Currently, as an AVMA member, there are very few direct elections. The volunteer bodies are the Board of Directors (BOD), numerous Councils and Committees, and the House of Delegates (HOD). 
The Board of Directors is the biggest chance for you as a member to have direct input into who will make key decisions and lead our professional association. The BOD appoints most AVMA committee members. The AVMA officers (President-Elect and Vice President) are elected by the House of Delegates, and the Treasurer is elected by the BOD. Every 6 years, AVMA members in each of the 11 geographic districts have the opportunity to directly cast a vote. If the election is uncontested, no ballots are issued.

I remember when I was less involved and this was not something on my radar. I paid my dues and just assumed that my elected leadership was someone who knew what they were doing. Ballots then were also something that arrived in the mail and I was hard pressed to know much, if anything, about the candidates. I am happy to report that the upcoming District I election will be by electronic ballot! This means that as long as AVMA has your email address on file, you will be able to vote easily online. (Paper ballots will be mailed to those who do not have an email address on file). So for those of you in AVMA District I (New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), when you get that ballot in the spring, please vote! It would be great to have the highest voter turnout for an AVMA election in history.