Absentee ballots

[Guest K Rester]

Absentee ballots are allowed in our non-profit election. The question is do we have to have a written public list of said absentee voters that non-board members are able to copy? We have been asked to give a copy of the list to someone before the election.

[jstackpo]

RONR has no "have to have ... a list" requirements, other than what the tellers should have in order to verify that absentee votes were cast by authentic members, nor rules about distributing such a list to anyone else.

[Transpower]

RONR (11th ed.), pp. 423-424, ll. 35-36, ll. 1-2: "If there is a possibility of any uncertainty about who will be entitled to vote, this should be spelled out unambiguously and strictly enforced to avoid unfairness in close votes."  I conclude that a copy of the list of absentee voters should be given to the chair of the tellers.

[Gary Novosielski]

But it sounds like one of the candidates for office is asking for a list of voters, presumably for the purpose of campaigning. 

 

There's no requirement like that in RONR, so you'll have to look to your bylaws, and state laws (if any) concerning non-profit elections for answers to your question.

[Guest Edgar]

The question is do we have to have a written public list of said absentee voters that non-board members are able to copy? We have been asked to give a copy of the list to someone before the election.

 

Presumably all members are able to cast absentee ballots so you won't know who the absentee voters are until they actually vote. 

[Guest K rester]

Yes, anyone is able to vote absentee. A non candidate, just a member wants a list sent to her for unknown reason. We were asking because we are not sure if someone is able to request that information. Before the absentee ballot is accepted the teller checks to verify current membership and voting rights.