their merits, that Cornell prohibits campaign activity of any kind by or on behalf of any candidate. Campaigning includes, but is not restricted to, soliciting endorsements of one's candidacy, written or oral contact with alumni about one's candidacy, statements to the press, advertising, posts on social media and other networking technologies, press releases, etc. If publishers of college, unit, class, or club newsletters, e-mails, social media posts, or their like wish to print any candidate information, they must give the same information in the same space for all candidates in that election. Alumni are prohibited from contacting candidates to ask questions or engage in conversation relating to the election. Questions should be directed to the Office of Alumni Affairs. Candidates, whether endorsed by CATN or not, will be asked to sign an agreement that reflects the anti-campaigning policy in this paragraph. Failure to sign the agreement may result in elimination from the ballot.

An alumnus or alumna of Cornell University is someone who has matriculated at the university. All alumni may vote in the annual alumni trustee election. In order to be eligible to be on the ballot as an endorsed or unendorsed candidate, an alumnus/a must have attended the university for a minimum of one year at one of the Cornell University campuses and meet the other points of eligibility (as outlined below). Current Cornell University students are not eligible to run on the alumni-elected trustee ballot. A two-year hiatus is required for any CATN member/leader prior to being considered for the ballot.

A nominee placed on the ballot through the CATN process of nomination and review as explained above.

A nominee placed on the ballot through self-nomination and petitioning Cornell alumni for signatures. An unendorsed candidate (an alumnus/a as defined below, who has not been nominated and endorsed by the CATN) must submit a nomination petition with signatures from at least 400 alumni. Signatures may be gathered once the open nomination period closes and must be submitted by the petition closing date. The closing date for filing the petition with the Office of Alumni Affairs is one month prior to the first CATN meeting. If more than four unendorsed candidates submit petitions with at least 400 alumni signatures, the four unendorsed candidates with the greatest number of valid signatures will appear on the ballot. Unendorsed candidates must submit a petition that includes the first and last name of the alumnus/a, the last name of the alumnus/a when a student, the class year and NetID of the alumnus/a, and his/her signature. The completed form must be mailed (or scanned as a PDF and e-mailed) to the Office of Volunteer Programs in Cornell University’s Office of Alumni Affairs. A Google document is not permitted.

All candidates, endorsed and unendorsed, are bound by the rules of the election, including the campaigning policy and must meet eligibility guidelines.

Unsuccessful endorsed candidates who have been on the ballot in the past can be re-nominated, but must have a one-year hiatus prior to being placed on the ballot again. CATN shall not take into consideration that a candidate was unsuccessful in a previous election in determining whether to endorse the candidate. An unsuccessful unendorsed candidate must also wait a year before petitioning to be on the ballot again.

There may be no more than four endorsed candidates, and no more than four unendorsed candidates on the ballot in any election cycle.

The ballot will list each candidate on the ballot in an identical manner and format. Endorsed and unendorsed candidates will be identified as such on the ballot.

In order to prevent bullet voting, which could be perceived as benefitting one candidate over another, all voters are required to vote for two of the candidates on the ballot. Voters also have the option of adding a “write-in” candidate to the ballot in place of voting for a candidate already listed. (NOTE: Bullet voting is the practice of choosing just one candidate despite the ability to choose or rank more. The practice of bullet voting leads to the same outcome as plurality voting, since plurality voting restricts voters to choosing one candidate. – The Center for Election Science)

In early 2014, President Skorton charged the Task Force on Alumni Trustee Elections to consider the issue of transparency as it relates to the alumni trustee election. After research and deliberation, the task force made recommendations to increase transparency in a variety of ways, but did not agree that there was benefit in publishing the number of votes each candidate receives. For further details, see the Report of the Task Force on Alumni Trustee Elections.

• 2023 Election Data (PDF, 187 KB)
• 2022 Election Data (PDF, 298 KB)
• 2021 Election Data (PDF, 298 KB)
• 2020 Election Data (PDF, 247.4 KB)
• 2019 Election Data (PDF, 195.1 KB)
• 2018 Election Data (PDF, 483 KB)
• 2017 Election Data (PDF, 516 KB)
• 2016 Election Data (PDF, 323 KB)
• 2015 Election Data (PDF, 326 KB)