The 2026 Steering Committee Elections

Filing for the 2026 Center for New Liberalism Steering Committee has opened. Before filing to run, please be sure to read this entire post, as the election rules and structure are laid out below.

This year's elections will take place online and in-person at the New Liberal Action Summit in Washington, D.C. Online voting will open on July 13th, but anyone planning to vote in-person should plan to vote at the conference on July 17th.

About the Steering Committee

The Center for New Liberalism's Steering Committee exists to ensure that the interests of chapters and members are represented and to provide a voice and forum for the direction of organization-wide initiatives to promote liberal ideas in the United States and worldwide.

The Steering Committee consists of 9 at-large members, including seven members from domestic chapters in the United States and a minimum of two designated international members. Members serve staggered two-year terms across two classes — Class I and Class II — on alternating cycles.

2026 Election: Class II Seats

In 2026, the four Class II seats are up for election. These seats were initially filled in 2025 with one-year terms and now come up for full two-year terms ending in 2028. At least one of the four seats is designated for an international member.

The top four vote-getters will be elected. To ensure the international member requirement is met, if all four elected candidates are from the United States, the highest-ranking international candidate will replace the fourth-place domestic candidate.

All Steering Committee members are elected at-large, and the committee itself elects its own officers. CNL organization leadership staff sit on the committee in a nonvoting, observing capacity. The committee is responsible for the following:

• Advising CNL staff on strategy, vision, and initiatives throughout the year

• Proposing and executing on special Steering Committee initiatives, including projects, endorsements of candidates or legislation, and organization-wide statements

• Producing briefs and feedback documents on the performance of the national organization and making recommendations to it

Election Procedures

The Center for New Liberalism will hold this year's elections to coincide with the New Liberal Action Summit in Washington, D.C. The elections will be structured as follows:

• Candidates may declare their candidacy from today until 11:59 PM on Wednesday, July 9th, 2026.

• A list of all eligible candidates along with their statements will be sent via email to eligible voters on Thursday, July 10th, 2026.

• Ballots will be sent out via email on Sunday, July 13th, 2026 to all eligible voters (dues-paying members and active chapter leads). NOTE: There will be in-person voting at the New Liberal Action Summit in Washington, D.C., therefore, anyone planning to attend the conference should make plans to vote in person.

• Online voting will end on Thursday, July 16th, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

• Winners will be announced and inaugurated on Friday, July 17th at NLAS.

Candidates are encouraged to provide a short biography and a motivation statement as to why they are interested in running for a seat on the Steering Committee; such a statement must be limited to 500 words and cannot contain a link to a longer statement.

Voting will be done via Approval Voting, where voters can select as many candidates as they feel comfortable having on the Committee, and the top four candidates will be elected.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Corrine Jeffries or Tobin Stone.