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shredding of ballots


Guest Liddy

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We held our election this month. I was told as President that I could not be involved in the process, therefore the nomination committee was handling it. One of the people running against me was on the nomination committee. This person typed up the ballots, called 3 people before the meeting to count the votes at the meeting. Then once the voting was done, one of the people that had counted the votes started shredding the ballots before a motion was made to shred them. I don't have a problem with people wanting someone new as President, but this person had not been a member of our group very long and I felt things were being done behind my back to get me out. Should the ballots have been shredded before the motion and shouldn't she have not been involved in the process either?

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We held our election this month. I was told as President that I could not be involved in the process, therefore the nomination committee was handling it. One of the people running against me was on the nomination committee. This person typed up the ballots, called 3 people before the meeting to count the votes at the meeting. Then once the voting was done, one of the people that had counted the votes started shredding the ballots before a motion was made to shred them. I don't have a problem with people wanting someone new as President, but this person had not been a member of our group very long and I felt things were being done behind my back to get me out. Should the ballots have been shredded before the motion and shouldn't she have not been involved in the process either?

If RONR is your organization's parliamentary authority and has no customized rules of its own to the contrary, then you, as the regular presiding officer, should have presided at the meeting at which the election was held, you should have appointed the tellers, and the ballots and tally sheets should have been placed in the custody of the secretary to be preserved under seal until the time within which the assembly might order a recount expires, unless the assembly otherwise directed (but I'm afraid that you will have been largely to blame for the fact that these things didn't happen).

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We held our election this month. I was told as President that I could not be involved in the process, therefore the nomination committee was handling it.

Nah, the nominating committee's job is over once it has reported its nominations -- it has no business running the election (unless your bylaws give the committee such authority). RONR has no rule about the President not being involved -- one of the duties of the President is to preside, and that includes presiding over a meeting during which an election is conducted.

One of the people running against me was on the nomination committee.

A member of the nominating committee can be nominated for office -- nothing inherently improper about this.

This person typed up the ballots, called 3 people before the meeting to count the votes at the meeting.

Votes are to be counted by tellers, who are appointed by the chair. 'The tellers should be chosen for accuracy and dependability, should have the confidence of the membership, and shoud not have a direct personal involvement in the question or in the result of the vote...' (RONR 11th ed. p. 414 ll. 12-16)

Then once the voting was done, one of the people that had counted the votes started shredding the ballots before a motion was made to shred them.

No again. 'After completion of an election... unless the voting body directs otherwise, the tellers place the ballots and tally sheets in the custody of the secretary, who keeps them under seal until the time within which a recount may be ordered expires, and then destroys them.' (RONR p. 418 l. 32 - p. 419 l. 1). It doesn't sound as though the voting body ordered the ballots to be shredded in your situation.

I don't have a problem with people wanting someone new as President, but this person had not been a member of our group very long and I felt things were being done behind my back to get me out. Should the ballots have been shredded before the motion and shouldn't she have not been involved in the process either?

No, the ballots should not have been shredded, and no, she shouldn't have been involved.
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