Election Protocol

[RockfordRebel]

We held our council elections. The person won president by a 38-37 vote count. Later an uncounted ballot was found which would've tied the vote count at 38-38. Can a special election be called or does the election stand as is ?

[Chris Harrison]

Has the person taken over as President yet?  Also, how did this uncounted ballot fall through the cracks?  Are you sure that this ballot is legitimate and wasn't "planted" by one of the loser's allies in order to force another round of voting?

Ultimately it is up to the organization to determine if this extra ballot is legitimate and I think an argument could be made that even if the winner had already taken office another round of voting is required because a member's vote wasn't added to the total and it would affect the results of the election.  However, I'd find it very suspicious that the election's result was determined by a single vote and then lo-and-behold a ballot shows up that...surprise...caused a tie vote.

Edited September 6, 2017 at 11:33 AM by Chris Harrison

[Dan Honemann]

A review of what is said on pages 444-46 of RONR (11th ed.) concerning contesting the announced result of an election may prove helpful in this regard. As noted there, only the body that conducted this election can take any action with respect to its legitimacy unless some bylaw or special rule of order specifically grants another body this authority.

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

I think Rebel is in recount territory, which is possible only if the next regular session of the council (within a quarterly time interval) has not yet been held. The recount would be ordered by majority vote, and if a tie emerges, then the election is incomplete; you would not hold a special election but simply another round of balloting.

[Dan Honemann]

Even if a recount is ordered, that won't mean that this ballot, which was apparently found after the election was over, will be counted. Ordering a recount doesn't have the effect of reopening the polls.

Some additional facts would be helpful.

[Gary Novosielski]

8 hours ago, RockfordRebel said:

We held our council elections. The person won president by a 38-37 vote count. Later an uncounted ballot was found which would've tied the vote count at 38-38. Can a special election be called or does the election stand as is ?

Found?  Found where?   Unless if was "found" in the ballot box, it sounds pretty questionable.  For all we know, someone filled it out, decided not to cast it, and threw it on the floor.  Or perhaps it was filled out by someone not eligible to vote, who was not permitted to cast it, and instead threw it on the floor.

Whether the ballot should be accepted or not is up to the body that did the voting.