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Proxy - page 2 blank


Guest quinnsrock

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We recently had an election where a proxy was turned in with the front page complete (Owner name, address, signature) but the 2nd page was left blank. In California, page 2 has the voting instructions. List of candidates or vote at proxyholder's discretion.

The proxy was not accepted and handed back to proxyholder. Proxygiver was contacted shortly thereafter and page 2 was then completed. The proxy was presented again and rejected again.

There seem to be no clear procedure for this situation. Does anyone know of specific protocol for handling a proxy presented this way. Should it count toward quorum?

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We can find nothing in writing regarding the issue. Some Assoc. specifically state that incomplete proxies are invalid.

This is one is similar to a blank ballot, outside of envelope filled out correctly, yet inside the ballot was left blank. That would count toward quorum.

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9 hours ago, Guest quinnsrock said:

Thank you Hieu. Our Bylaws permit proxies so the question is not are the accepted, but should this one be accepted for quorum?

That's covered in FAQ10.  It says that answers must be found in the provisions in the laws or bylaws that authorize their use, rather than in RONR.

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Guest Who's Coming to Dinner

"The assembly itself is the judge of all questions arising that are incidental to the voting or the counting of the votes." (RONR [11th ed.], p. 409, ll. 16–18)

Any controversy over this proxy may be handled by raising a point of order and obtaining a ruling by the chair, possibly followed by an appeal and vote of the assembly to decide the matter.

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The one question I have is whether or not the proxy was completed in time for the start of the meeting?   If not, an argument could be made that the proxy would not count. 

Then again, as the By-laws of the organization provide for proxy voting, then the specific By-law(s) should be amended to specifically deal with this type of situation.  For example, the By-law could be amended to add a statement such as:  "The entire proxy must be filled out to be valid."  The proxy document could include a box to tick off (or initial) if a member wants to abstain from voting on a particular issue.

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3 hours ago, Guest quinnsrock said:

Lighten up Wonk! Simply looking for someone who may have had experience with this situation.

Still, this is the RONR forum.

The closest rule in RONR would tell you that for any ballot that is deemed questionable by the tellers, the question of its validity should be put to the assembly, by majority vote.  That gets everyone off the hook, when you can't identify a rule that clearly applies.

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9 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

Still, this is the RONR forum.

The closest rule in RONR would tell you that for any ballot that is deemed questionable by the tellers, the question of its validity should be put to the assembly, by majority vote.  That gets everyone off the hook, when you can't identify a rule that clearly applies.

Adroitly done.

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