Illegal votes and re-voting

[RSW]

Per RONR 45:32:

Quote

All ballots that indicate a preference—provided they have been cast by persons entitled to vote—are taken into account in determining the number of votes cast for purposes of computing the majority. Each such ballot is credited to the voter’s preferred candidate or choice if the meaning of the ballot is clear and the choice is valid. Unintelligible ballots or ballots cast for an unidentifiable or ineligible candidate are treated instead as illegal votes—that is, they are counted as votes cast but are not credited to any candidate or choice.

So in the situation of a single candidate (Candidate A) and a bylaws-required ballot vote, let's say there are 100 ballots collected. This candidate is very unpopular, so these are broken down as:

* Candidate A - 35 votes
* Blank ballots - 25 votes
* Donald Duck - 40 votes

Per RONR, it would seem that the blank ballots get set off to the side, because they're blank. Obviously Donald Duck isn't an eligible candidate, and therefore can't be elected. It seems RONR is saying that we would subtract the blank ballots from the total (100), as there's no candidate preference indicated. That gives us 75 votes for computing the majority, and thus Candidate A received 35/75, which isn't a majority. Donald Duck is ineligible to be elected, so a re-ballot is therefore required.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Presumably it would then be the responsibility of the assembly to find somebody that *could* get over 50% of the vote, or to have further debate and get some of the blanks / Donald Duck votes to switch?

Edited May 25, 2021 at 01:47 PM by RSW

[Richard Brown]

17 minutes ago, RSW said:

So in the situation of a single candidate (Candidate A) and a bylaws-required ballot vote, let's say there are 100 ballots collected. This candidate is very unpopular, so these are broken down as:

* Candidate A - 35 votes
* Blank ballots - 25 votes
* Donald Duck - 40 votes

Per RONR, it would seem that the blank ballots get set off to the side, because they're blank. Obviously Donald Duck isn't an eligible candidate, and therefore can't be elected. It seems RONR is saying that we would subtract the blank ballots from the total (100), as there's no candidate preference indicated. That gives us 75 votes for computing the majority, and thus Candidate A received 35/75, which isn't a majority. Donald Duck is ineligible to be elected, so a re-ballot is therefore required.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Yes

17 minutes ago, RSW said:

Presumably it would then be the responsibility of the assembly to find somebody that *could* get over 50% of the vote, or to have further debate and get some of the blanks / Donald Duck votes to switch?

Well, sort of.  There would not be further debate unless nominations are reopened or a motion is adopted to permit debate. Per the rules in RONR the assembly would just keep re-voting until a valid candidate wins. If it appears that won’t happen, nominations can be reopened by a majority vote.  It is also possible for a write-in candidate to be elected.

The election can also be postponed until the next meeting in the hopes that a solution or a suitable candidate will be found.

Edited May 25, 2021 at 02:07 PM by Richard Brown
Edited first sentence of 2nd answer.

[RSW]

Thanks for the confirmation.

Regarding the second part, when I said:

58 minutes ago, RSW said:

Presumably it would then be the responsibility of the assembly to find somebody that *could* get over 50% of the vote, or to have further debate and get some of the blanks / Donald Duck votes to switch?

I was more going for the idea of "Candidate A doesn't just become 'elected' because he/she is unopposed". There are some groups that seem to have the idea that an unopposed candidate will automatically get elected.

[Atul Kapur]

If the bylaws require a ballot vote, than a ballot must still be conducted even if there is only one candidate for an office.

If the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, or make an exception when there is only one candidate for an office, then a candidate who is not opposed is declared elected by acclamation.