The NRA Bylaws provide for the election of one-third of the members of the Board of Directors each year. Those terms of office will expire at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Members in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 24, 2027. Also, any members filling vacancies on the Board that occurred after the last regular election must stand for election in 2027 in the same manner as those whose terms normally expire.
Additionally, one Director is elected for a one-year term on the occasion of each Annual Meeting of Members, by a plurality of the votes cast by individual members present in person and entitled to vote. The candidates for this 76th Director seat are those who were nominated for election on the mail ballot, but were not elected by mail.
The NRA Board of Directors is listed in the box below according to the expiration of their terms of office. You may, if you wish, recommend any of the present Directors whose term expires in 2027. DO NOT RECOMMEND any of those whose terms expire in 2028 or 2029.
The Nominating Committee will meet in Fairfax, Virginia on August 29, 2026, to select Director nominees.
There are two ways NRA members can place names of eligible members in consideration for Board service. One is to recommend them to the Nominating Committee for consideration, and the other is to circulate a petition obtaining the required signatures for placement on the ballot.
The following information about each process has been summarized from the NRA Bylaws. A copy of the Bylaws will be provided to any member who sends a request to the NRA Secretary. The Bylaws are also available online at nramemberservices.org
Recommendations to the Nominating Committee
All NRA members are urged to recommend qualified individuals as nominees for election to the NRA Board of Directors. The required qualifications include: having sufficient time to effectively carry out the duties of a Board member; affirming a commitment to abide by duties of good faith and care; affirming a commitment to abide by the NRA Bylaws and policies established by the NRA Board; being free of potential conflicts of interest; and exhibiting integrity, professionalism, and showing clear support for the interests of the NRA.
1. Recommend as many persons as you feel are well qualified. You may supplement your recommendation with any background or biographical material that you feel would be helpful to the Nominating Committee in arriving at its decision.
2. If in doubt as to the membership status of any person you wish to recommend as a nominee, submit the recommendation and the membership status will be checked at NRA Headquarters.
3. These recommendations should be received by the Secretary as soon as possible, but must be received no later than August 9, 2026 (20 days prior to the Nominating Committee meeting).
Nominations By Petition
Any member (sponsor) may submit petitions calling for the nomination of qualified members to the Board (see eligibility requirements in the box on the next page). The sponsor may be an NRA-affiliated organization. Petition packets may be obtained from the NRA Secretary. Requests should be mailed to the Secretary at the address printed on the following page.
There is now an online alternative for circulating petitions through the NRA’s DirectNominations site. Those requesting a petition packet may also request a link to circulate and gather signatures electronically. Candidates will be provided with a link to a web-based petition form. Candidates will be able to create their own password and will have the ability to add photographs, resumes, cover letters, etc. Similar to a paper copy of the petition form, in order to be valid the signature must include a member’s identification number, first name, last name, street address, city, state, and zip code.
1. Petitions must be received no later than October 13, 2026 (no more than 45 days after the Nominating Committee meeting), either physically or electronically.
2. No petition for nomination of a Director shall contain the name of more than one proposed nominee, and no more than one signature by any member shall be counted on an official petition for any one candidate.
3. Proposed nominees must indicate their principal city and state of residence.
4. A petition shall not be circulated without the proposed nominee’s written permission, and that permission must be on file with the NRA Secretary by the deadline for receipt of petitions.
5. Only official petition forms provided by the Secretary’s Office, which may be duplicated in full size (8 ½" x 11"), may be used to collect petition signatures.
6. The petition may contain a brief resume approved by the prospective nominee.
7. The name, address and membership number of the sponsor MUST be indicated on each sheet of the petition.
8. The name of the person circulating the petition sheet, if different from the sponsor, whether the sponsor be an individual or organizational member, should be indicated on each sheet.
9. Petitions MUST bear the membership identification numbers, names, addresses (street, city, state, zip code), signatures and date of signing of no less than 285 members eligible to vote (0.5% of the number of valid ballots cast in the most recent mail ballot election of directors). Members eligible to vote are Lifetime members and annual members with five or more consecutive years of membership.
10. ANY SIGNATURES OBTAINED BEFORE THE PROSPECTIVE NOMINEE IS QUALIFIED TO HOLD OFFICE WILL BE RULED INVALID.
11. ANY SIGNATURES OBTAINED BEFORE THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS ON APRIL 24, 2027 WILL BE RULED INVALID.
12. SIGNATURES WITHOUT MEMBERSHIP IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS WILL BE INVALID. IF THE NUMBER IS NOT INDICATED ON THE MEMBER’S IDENTIFICATION CARD, HE OR SHE MAY: (a) copy the identification number from his or her NRA magazine label or (b) obtain it by calling NRA’s toll free number: (866) 672-3000. When calling, it is important to give the last name, address and zip code as it is carried on the NRA membership record (including designations such as “Jr.,” “Sr.,” etc.) in order to obtain the proper identification number. Nominees and sponsors may call the toll-free number to obtain membership identification numbers for those who do not include them on signed petitions. Staff is only permitted to give identification numbers, and may not indicate voting status.
If circulating petitions online the petition sponsor, nominee, or circulator will NOT be able to enter membership identification numbers. Members signing online may get their identification number by calling (866) 672-3000; checking the mailing label on their monthly magazine; or clicking on the Live Chat window at nramemberservices.org.
13. Not more than five petition nominees shall be from any one state during any one year. If more than five are submitted, the five with the greatest number of valid signatures will be nominated.
14. The Secretary will determine the validity of all petitions received and the eligibility of all signatories.
15. If a petition is determined to be invalid, the Secretary will immediately notify the proposed nominee and the sponsor stating the reason for the ruling. The petitioner may appeal the ruling to the Nominating Committee within 14 days.
16. If the appeal is denied, the petitioner may appeal to the Board of Directors, which will act at its next meeting. If the Board rules the petition valid, the proposed nominee will be declared a nominee for the following year’s election.
Election Procedures
1. The names of those selected by the Nominating Committee and of those nominated by petition, together with short biographical sketches, will be published in the February 2025 Official Journals.
2. A ballot will be mailed to each member eligible to vote. It will contain the list of names proposed by the Nominating Committee and those nominated by petition and, in addition, provide five blank spaces for write-in candidates.
3. The ballot, properly executed, must be returned by the date indicated on the ballot.
Click Here for Downloadable Form to print and mail in.
