To ensure that there is an elected manager among storage nodes of an erasure coding group (“ECG”), an ECG manager (“ECGM”) election process is periodically performed among available storage nodes that are configured with the software to perform the services of an ECGM. When a storage node is activated, an ECGM process of the storage node begins executing and is assigned a process identifier (“PID”). A storage node can utilize a service query framework to identify other available storage nodes and retrieve their ECGM PIDs. The storage node then selects a PID according to a criterion and elects the storage node corresponding to the selected PID to be the acting ECGM. This process is performed periodically, so even if the acting ECGM storage node fails, a new ECGM is eventually selected from the available storage nodes.