Is ballot legal if requiring a signature on the actual ballot

[Guest B. F. Schmidt]

Board of Directors of Condominium Association has issued a ballot to the residents requesting changes to the By-Laws of the Association.  Voting requires a signature on the ballot itself as well as signature on the return envelope.  Ballot is therefore not secret.  Is this legal?

[Josh Martin]

6 minutes ago, Guest B. F. Schmidt said:

Board of Directors of Condominium Association has issued a ballot to the residents requesting changes to the By-Laws of the Association.  Voting requires a signature on the ballot itself as well as signature on the return envelope.  Ballot is therefore not secret.  Is this legal?

What do the bylaws say regarding this matter?

[Guest Secret ballot issue..]

The Bylaws are silent on this matter.

[Josh Martin]

5 minutes ago, Guest Secret ballot issue.. said:

The Bylaws are silent on this matter.

What exactly does this mean? Your bylaws say nothing whatsoever regarding mail voting? They say nothing whatsoever regarding amending the bylaws? They define these subjects but are silent on signatures? Please quote exactly what your bylaws say regarding any of these subjects.

What I will say in quite general terms is...

• If the bylaws truly are silent on all of this, then the vote is null and void since voting by mail is not permitted unless authorized in the bylaws.
• If the bylaws provide for a vote by mail and specifically require a "ballot vote," then this means a secret ballot unless otherwise specified. So if the bylaws do not require a signature, no signature is required.
• If the bylaws provide for a vote by mail and do not specify a "ballot vote," then the vote can be secret or not, at the society's discretion.

I'll feel a lot more confident providing an answer, however, when I am able to do so based on actual language in the bylaws.

[Guest The entirity of ByLaws]

3.4Voting Procedures Each owner of record may cast one vote per parcel owned.3.4.1Right to Vote If a parcel -is owned by -one person, his -right to vote -shall be established by the roster of members. If a parcel is owned by more than one person, except husband and wife, the person entitled to cast the vote for the parcel shall be designated by a certificate signed by all of the owners of record of the parcel according to the roster of members and filed with the Secretary of the Association prior to the meeting. If a parcel is owned by a corporation, the person entitled to cast the vote for the parcel shall be designated by a certificate -signed by the president or vice president and attested by the secretary or assistant secretary of the corporation and filed with the Secretary of the Association. Signed certificates shall be valid until revoked or until superseded by a subsequent certificate or until a change in the ownership of the parcel. A certificate designating the person entitled to cast the vote for a parcel may be revoked by any owner of a share in the parcel.3.4.2Appear in Person If only one person appears claiming the right to cast a vote for a given parcel and such person has any ownership interest in it or is an officer or agent of a corporation with an ownership interest, such vote shall be counted as if a certificate was on file.3.4.3Action in Lieu of Meeting In lieu of action taken at a meeting of members, the Association may act upon written consent of the owners of record obtained in accordance with law. The consent necessary to take any action shall be the same as that required to take the action at a meeting of members. 3.4.4Casting Votes Votes cast by owners of record in a regular meeting shall be in person or by limited proxy. Voting may be by written ballot, machine, voice, show of hands or other means as determined by the Board.3.4.5Limited Proxy A limited proxy, certified in advance by the Secretary of the Association, may be made by any person entitled to vote and shall be valid only for the specific meeting for which originally given and any lawful reconvening thereof. A limited proxy will not be valid for a period longer than ninety (90) days after the date of the first meeting for which it was given. Every limited proxy is revocable at any time at the pleasure of the owner who executed

[Josh Martin]

10 minutes ago, Guest The entirity of ByLaws said:

3.4.3Action in Lieu of Meeting In lieu of action taken at a meeting of members, the Association may act upon written consent of the owners of record obtained in accordance with law. The consent necessary to take any action shall be the same as that required to take the action at a meeting of members.

Thank you. Based on the facts provided, this appears to be the relevant provision. The rule in question refers to "written consent... in accordance with law." This does not seem, to me, to specifically require a secret ballot, although it may be beneficial to refer to the laws in question for a definitive answer.

[Atul Kapur]

Just focussing on the question of the signature, I have seen this with several corporations. I recommend you look at the law that applies to your Association to see if there's anything about this requirement in there.

[Richard Brown]

On 11/2/2020 at 12:16 PM, Guest The entirity of ByLaws said:

3.4.4Casting Votes Votes cast by owners of record in a regular meeting shall be in person or by limited proxy. Voting may be by written ballot, machine, voice, show of hands or other means as determined by the Board

i agree with my colleagues, but will add that to me, the highlighted language above is also pertinent.  The phrase "or other means as determined by the board" seems to me to mean the board can require signed ballots.  Taken as a whole, that section indicates that secrecy is not necessarily required since voting by voice and show of hands is also specifically permitted.

Edited November 6, 2020 at 05:34 PM by Richard Brown
Typographical corrections

[Josh Martin]

36 minutes ago, Richard Brown said:

i agree with my colleagues, but will add that to me, the highlighted language above is also pertinent.  The phrase "or other means as determined by the board" seems to me to mean the board can require signed ballots.  Taken as a whole, that section indicates that secrecy is not necessarily required since voting by voice and show of hands is also specifically permitted.

I think it is unclear, however, whether the rule in question applies outside the context of a meeting, as is the case here.