Re-vote to get majority in election

[Pastor Jim]

School Board of 8 members need to select replacement to complete term of member who resigned.  There were 3 qualified candidates.  Instead of placing all three in nomination, and then vote for one only; the Board considered them one at a time.  First candidate got 3 "yes" and 5 "no."  No majority, not elected.  Second candidate got  4 "yes" and 4 "no."  No majority, not elected.  Third candidate got 3 "yes" and 5 "no."  No majority, not elected.   Obviously, some voted "yes" more than once.  There were 10 "Yes" votes, and only 8 Board members.

One Board member asked, "If someone wants to change his vote in order to get a majority, can we re-vote?  Another member shook her head "No."  The Board president ruled no re-vote was legal.

Was this ruling correct?  Was there a better way to assure getting a majority for one candidate?

Pastor Jim

[Guest Edgar]

Was there a better way to assure getting a majority for one candidate?

 

Yes. Put all the candidates on the same ballot and keep voting until one of them (or someone else) is elected by majority vote.

 

Yes/No votes are improper in elections. The only way to vote "no" is to vote for someone else.

[Josh Martin]

School Board of 8 members need to select replacement to complete term of member who resigned.  There were 3 qualified candidates.  Instead of placing all three in nomination, and then vote for one only; the Board considered them one at a time.  First candidate got 3 "yes" and 5 "no."  No majority, not elected.  Second candidate got  4 "yes" and 4 "no."  No majority, not elected.  Third candidate got 3 "yes" and 5 "no."  No majority, not elected.   Obviously, some voted "yes" more than once.  There were 10 "Yes" votes, and only 8 Board members.

 

This is the proper way to conduct an election by voice vote. It's not a problem that some members voted "yes" more than once. In a voice vote, each candidate is treated as a distinct question, so a member can vote "yes" or "no" on each candidate. It seems that some board members found multiple candidates acceptable. A voice vote is not recommended for electing board members.

 

One Board member asked, "If someone wants to change his vote in order to get a majority, can we re-vote?  Another member shook her head "No."  The Board president ruled no re-vote was legal.

Was this ruling correct?

 

No, the ruling was not correct. It's quite the opposite, actually. When no candidate is elected, the assembly must revote.

 

Was there a better way to assure getting a majority for one candidate?

 

Well, I don't know that it would "assure getting a majority," but it is best to use a ballot vote for contested elections. Each member would vote for one candidate (which is not limited to the nominated candidates) rather than voting "yes" or "no."

 

I'm recalling that there are sometimes legal issues with using a ballot vote in public bodies, so I'd note that a roll call vote would also be an option. It would work essentially the same way, except that all the votes would be public.

 

Yes. Put all the candidates on the same ballot and keep voting until one of them (or someone else) is elected by majority vote.

 

Yes/No votes are improper in elections. The only way to vote "no" is to vote for someone else.

 

Yes/no votes are proper when an election is conducted by voice vote, but this is not recommended for the election of officers.

[jstackpo]

I suppose I could say: "Change the rules and use the Borda Count system", but then I might incur the Wrath of Dan and be deleted before I could fini