ballot election vote question

[Joe T]

Is an election for office vote allowed to have a yes or no block?  As far as what I can see an election vote is not to have a yes or no block and the way to vote no is to vote for someone else, is this correct?  Also if anyone does vote with a no selection does this vote become invalid?  Is there a section that covers this?

[Joshua Katz]

According to the rules in RONR, a yes/no vote in an election for office is improper.  If your bylaws say otherwise, you'd follow them.  If your bylaws say nothing, then you should not have a yes/no ballot.  If you are to have a balloted vote, it should simply list the candidates and allow space for write-ins (or be a post-it on which people write the name of their selected candidate(s), depending on the size and formality of your organization).

[Joe T]

That is what I have thought.  There are two seats open, one resume was sent in for a board position to send out to all the members for the annual meeting.  When the notice came the ballot from previous years had been changed to a yes no vote for candidates. Since only one had followed the rules and sent in the resume by the deadline for inclusion in the mailing my belief was that it was changed in an attempt to prevent this person being elected.  Additionally the name was not placed on the ballot it is blank and only allows for write in names.  Should this name have been printed on the ballot and then any at the meeting who nominate from the floor be printed in under it?  Also any improper votes cast does that make their vote invalid?

[Joshua Katz]

I don't follow.  Is the ballot blank, or does it have a candidate with yes/no checkboxes?

You can have a balloted election without printed ballots.  Like I said, you can use post-it notes if you want and have people write the candidate they prefer.  

I can get to the last question if you clarify what the ballots looked like.

[Joe T]

It is blank and says to write in board member candidates name below.  Then it says vote yes or no for each candidate.  Under this is a name line to write on and then a yes and no check box.  The bottom of the ballot says "Candidates must receive more yes votes than no votes to be elected.  If there are more than 2 candidates with more yes votes than no votes, the 2 candidates with the most yes votes will be seated as board members.  Each board member elected will serve a 3 year term."

Edited May 25, 2018 at 12:26 AM by Joe T
punctuation

[Joshua Katz]

Well, unless your rules say to use a yes/no ballot, that's improper.  Given that you are electing 2 people, if they are being elected to identical positions, there is a disagreement on this board about how to vote, but I'll give you the majority answer: voters can select up to two candidates.  

As to how to count votes that do show yes/no, well, don't let it happen.  Raise a point of order before the vote begins.  If you do that and people still use the yes/no boxes, then you have something more of a pickle.  I would think that a yes should be counted as a vote for that candidate, and a no not counted at all, but others might disagree.  (And, in accordance with the majority view here, if a ballot contains more than 2 yes votes, it is an illegal ballot and not counted, although it does count towards the number needed to secure a majority.)

[Joe T]

So, if as a member of the association and not on the board I raise the point of order at the meeting and the board does not change how things are done what is my recourse?  Please understand this ballot was changed in a way for the board to preclude those they do not want elected and elect those they feel have the same goals as them.  The board unilaterally added someone to the board for 3 years after someone resigned.  I am trying to do all of this correctly but feel it is an uphill battle. 

[Joshua Katz]

Oh boy.  Well, first, who is voting in this election - the membership or the board?  If the election is among the membership, the board has no role in it at all, except that, if board members are also organization members, they can vote.  The board does not decide what the ballots look like and so on.  If the board is voting, on the other hand, there is nothing you can do (except to get a different board) since you cannot raise points of order at board meetings.  But if it is the membership, you can raise a point of order - which will be decided, if an appeal is necessary, by the assembly, not the board - which, to emphasize, is not present as a board at membership meetings.

If the assembly decides that the voting should be conducted properly, and somehow the board tries to exert itself (despite not being present as a board) and control your election, refer to the disciplinary process in chapter XX.

[Joe T]

Wow, a whole can of worms there.  So down the rabbit hole we go.  All board members are also organization members.  So this is an annual membership meeting which the board presides over.  The board created the ballots and wrote the proxy votes to be either sent to them to vote matters or to a named person.  Since most members do not live in the area the proxies generally go to the board to use as they see fit since most owners do not know each other.  My assumption is that this is something they should not be doing at an annual membership meeting, which to me, is just electing new board members and us being told what changes the board is making.  

[Gary Novosielski]

2 hours ago, Joe T said:

So, if as a member of the association and not on the board I raise the point of order at the meeting and the board does not change how things are done what is my recourse?  Please understand this ballot was changed in a way for the board to preclude those they do not want elected and elect those they feel have the same goals as them.  The board unilaterally added someone to the board for 3 years after someone resigned.  I am trying to do all of this correctly but feel it is an uphill battle. 

See the section on Appeal in RONR.  Appeal requires a second, is debatable with restrictions, and places the question of whether the ruling should be sustained before the entire membership. A majority in the negative is required to overrule 

   If the rules in RONR apply, this is an election by the membership, and it takes place at the annual general meeting of the membership.  The board is not in session at this time and has no role in deciding anything relating to the meeting.  Board members who attend do so as ordinary members, not as a board, except that the presiding and recording officers are often the same people. The board may have had a role in preparing for the meeting, but they do not run the meeting.  The board essentially does not exist except during board meetings, and this isn't one.  In particular, the board should not be seated together which might give the impression that they control the meeting.

Ballots, if they contain the names of candidates, should have only a check box next to the names, and a line or lines for write=ins.  The only way to vote against a candidate is to vote for someone else.

[Joshua Katz]

1 hour ago, Joe T said:

Wow, a whole can of worms there.  So down the rabbit hole we go.  All board members are also organization members.  So this is an annual membership meeting which the board presides over.  The board created the ballots and wrote the proxy votes to be either sent to them to vote matters or to a named person.  Since most members do not live in the area the proxies generally go to the board to use as they see fit since most owners do not know each other.  My assumption is that this is something they should not be doing at an annual membership meeting, which to me, is just electing new board members and us being told what changes the board is making.  

Runaway boards are only a problem so long as the membership allows them to run away.  Gather some other members and come up with a plan to assert yourselves.  Just about everything described here is incorrect, not just as a matter of formal rules, but as a matter of basic rights and organizational governance (unless, of course, your bylaws say something different).  Let's start here: do your bylaws authorize proxy voting?  Boards should not preside over meetings (and I don't see how more than one person can preside, as a matter of practice). If your rules allow proxies, what do they say about their operation?

A membership meeting should not be just about being told what changes the board is making.  The membership, not the board, is in charge, and the board has only those powers given in the bylaws - which the membership can amend (see disclaimer above).  The membership meeting should also be a chance for the members to make decisions including, potentially, overruling the board in areas in which your bylaws do not give the board exclusive authority.

[Josh Martin]

13 hours ago, Joe T said:

So this is an annual membership meeting which the board presides over.

No, “the board” as a whole does not preside over the meeting. Most likely, the President of the organization (who is also most likely the chairman of the board) presides.