Ballot Question(s)

[keefe]

Each year prior to the Annual Meeting the Nominating Committee will research and nominate candidates to run for positions. Many times, these nominees held the position previously and their term had just expired so they are running again. The Nominating Committee doesn't make it a practice of nominating more candidates than there are available positions open, however, the membership can make a nomination from the floor if they feel someone else may be qualified for the position. Majority vote is required for election.

With that background information here are my questions. For example, there are two nominees on the ballot to fill two open board positions and the some of the membership does not feel that one nominee is qualified and therefore does not check the box next to the nominees' name. The result is that the nominee receives less than a majority of the votes cast in the affirmative. Does that nominee fail to get elected? Or because there are two open positions and two nominees each will get elected regardless of votes received?

 

[Rob Elsman]

In an election by ballot, there should, in your case, be two names and two blanks; thus, voters can 1) check both printed names, or 2) check one name and write in one name, or 3) check neither name and write in two names, or 4) cast a blank ballot.

Any eligible person who receives a majority vote is elected.  If there are fewer winners than there are seats to be filled, a second round of voting is held.  And a third, fourth, fifth, etc., until all the seats to be filled are filled.

In no case is anyone elected who has not received a majority vote.

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:07 PM, Rob Elsman said:

In an election by ballot, there should, in your case, be two names and two blanks; thus, voters can 1) check both printed names, or 2) check one name and write in one name, or 3) check neither name and write in two names, or 4) cast a blank ballot.

Or (5) check one name (and write in none), or (6) check neither name and write in one name.

[Rob Elsman]

Yes, indeed.  Darned me, anyway.  Now you know why I didn't become a mathematician.  I must have flunked permutations. 😐 

[keefe]

On 12/17/2021 at 12:07 PM, Rob Elsman said:

Any eligible person who receives a majority vote is elected.  If there are fewer winners than there are seats to be filled, a second round of voting is held.  And a third, fourth, fifth, etc., until all the seats to be filled are filled.

In no case is anyone elected who has not received a majority vote.

Thank you both for your responses!

Regarding the second round of voting and any necessary subsequent rounds, is the nominee that failed to be receive the majority vote eligible for election in the next round? Or are the subsequent rounds only for floor nominations/write-ins?

Edited December 17, 2021 at 06:34 PM by keefe

[Rob Elsman]

The nominee that lost in the first round is retained on the ballot for the second, third, fourth, etc., rounds, unless he decides to withdraw his nomination.

In most societies, a nominee can withdraw his name without a vote of the assembly.

In less common societies, members are obligated to accept nomination and election as a condition of membership.  In this case, the nominee would have to make a motion, Request to be Excused from a Duty, the adoption of which requires a majority vote.

[keefe]

Thank you! This has been informative and a great help! Would you provide me the page numbers so I can research this?

[Rob Elsman]

I recommend you read all of RONR (12th ed.) §46.  If you don't want to read the whole section, thumb through the subsection titles and read the paragraphs that are most relevant to your society and you.

[keefe]

Thank you, I will take a look again. I did look earlier but couldn't seem to find anything pertaining to my question even though I thought I had previously read something similar to your answer.

Edited December 17, 2021 at 07:03 PM by keefe

[Rob Elsman]

Specifically, look at §46:31-36.

[Atul Kapur]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:07 PM, Rob Elsman said:

voters can 1) check both printed names, or 2) check one name and write in one name, or 3) check neither name and write in two names, or 4) cast a blank ballot.

[Supplemented by (5) check one name (and write in none), or (6) check neither name and write in one name.]

Any eligible person who receives a majority vote is elected.

Please note that when you are calculating the total number of votes cast (so that you can calculate how many votes are required to be a majority), that any in category (4) are not counted. 

[keefe]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:45 PM, Atul Kapur said:

Please note that when you are calculating the total number of votes cast (so that you can calculate how many votes are required to be a majority), that any in category (4) are not counted. 

Atul,

In the instance of category (4) from above in Rob Elsman's post, "cast a blank ballot", is that not in effect saying that you don't choose either of the nominees and therefore it would be counted?

Edited December 17, 2021 at 08:06 PM by keefe

[Weldon Merritt]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:05 PM, keefe said:

Atul,

In the instance of category (4) from above in Rob Elsman's post, "cast a blank ballot", is that not in effect saying that you don't choose either of the nominees and therefore it would be counted?

No. Blank ballots are abstentions, and do not count toward the total votes cast.

[keefe]

Ok, I am trying to follow here. If the membership feels as though the nominee isn't qualified and chooses not to vote for him/her by leaving the box blank on the ballot that is an abstention? How then would that nominee fail to get a majority vote if blanks are counted as abstentions?

For example, Nominee X and Nominee Y are on a ballot and there are two positions to be filled and election requires a majority vote, there is also a spot for a write in. There are 10 members present at the meeting who cast a ballot. On that ballot 10 checked the box for Nominee X and only 1 checked the box for Nominee Y and there were no write-ins. My understanding is that having not received a majority vote, Nominee Y has not been elected. Is that correct?

 

 

[Weldon Merritt]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:32 PM, keefe said:

Ok, I am trying to follow here. If the membership feels as though the nominee isn't qualified and chooses not to vote for him/her by leaving the box blank on the ballot that is an abstention? How then would that nominee fail to get a majority vote if blanks are counted as abstentions?

For example, Nominee X and Nominee Y are on a ballot and there are two positions to be filled and election requires a majority vote, there is also a spot for a write in. There are 10 members present at the meeting who cast a ballot. On that ballot 10 checked the box for Nominee X and only 1 checked the box for Nominee Y and there were no write-ins. My understanding is that having not received a majority vote, Nominee Y has not been elected. Is that correct?

 

 

Yes, that is correct.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 12/17/2021 at 12:54 PM, keefe said:

Each year prior to the Annual Meeting the Nominating Committee will research and nominate candidates to run for positions. Many times, these nominees held the position previously and their term had just expired so they are running again. The Nominating Committee doesn't make it a practice of nominating more candidates than there are available positions open, however, the membership can make a nomination from the floor if they feel someone else may be qualified for the position. Majority vote is required for election.

With that background information here are my questions. For example, there are two nominees on the ballot to fill two open board positions and the some of the membership does not feel that one nominee is qualified and therefore does not check the box next to the nominees' name. The result is that the nominee receives less than a majority of the votes cast in the affirmative. Does that nominee fail to get elected? Or because there are two open positions and two nominees each will get elected regardless of votes received?

 

No.  As you noted above a majority vote is required for election  If a member does not get a vote on more than half of the ballots received for that position, the member is not elected. 

If the results of the election leave some seats unfilled, then the election is not complete, and additional rounds of balloting may be required.  Write-in votes are allowed, and nominations may be reopened between rounds of balloting.

Edited December 18, 2021 at 11:59 PM by Gary Novosielski
missing word

[Atul Kapur]

On 12/17/2021 at 3:32 PM, keefe said:

Ok, I am trying to follow here. If the membership feels as though the nominee isn't qualified and chooses not to vote for him/her by leaving the box blank on the ballot that is an abstention? How then would that nominee fail to get a majority vote if blanks are counted as abstentions?

For example, Nominee X and Nominee Y are on a ballot and there are two positions to be filled and election requires a majority vote, there is also a spot for a write in. There are 10 members present at the meeting who cast a ballot. On that ballot 10 checked the box for Nominee X and only 1 checked the box for Nominee Y and there were no write-ins. My understanding is that having not received a majority vote, Nominee Y has not been elected. Is that correct?

 

 

@Weldon Merritt answered above, correctly of course, but it sounds like there is still some misunderstanding about abstentions. So let's use a different example. Let's keep 10 ballots cast, two equivalent positions open, and nominees X and Y.

Five (5) ballots are checked for X only and no write-in. Four are checked for Y only and no write-in. One is blank with no write-in (category 4 from above).

The blank ballot is an abstention and is ignored. So a total of nine (9) valid ballots have been cast. Candidate X received 5 votes, a majority of 9, and is elected. Candidate Y received 4 votes, not a majority. 

So the election is incomplete and another round of voting should occur for the second position. X was elected and will not be on the ballot. 

[Gary Novosielski]

On 12/17/2021 at 3:32 PM, keefe said:

Ok, I am trying to follow here. If the membership feels as though the nominee isn't qualified and chooses not to vote for him/her by leaving the box blank on the ballot that is an abstention? How then would that nominee fail to get a majority vote if blanks are counted as abstentions?

For example, Nominee X and Nominee Y are on a ballot and there are two positions to be filled and election requires a majority vote, there is also a spot for a write in. There are 10 members present at the meeting who cast a ballot. On that ballot 10 checked the box for Nominee X and only 1 checked the box for Nominee Y and there were no write-ins. My understanding is that having not received a majority vote, Nominee Y has not been elected. Is that correct?

Blanks are not always counted as abstentions, especially not when there are multiple identical positions for a particular office on the ballot, which seems to be the case in this example..   

An abstention occurs if the ballot shows no indication of any preference for that office.  By casting one of the two possible votes, the voter has indicated a preference, and that is counted as a ballot cast.  If the voter had made no marks at all for that office, it would be counted as an abstention for that section of the ballot.

If there is only one seat open in a given section, such as an election for president, then leaving that single vote blank would count as an abstention.  The only way to vote against a candidate for an office is to vote for another candidate.  A write-in would fit that requirement.

But in your case, if a candidate acquires votes on less than a majority of the ballots cast, that candidate is not elected, at least not on that round of voting.

[keefe]

Thank you all for your responses it had helped me out greatly!

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 12/18/2021 at 6:54 PM, Atul Kapur said:

@Weldon Merritt answered above, correctly of course, but it sounds like there is still some misunderstanding about abstentions. So let's use a different example. Let's keep 10 ballots cast, two equivalent positions open, and nominees X and Y.

Five (5) ballots are checked for X only and no write-in. Four are checked for Y only and no write-in. One is blank with no write-in (category 4 from above).

The blank ballot is an abstention and is ignored. So a total of nine (9) valid ballots have been cast. Candidate X received 5 votes, a majority of 9, and is elected. Candidate Y received 4 votes, not a majority. 

So the election is incomplete and another round of voting should occur for the second position. X was elected and will not be on the ballot. 

And the assembly should be aware that in the second round of voting, if no one else is nominated and Y is the only nominee on the ballot, the only way* that Y will fail to get a majority of the votes cast is if the number who vote for Y is less than or equal to the number who write in another candidate onto their ballots. If one member votes for Y and everyone else casts a blank ballot, Y still wins that second seat.

"[I]n order to defeat a candidate for an office it is necessary to vote for an opposing candidate, thus avoiding the anomaly of an assembly refusing to elect anyone to an office." RONR (12th ed.) 46:1

*(not considering shenanigans like multiple ballots illegally folded together)

[J. J.]

An old example illustrating the point:

"For example, assume that Ms. Patterson and Ms. Wagner are running for two seats on a board.  Ninety ballots are cast with at least one vote on it, with the following results:

40 ballots are marked for Patterson and Wagner.

4 ballots are marked for Patterson alone.

46 ballots are marked for Wagner alone.

Total:

Patterson, 44 votes.

Wagner, 86 votes.

Even though the election was uncontested, Patterson does not have a majority, again 46 (in whole numbers), and is not elected.  A second ballot, with just Patterson on it, would be needed (The majority could re-open nominations and, normally, write-in votes are permitted.  Absent a rule or bylaw provision, the voting would not necessarily be limited to those people on the ballot.  Likewise any candidate could withdraw at this point .)

This partial abstention is so common that it has even made it into the parliamentary lexicon as a “bullet vote (Riddick, p. 199).”   In this case, the voter might be uncomfortable with Patterson, but no one else is willing to take the position. 

(Taken from, "Multiple Candidate Election Surprises," Parliamentary Journal, April 2010)