Question on Elections

[mkmagu]

Our dog rescue is having it's annual meeting this Saturday, voting is by ballot including online absentee voting.  Today one of the candidates for a 1 year board position just dropped out out of the elections leaving 1 other candidate. I know some people have already voted via absentee ballot and most likely some have voted for the candidate that dropped out. As far as I know our by-laws have nothing covering this scenario.  Would the remaining candidate automatically win? Would another vote have to take place at a later date?  Would it be right of the board to remove the candidate that dropped out from the ballot for Saturdays meeting when others have had the chance to vote for the individual? I assume the candidate that dropped out received the majority vote it would force the rescue to have another vote scheduled at a later date.  Sorry for all the questions I did a Google search but could not find a scenario similar. 

 

Thank you

Mary  

[Dan Honemann]

 If you are voting "by ballot including online absentee voting" you're pretty much on your own, although, generally speaking, there is no way for anyone to "drop out" once balloting has begun.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Do your bylaws authorize absentee voting?

Generally the remaining candidate would not automatically win if that person did not get a majority vote. In such a case, there would be another election for that position.

[Gary Novosielski]

Once the first vote is cast, the balloting process cannot be interrupted. Continue your process (bizarre as it is), count the votes, see what happens.

[Weldon Merritt]

This is one of the reasons that RONR advises against mixing absentee and in-person voting for the same issue or election. But since your organization apparently does (assuming absentee voting is authorized by your bylaws), you are stuck with the consequences.

 

To address one of your assumptions, if the candidate who dropped out receives a majority, he (or she) could decide to accept the office after all. If not, you will have an incomplete election and will need to vote again (unless, of course, the other candidate receives a majority).

[Gary c Tesser]

... To address one of your assumptions, if the candidate who dropped out receives a majority, he (or she) could decide to accept the office after all. If not, you will have an incomplete election and will need to vote again (unless, of course, the other candidate receives a majority).

 

Can they both, really?  (This always makes my head hurt,  Then I drink beer and the headache goes away but I go back to the question and back to the headache.  If marijuana weren't illegal we wouldn't have this problem.)

[Dan Honemann]

To address one of your assumptions, if the candidate who dropped out receives a majority, he (or she) could decide to accept the office after all. If not, you will have an incomplete election and will need to vote again (unless, of course, the other candidate receives a majority).

 

 

Can they both, really?  (This always makes my head hurt,  Then I drink beer and the headache goes away but I go back to the question and back to the headache.  If marijuana weren't illegal we wouldn't have this problem.)

 

Oh, just assume he means after a recount.

 

Better yet, have another beer.

[Weldon Merritt]

Oh, just assume he means after a recount.

 

Actually, I was thinking more along the line that "the other candidate," instead of the one who withdrew, was the one who received the majority, I just didn't express it very well. But it could be after a recount, if the first count turned out to be in error. Certainly it would not be possible for both candiates to receive a majority.