Prior to 1956, presidents were selected at the annual meeting of the association, with the membership ratifying the selection of candidates put forth by a nominating committee. A constitutional revision enacted in 1954 that became effective in 1956 provided for the election of officers of the association by ballot rather than at the annual meeting. The first president elected in this manner was John Dietrich, who was chosen as second vice-president in 1956 and who succeeded to the presidency in 1959. A list of elected second vice presidents and their opponents is listed below.
| Year | Elected | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | John Dietrich (Ohio State University) | T. Earle Johnson (University of Alabama) |
| 1957 | Kenneth G. Hance (Michigan State University) | Orville Hitchcock (University of Iowa) |
| 1958 | Ralph G. Nichols (University of Minnesota) | Hubert Heffner (Indiana University) |
| 1959 | Waldo Braden (Louisiana State University) | Frederick Haberman (University of Wisconsin) |
| 1960 | Ernest J. Wrage (Northwestern University) | Robert Clark (San Jose State College) |
| 1961 | Robert T. Oliver (Penn State University) | Carroll Arnold (Penn State University) |
| 1962 | J. Jeffery Auer (Indiana University) | Douglas Ehninger (University of Iowa) |
| 1963 | John W. Black (Ohio State University) | Leroy Laase (University of Nebraska) |
| 1964 | Wayne C. Minnick (Florida State University) | William McCoard (University of Southern California) |
| 1965 | Douglas Ehninger (University of Iowa) | Richard Murphy (University of Illinois) |
| 1966 | Marie Hochmuth Nichols (University of Illinois) | George Bohman (Wayne State University) |
| 1967 | Donald C. Bryant (University of Iowa) | Wallace Bacon (Northwestern University) |
| 1968 | William S. Howell (University of Minnesota) | Robert Nebergall (University of Oklahoma) |
| 1969 | Theodore Clevenger, Jr. (Florida State University) | Malcolm Sillars (University of Utah) |
| 1970 | Robert C. Jeffrey (University of Texas) | James McBath (University of Southern California) |
| 1971 | Samuel L. Becker (University of Iowa) | Robert Cathcart (CSU-Los Angeles) |
| 1972 | Wayne Brockriede (University of Colorado) | Herman Cohen (Penn State University)* |
| 1973 | Lloyd Bitzer (University of Wisconsin) | Gerald R. Miller (Michigan State University) |
| 1974 | Wallace Bacon (Northwestern University) | Marcella Oberle (CSU-Los Angeles) |
| 1975 | Jane Blankenship (University of Massachusetts) | James McBath (University of Southern California) |
| 1976 | Ronald R. Allen (University of Wisconsin) | Gerald R. Miller (Michigan State University) |
| 1977 | Malcolm Sillars (University of Utah) | Dwight Freshley (University of Georgia) |
| 1978 | Anita Taylor (St. Louis Community College)+ | Robert Heimerl (Stillwater H.S., Minnesota); Phillip Tompkins (Purdue University) |
| 1979 | Frank Dance (University of Denver) | Herbert Simons (Temple University) |
| 1980 | Kenneth Andersen (University of Illinois) | William Brooks (University of Oklahoma) |
| 1981 | John Waite Bowers (University of Iowa) | Gerald Mohrmann (University of California-Davis) |
| 1982 | Beverly Whitaker Long (University of North Carolina) | James R. Andrews (Indiana University) |
| 1983 | Donald Ecroyd (Temple University) | Lucy Keele (CSU-Fullerton) |
| 1984 | Patti Gillespie (University of Maryland) | Wil Linkugel (University of Kansas) |
| 1985 | Michael Osborn (Memphis State University) | Jesse Delia (University of Illinois) |
| 1986 | Gustav Friedrich (University of Oklahoma) | James Fletcher (University of Georgia) |
| 1987 | Mark Knapp (University of Texas) | Carolyn Calloway-Thomas (Indiana University) |
| 1988 | Dennis Gouran (Penn State University) | James Chesebro (Queens College) |
| 1989 | Dale Leathers (University of Georgia) | Judith Trent (University of Cincinnati) |
| 1990 | David Zarefsky (Northwestern University) | Judy Pearson (Ohio University) |
| 1991 | Bruce Gronbeck (University of Iowa) | Mary Francis HopKins (Louisiana State University) |
| 1992 | Sharon Ratliffe (Golden West College) | James Applegate (University of Kentucky) |
| 1993 | James Chesebro (Indiana State University) | Orlando Taylor (Howard University) |
| 1994 | Judith Trent (University of Cincinnati) | Martha Solomon (University of Maryland) |
| 1995 | John Daly (University of Texas) | Charles Bantz (Arizona State University) |
| 1996 | Orlando Taylor (Howard University) | Keith Erickson (University of Southern Mississippi) |
| 1997 | Raymie McKerrow (Ohio University) | Carolyn Calloway-Thomas (Indiana University)^ |
| 1998 | James Applegate (University of Kentucky) | Linda Lederman (Rutgers University) |
| 1999 | V. William Balthrop (University of North Carolina) | James McCroskey (West Virginia University) |
| 2000 | Judy Pearson (North Dakota State University) | Robert Ivie (Indiana University) |
| 2001 | Isa Engleberg (Prince George's Community College) | Gerard Hauser (University of Colorado) |
| 2002 | Martha Solomon (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) | Lawrence Frey (University of Colorado) |
| 2003 | H. Dan O'Hair (University of Oklahoma) | Alberto Gonzalez (Bowling Green State University) |
| 2004 | J. Michael Sproule (St. Louis University) | Steven Beebe (Texas State University) |
| 2005 | Arthur P. Bochner (University of South Florida) | Pamela Cooper (Northwestern University) |
| 2006 | Betsy Bach (University of Montana) | Lynda Lee Kaid (University of Florida) |
| 2007 | Dawn Braithwaite (University of Nebraska) | Diana Carlin (University of Kansas) |
| 2008 | Lynn Turner (Marquette University) | Sherry Morreale (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) |
| 2009 | Richard West (Emerson College) | Mary Lee Hummert (University of Kansas) |
| 2010 | Steven Beebe (Texas State University) | Deanna Sellnow (University of Kentucky); Howard Sypher (Purdue University) |
| 2011 | Kathie Turner (Davidson College) | Alberto Gonzalez (Bowling Green State University) |
| 2012 | Carole Blair (University of North Carolina) | Ronald Arnett (Duquesne University) |
| 2013 | Christie Beck (Ohio University) | Roseann Mandziuk (Texas State University) |
| 2014 | Stephen Hartnett (University of Colorado-Denver) | Thomas Socha (Old Dominion University) |
| 2015 | Ronald L. Jackson II (University of Cincinnati) | Michael Kramer (University of Oklahoma |
| 2016 | Star Muir (George Mason University) | Bruce Henderson (Ithaca College) |
| 2017 | Kent Ono (University of Utah) | Ronald Arnett (Duquesne University) |
| 2018 | David T. McMahan (Missouri Western State University) | W. Bradford Mello (St. Xavier University) |
| 2019 | Roseann Mandziuk (Texas State University) | Narissra Punyanunt-Carter (Texas Tech University) |
| 2020 | Walid Afifi (University of California-Santa Barbara) | Bonnie J. Dow (Vanderbilt University) |
| 2021 | Marnel Niles Goins (Marymount University) | No opponent |
| 2022 | Jeanetta Sims (University of Central Oklahoma) | Thomas Socha (Old Dominion University) |
| 2023 | Tina M. Harris (Louisiana State University) | No opponent |
* Soon after his election, Wayne Brockriede resigned his office; he was replaced by Herman Cohen.
+ In 1978, Anita Taylor mounted a successful write-in campaign; no candidate received a majority in the first round of balloting; Taylor was elected in a run-off election over Tompkins.
^ The first vote in 1997 resulted in a tie between McKerrow and Calloway-Thomas; McKerrow was elected in a second vote.