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Election of an illegal nominee to office


Guest Arick Decker

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Several days ago at a regular monthly meeting we held our elections. Prior to elections the floor is opened to nominations. Member A nominated himself, Was placed on the ballot and tied for a position. The president rather than breaking the tie called for a revote. Member A was elected into office. Member A does not meet the requirements for office, but his nomination was not challenged by anyone at the meeting. How can we correct this?

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If Member A is really truly ineligible to serve, then the votes that were cast for him were illegal votes (and count as such).  If the ballots have been retained securely, the membership assembly can order a recount.  If, in the recount, someone else gets more than half of the votes cast (votes for Member A add into the total, but won't help anyone be elected, remember), he's elected; if not, which is likely, you'll have to ballot again.

 

(Maybe I'm leaving something out.)

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If you can't do what Gary said, then next meeting raise the point of order (or the chair can rule on his own) that the election is invalid because Fred is ineligible to serve.  The set up and run another election. From scratch.

 

Fred's ineligibility MUST be made clear in the bylaws.  Read them carefully.

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...  If, in the recount, someone else gets more than half of the votes cast (votes for Member A add into the total, but won't help anyone be elected, remember), he's elected; if not, which is likely, ...

(Maybe I'm leaving something out.)

John (or anyone else) -- I'm tentatively thinking I was being too much of a pusillanimous pussyfooter (chess jargon, I'm told):  it's not just unlikely that anyone else can get a majority, it's (arithmetically) impossible, since Member A ("Fred" to his friends and college graduates) already has a majority of those votes.  Yes?

 

[Edited to reply to Post 5:

["theology":  :-) ]

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John (or anyone else) -- I'm tentatively thinking I was being too much of a pusillanimous pussyfooter (chess jargon, I'm told):  it's not just unlikely that anyone else can get a majority, it's (arithmetically) impossible, since Member A ("Fred" to his friends and college graduates) already has a majority of those votes.  Yes?

 

[Edited to reply to Post 5:

["theology":  :-) ]

 

But isn't making certain that Member A does, in fact, have a majority of the votes cast the reason for the recount? If you're so sure about it, why order a recount?

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But isn't making certain that Member A does, in fact, have a majority of the votes cast the reason for the recount? If you're so sure about it, why order a recount?

No, because nobody cares whether Member A ("Fred" to his friends, college graduates, and -- OK skip it) got a majority or not; what is of issue is whether anyone else, whom we hope is elegible to serve, got a majority (which I'm suspecting is impossible) ...

 

Oh.

Um.

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No, because nobody cares whether Member A ("Fred" to his friends, college graduates, and -- OK skip it) got a majority or not; what is of issue is whether anyone else, whom we hope is elegible to serve, got a majority (which I'm suspecting is impossible) ...

 

Oh.

Um.

 

Oh, um, is right. There was nothing wrong with your initial response. :)

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Is your point that, since we accept that Member A got a majority of the votes, it necessarily follows that nobody else got a majority of the votes, and it's pusillanimous pussyfooting to dither that it might be otherwise once it's determined that the votes for Member A are not valid but illegal votes, since that doesn't change the tally?

 

Man, sometimes in retrospect I wish I'd minored in arithmetic in law school.

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And that therefore a recount can only tell us what we already know so it would be a waste of time, almost a definitive waste of time (teachers of wastes of time could cite it), and that therefore there is no reason to go ahead with the next balloting?

 

[Edit:  that should be "there is no reason NOT to go ahead with the next balloting."]

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