Another Nail in the Coffin for Manual Elections

Abstract

Before the pandemic, mail ballot elections were a rarity before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In‐person, manual elections were recognized as the superior means to allow employees an opportunity to exercise their Section 7 rights and cast a ballot for or against union representation. The risk of fraud was largely nonexistent, given that ballots were given only to employees who had been checked in by union and employer observers, and the entire process—from handing the ballot to the employee through the final count—was overseen by direct observation of an NLRB agent. Further, an election that spanned only one day was much less open to manipulation than an election that spans weeks, which many mail ballot union elections do.