AndrewDaca

Thanks Joshua for the reply. I hope I can add more clarity and answer your questions. The 5 positions are filled by a simple "who are the five people who earned the most votes from the 15 nominations received from the membership and approved by the nomationations committee". These 15 names (I referred to this perhaps incorrectly in my OP as "slate") were sent to the membership and each member could vote for up-to five people. Write in and from the floor nominations do not apply in the traditional sense as we had an open nomination process for a set period of time where the membership nominated candidates and we sent out the nominations and voting instructions to the membership after the nominations committee vetted the candidates. We realized the ineligibility AFTER the election closed and did not notify the candidates or membership. Instead, a week later at the AGM, we announced the results. When the top vote earner's name was not announced (this person was a favorite and had prominent support), some members asked for the vote count to be read. We did not have that available so when the pointed question of "where did (name of top vote earner) place" we then said, "first but that person was ineligible and therefore disqualified". That created a torrent of dissent and we said we would review. The "top vote getter" did not take the seat as we did not permit it. This person and many of our membership want us to remedy this situation with placing the "top vote getter" on the Board and removing the person who came in "fifth" (but really sixth). We want to do what is right under the Rules. Your comment is where we are at "If the person has not taken office, you have an incomplete election, which needs to be completed" but wedo not understand "how to complete". Do we need to allow the person to serve and bump the "fifth place person"? Allow top vote getter AND the "fifth place person" to serve? Re-do the election? We know this is a mess and looking for guidance before have to seek more formal legal advice if we need to. Thank you all for your insights.

Hello, our industry organization held an election to fill 5 positions with 15 candidates nominated and approved by the nomination committee. The bylaws discusses eligibility for different categories such as geography, a "non voting membership" and limitations to number of elected individuals that can be elected from a single company within the industry. These 15 candidates were sent out to the membership for voting and the election took place. At the AGM where election results were revealed, it was announced that two of the candidates were not eligible as all the non-voting seats (2) were filled by existing board members. One of the two on the Board was appointed by the Board two months before the election but the "non-voting status" of the Board member was not made public. One of the two "ineligible" people ended up with the most votes in the election. Neither candidate nor the membership was notified before the AGM that the two candidates were ineligible. The Membership is upset as they did not know they were casting votes for ineligible candidates and as such, "wasted their votes". The candidates are upset - especially the top vote earner. Our Bylaws state: "The Board prior to holding an election will validate all nominations submitted. If a nomination is declared invalid all Members submitting the nomination must be notified and given the opportunity to correct their nomination." Furthermore, our Bylaws note "Robert’s Rules of Order, unless in contravention of these Bylaws, shall be the adopted rules of order at any general meeting, including the Annual General Meeting." What is / was the responsibility of the organization for notifying the candidates / membership of eligibility? Is sending out the slate of candidates to the membership without additional "eligibility notes" a tacit approval by the organization of eligibility? Should an error or oversight like this happen, what should we do? A member indicates that Robert's Rules states: "If it is discovered after an election that the person elected does not meet the eligibility requirements, and even if the person has begun to serve, the election is void. The organization must have another election." Does this apply as the membership was not notified until after the election but our Board did know but did not communicate out? Thank you for your insights.