Annual Meeting and elections
Your Co-op, Your Vote
Annual meeting and voting information.
2025 Annual Meeting
Each June, DMEA holds our Annual Meeting of Members. It is an opportunity for members to gather together and review our activities over the past year and also marks the conclusion of our annual board of directors elections. The meeting includes an overview of the co-op’s accomplishments and finances from the previous year and our goals for the future. DMEA will host a member Q&A session where you have the opportunity to ask questions about your cooperative.
Join us: Thursday, June 12, 2025 — 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Hotchkiss K-8 School, 465 Lorah Lane, Hotchkiss
Board of Directors Elections
You have a voice in how your electric cooperative is run by voting for the individuals serving on DMEA’s Board of Directors. DMEA’s board members are elected at large, serve three-year staggered terms, and represent specific geographic districts within DMEA’s service area. You will be asked to vote for three of your representatives each year before the Annual Meeting of Members. This year, South Region, District 3, and District 4 seats are up for election.
Key Information
What are the required qualifications?
This year, South Region, District 3, and District 4 positions are up for election. In addition to living within one of these three open districts, members must also be 21 years of age or older and meet the criteria outlined in Article 4 of DMEA’s Bylaws found here.
How do I run for the Board?
The self-nomination period for this year has ended.
When can I submit my petition?
Nomination petitions open March 3 and close on April 11, 2025 at 5:00pm MT.
When is the election?
DMEA’s Board of Directors Election will open May 9, 2025. Online ballots will open and printed ballots will be mailed at this time. Members can choose to vote electronically, by mail, or at the Annual Meeting on June 12, 2025. The election will conclude with the Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
Are you ready to serve?
The self-nomination period opens March 3, 2025.
Voting your ballot
Mail: Mailed ballots must be received by June 10, 2025.
Drop off: Drop ballots off at your local DMEA office.
In person: Vote in person at the Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Voting online? Here’s what you need to know.
SmartHub: To access your electronic ballot, log in to your account and click the ‘Vote Now’ button, cast your vote, and submit.
Web Portal: If you registered an email to your DMEA account, you received an email with your unique secure link. To access your ballot, click the link, enter the credentials provided in your email, and cast your vote.
Frequently Asked Questions
DMEA partners with Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS), a full-service election company that has been setting the standard in election management since 1990. Located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, SBS offers world-class security, fantastic customer support and service, and a proven process used in over 800 elections every year. As a family business, SBS is not controlled by outside investors – just like your co-op.
There are two ways you can cast your vote online:
SmartHub: Starting May 9, all eligible voters will see a ‘Vote Now’ button in their secure SmartHub account. To access your electronic ballot, simply click the button, cast your vote, and submit.
Web Portal: If you have an email address registered to your DMEA account, you will receive an email with your unique secure link. This link will also be printed on your mailed ballot. To access your ballot, click or type in the link, enter the credentials provided in your email/on your ballot, and cast your vote. Be on the lookout for an email from noreply@directvote.net and add it to your contacts!
SBS employs several layers of security are employed to protect DMEA’s election. The voting website is hosted on SBS’s secure server, and our election website is only accessible to authorized members through unique voter logins and passwords. Ballots are transmitted to the data center using Symantec TLS encryption and authentication technology. Voting websites also employ passive and active network and security monitoring services to detect and prevent unauthorized access. Data is stored in a secure data center with controlled, monitored access 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
You will be provided a unique voter login ID and password, which will be used by the voting website to confirm your identity.
Each member’s login information is disabled immediately after submitting their web ballot, preventing them from logging into the voting website again and voting twice.
After submitting your ballot, you will receive an email message confirming that it’s been received.
It’s easy to review and change your vote before your ballot is officially submitted for processing. After you make your selections, they will be displayed on a confirmation screen. At that time, you may either change your selections or submit your ballot. The website will also verify that you have voted within the correct parameters – that you did not over vote, for example – and will advise you of any corrections that must be made. This additional safeguard ensures the validity of your ballot.
Once your ballot is submitted, however, it cannot be changed.
Remember, you can only vote once. If you submit multiple ballots, only your first ballot cast will be counted.