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Elections


coleche

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I think I understand that an election may be contested by raising a point of order.  That point of order must be timely.  When the  point of order is raised the Chair would ask for a motion from  the membership to have a recount.  The elections committee (tellers) would do the recount. 

If a member contest the ballot vote count of her totals (she was candidate and did not win) and ask to review the ballots, is that permissible?  Can she do that in front of the secretary who would have ballots after the election.  Our bylaws do not address the this issue.

Thank you!

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2 hours ago, coleche said:

I think I understand that an election may be contested by raising a point of order.  That point of order must be timely.  When the  point of order is raised the Chair would ask for a motion from  the membership to have a recount.  The elections committee (tellers) would do the recount. 

If a member contest the ballot vote count of her totals (she was candidate and did not win) and ask to review the ballots, is that permissible?  Can she do that in front of the secretary who would have ballots after the election.  Our bylaws do not address the this issue.

Thank you!

There's two parts to this. First, about the point of order: the chair should never ask for a motion to implement their ruling. If the chair rules that the point of order is well taken and the rules were violated, the chair should immediately order the situation to be corrected (in the case of an election, most likely by declaring the election invalid, but possibly by ordering a recount if, for instance, the totals reported do not add up). If the chair rules that it is not well taken, the chair should do nothing (apart from stating the ruling, of course).

As for reviewing the ballots, the only way to review them is with a recount, which must be ordered by the assembly. The Secretary seals the ballots after the election and opens them only if a recount is ordered. Once the time limit for ordering a recount (in most organizations, this is usually just the next meeting) has passed, then the Secretary destroys them. The member could specify who is to do the recounting or who is to observe in the motion for the recount, and it would be up to the assembly to deal with this as it sees appropriate.

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2 hours ago, coleche said:

I think I understand that an election may be contested by raising a point of order.  That point of order must be timely.  When the  point of order is raised the Chair would ask for a motion from  the membership to have a recount.  The elections committee (tellers) would do the recount. 

No, the chair would rule on the Point of Order, subject to appeal. A Point of Order is a claim that some aspect of the rules was not followed, not a claim that the count is incorrect. The exact remedy for this will depend on the specifics. If a member wishes for a recount, he simply moves for a recount.

2 hours ago, coleche said:

If a member contest the ballot vote count of her totals (she was candidate and did not win) and ask to review the ballots, is that permissible?  Can she do that in front of the secretary who would have ballots after the election.  Our bylaws do not address the this issue.

The member may request this, but is at the assembly's discretion whether to grant the request.

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