Association Administrator Guide

Role purpose

The Association Owner or Administrator provides governance for one organisation. The role creates election cycles, appoints election officers and oversees records, but does not automatically become the operational Commissioner or a voter.

Before an election

1. Confirm the governing rules and election timetable.
2. confirm the association’s data controller, contact and retention policy;
3. create the election cycle with an official reference;
4. select the correct nomination mode;
5. appoint three distinct core Committee members;
6. add optional officers and Appeals reviewers where required;
7. upload official appointment letters and set dates;
8. confirm the appointees’ accounts are active.

Committee members do not need to be in the voter register. An eligible officer is not automatically excluded from voting.

Mistaken, duplicate or obsolete cycles

Resolve an accidental cycle before appointing officers, receiving nominations, certifying a register or issuing voter credentials. A permanent Delete action should be available only for a verified unused Draft and may be absent where the deployment has not implemented that controlled workflow.

When Delete is unavailable:

1. correct the Draft if the same cycle will proceed;
2. cancel the cycle under formal authority if it will not proceed;
3. invalidate it only where the process or outcome cannot stand;
4. create a separate replacement cycle with a new reference where necessary; and
5. record the relationship and reason without erasing the original record.

Never use Django Admin or direct database access to remove a cycle that the application refuses to delete. The absence of the button is part of the governance control.

Governance boundaries

Association authority does not permit routine opening, closing, tallying or result approval unless the user also holds the relevant current election appointment. Do not assign yourself an operational role without formal authority.

Officer complaints

The association is the appointing authority. It may review complaints assigned to that authority and may receive fallback matters where no current Appeals reviewer exists. The accused officer cannot determine their own complaint. Record recusal, findings, remedy and reasons.

Monitoring the cycle

Review appointment status, voter-register certification, final candidate-list publication, readiness issues, incidents, approvals, disputes and declaration status. Do not alter ballot or tally records to force a preferred result.

Post-election governance

Confirm that the public results, declarations, tally versions, approvals, disputes, incidents, register and audit evidence are preserved. Review officer access and revocations. Authorise retention only after petitions, audits and legal holds have ended and backups are tested.