year for president and vice-president. Each is voted upon and designated a year ahead. Each nomination needs to be signed by five ministerial and five lay members of the Representative Session of the Conference. Nominations are collected during the first three days of that Session and displayed for 24 hours before a vote is taken. Voting is by single transferable vote. Voters do not choose one name only but mark all the names in order of preference. In this way if their first choice is not elected, they may influence the voting for an alternative. The Conference resolves at the beginning of the Representative Session that the president designated the previous year be elected and similarly for the vice-president-designate. Each holds office for one year. Chair of the District A minister who is appointed to take administrative responsibility, along with pastoral responsibility for the ministers, for a district. This is undertaken as if a normal appointment to serve in a circuit, and the term of service is typically some 5 to 10 years. Superintendent and circuit ministers The senior minister on any circuit is the superintendent (sometimes informally shortened to "super"), who may be the only minister, though the current trend for amalgamation of circuits makes this rare. The superintendent will also have pastoral responsibility for at least one of the local churches on the circuit, with pastoral responsibility for others being allocated to the other ministers. Deacons Ministers within the Methodist Diaconal Order (MDO) are referred to as deacons. A warden is appointed by the Conference from among the deacons to exercise oversight over the MDO, and there is now also a deputy warden. Local preachers Local preachers are accredited laypeople who preach and lead worship services in any church on the circuit to which they may be appointed. In Wesleyan Methodism it was not usual practice for local preachers to administer the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion), but in Primitive Methodism (1811 to 1932 in Britain) the local preachers did administer sacraments. Local preachers continue to serve an indispensable role in the Methodist Church, with the majority of church services led by laypeople, but special authorisation is required to preside over Communion. Meetings The "Circuit Meeting" (originally the "Quarterly Meeting") is the main governing body of the circuit, and consists of all ministers living in the circuit, circuit officers, and officers and elected representatives of the various churches in