Election with Several Empty Nominations

[Niki Lynn]

This should be an easy one, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything important:

501(c)3 group with 40 active members, holding elections for 10 offices, for which only 5 nominations have been accepted. 1 member has accepted 2 of those 5 nominations and members can only hold one office at a time, so technically, there will only be 4 offices seated in this election at most. Secret ballots will be used for each office.

There are no specifications in bylaws about percentages or # of votes needed for a nominee to be successful (besides the mention of quorum needing to be met to proceed with voting in the first place), so in this case, it is just a simple majority rules situation, right? In other words, a minimum of 21 affirmative votes gets these nominees seated in offices, and nothing else is needed besides this criterion being met, yes? Once seated, the President can/will appoint officers to open positions.

Am I missing anything here? Thank you!

Edited January 26, 2022 at 11:22 PM by Niki Lynn

[Joshua Katz]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:21 PM, Niki Lynn said:

a minimum of 21 affirmative votes gets these nominees seated in offices

Not necessarily. It is a majority of votes cast, not total membership (unless your rules say otherwise). So it does not necessarily require 21 votes. And this is only if your bylaws require a balloted vote. Otherwise, they would simply be declared elected.

Keep in mind also, that these are not "yes" votes, they are votes for the candidate. 

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:25 PM, Joshua Katz said:

Not necessarily. It is a majority of votes cast, not total membership (unless your rules say otherwise). So it does not necessarily require 21 votes. And this is only if your bylaws require a balloted vote. Otherwise, they would simply be declared elected.

Keep in mind also, that these are not "yes" votes, they are votes for the candidate. 

So sorry- I wasn't clear enough. Assuming 40 members attend like usual, the number would be 21, correct?

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:25 PM, Joshua Katz said:

Keep in mind also, that these are not "yes" votes, they are votes for the candidate. 

Can you elaborate on this? Since there is only one nominee per each office, there is only "Yes" or "No" on the ballot for each nominee.

[Weldon Merritt]

On 1/26/2022 at 4:36 PM, Niki Lynn said:

Since there is only one nominee per each office, there is only "Yes" or "No" on the ballot for each nominee.

No, that is not correct. the only legitimate way to vote against a candidate is to vote for another candidate. Even if there is only a single nominee, the voters' choices are to vote for that candidate, abstain, of vote for another eligible person (which may include a write-in candidate). 

[Atul Kapur]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:33 PM, Niki Lynn said:

So sorry- I wasn't clear enough. Assuming 40 members attend like usual, the number would be 21, correct?

Not quite. Even if all 40 attend, it's a majority of the votes cast that is required to elect.

Say that, for one position, 10 leave that part of the ballot blank. Those are abstentons, leaving 30 valid votes.  16 votes, a majority of the 30 votes cast, are required to elect. And that assumes that a ballot vote is required, even if there is only one nominee.

[Josh Martin]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:21 PM, Niki Lynn said:

This should be an easy one, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything important:

501(c)3 group with 40 active members, holding elections for 10 offices, for which only 5 nominations have been accepted. 1 member has accepted 2 of those 5 nominations and members can only hold one office at a time, so technically, there will only be 4 offices seated in this election at most. Secret ballots will be used for each office.

There are no specifications in bylaws about percentages or # of votes needed for a nominee to be successful (besides the mention of quorum needing to be met to proceed with voting in the first place), so in this case, it is just a simple majority rules situation, right? In other words, a minimum of 21 affirmative votes gets these nominees seated in offices, and nothing else is needed besides this criterion being met, yes? 

It is not proper to vote "yes" or "no" in an election. If the bylaws require that there are certain officers, the question before the assembly is not whether to elect someone to the office, it is who to elect. For each office, persons may vote for any eligible person. Those ballots which list a person are counted as a vote, and a member must receive a majority of such votes to be elected. Additionally, for any positions which are unfilled, another round of voting is held. So ultimately, these persons will be elected unless other candidates are found. If there is an eligible nominee for an office, electing "no one" isn't an option.

In addition, since the organization has only managed to obtain nominees to fill less than half of the offices, it would seem prudent for the organization to consider some changes to its bylaws, such as by combining offices to reduce the number of officers and/or removing the prohibition against members holding multiple offices.

It should also be noted that if the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the assembly should skip the election altogether and the chair can simply declare the nominees elected (although the one person nominated to two offices will have to pick one).

On 1/26/2022 at 5:21 PM, Niki Lynn said:

Once seated, the President can/will appoint officers to open positions.

Just to be clear, your bylaws authorize the President to do this?

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:11 PM, Weldon Merritt said:

No, that is not correct. the only legitimate way to vote against a candidate is to vote for another candidate. Even if there is only a single nominee, the voters' choices are to vote for that candidate, abstain, of vote for another eligible person (which may include a write-in candidate). 

OK, thank you–so the ballot needs to read "Yes" and "Abstain" as the choices, or just "Yes" and nothing else as a choice, and if they choose to abstain, then they just don't choose yes (leave the ballot blank). Do I have that right?

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/26/2022 at 8:01 PM, Atul Kapur said:

Not quite. Even if all 40 attend, it's a majority of the votes cast that is required to elect.

Say that, for one position, 10 leave that part of the ballot blank. Those are abstentons, leaving 30 valid votes.  16 votes, a majority of the 30 votes cast, are required to elect. And that assumes that a ballot vote is required, even if there is only one nominee.

I totally forgot about this aspect. Thank you for the reminder!

[Weldon Merritt]

On 1/27/2022 at 10:21 AM, Niki Lynn said:

OK, thank you–so the ballot needs to read "Yes" and "Abstain" as the choices, or just "Yes" and nothing else as a choice, and if they choose to abstain, then they just don't choose yes (leave the ballot blank). Do I have that right?

No! The ballot needs to list the names of the nominees, and one or more lines for write-ins (depending n the number of offices to be filled), with a box or space next to each name and write-in space. Then the voters choices are: (1) place a mark next to the name(s) of the candidate(s) for whom they wish to vote; write in the name(s) of anyone else for whom they wish to vote, and pace a mark next to each of those lines; or (3) abstain, which they can do either by submitting a blank ballot (no names selected) or by not submitting a ballot at all. "Abstain" need not (and arguably should not) be listed as a choice, as it is meaningless. Members marking "abstain" (if that choice were included on the ballot), members submitting a blank ballot, and members submitting no ballot at all, each have abstained (which simply means to not vote), and are not counted toward the number of votes cast.

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/27/2022 at 12:27 PM, Weldon Merritt said:

No! The ballot needs to list the names of the nominees, and one or more lines for write-ins (depending n the number of offices to be filled), with a box or space next to each name and write-in space. Then the voters choices are: (1) place a mark next to the name(s) of the candidate(s) for whom they wish to vote; write in the name(s) of anyone else for whom they wish to vote, and pace a mark next to each of those lines; or (3) abstain, which they can do either by submitting a blank ballot (no names selected) or by not submitting a ballot at all. "Abstain" need not (and arguably should not) be listed as a choice, as it is meaningless. Members marking "abstain" (if that choice were included on the ballot), members submitting a blank ballot, and members submitting no ballot at all, each have abstained (which simply means to not vote), and are not counted toward the number of votes cast.

There is only one nominee per open position. We use individual ballots per office. No write-ins are allowed. 

[Bruce Lages]

Do your bylaws actually require a ballot vote? If they don't, then the one nominee per open position can be declared elected by acclamation, and then you would hold an election for the remaining open positions. But also, importantly, why do you say that write-ins are not allowed? Do you have bylaw language regarding this?  If so, can you quote it exactly?

[Josh Martin]

On 1/27/2022 at 11:21 AM, Niki Lynn said:

OK, thank you–so the ballot needs to read "Yes" and "Abstain" as the choices, or just "Yes" and nothing else as a choice, and if they choose to abstain, then they just don't choose yes (leave the ballot blank). Do I have that right?

A ballot can simply be a blank slip of paper. In the event the society prefers to use preprinted ballots, the ballots should include the names of the candidate(s) and a write-in spot. There is no need to include a choice for "Abstain," since a member may abstain on a particular office simply by leaving that section of the ballot blank.

On 1/27/2022 at 12:33 PM, Niki Lynn said:

There is only one nominee per open position. We use individual ballots per office. No write-ins are allowed. 

Do the bylaws in fact provide that "No write-ins are allowed"? If so, I suppose the election will really be a formality. If not, write-ins are allowed.

I would also check whether the bylaws require a ballot vote. As has previously been noted, if the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the chair may simply declare the candidates elected by acclamation if there is only one candidate for each office. If the bylaws do require a ballot vote, it may be prudent to amend the bylaws for the future to provide an exception in the event that there is only one candidate for each office.

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/27/2022 at 1:16 PM, Josh Martin said:

A ballot can simply be a blank slip of paper. In the event the society prefers to use preprinted ballots, the ballots should include the names of the candidate(s) and a write-in spot. There is no need to include a choice for "Abstain," since a member may abstain on a particular office simply by leaving that section of the ballot blank.

Do the bylaws in fact provide that "No write-ins are allowed"? If so, I suppose the election will really be a formality. If not, write-ins are allowed.

I would also check whether the bylaws require a ballot vote. As has previously been noted, if the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the chair may simply declare the candidates elected by acclamation if there is only one candidate for each office. If the bylaws do require a ballot vote, it may be prudent to amend the bylaws for the future to provide an exception in the event that there is only one candidate for each office.

Yes, the bylaws do state that no write-ins are allowed. The bylaws also require a secret ballot vote. 

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/27/2022 at 6:28 AM, Josh Martin said:

It is not proper to vote "yes" or "no" in an election. If the bylaws require that there are certain officers, the question before the assembly is not whether to elect someone to the office, it is who to elect. For each office, persons may vote for any eligible person. Those ballots which list a person are counted as a vote, and a member must receive a majority of such votes to be elected. Additionally, for any positions which are unfilled, another round of voting is held. So ultimately, these persons will be elected unless other candidates are found. If there is an eligible nominee for an office, electing "no one" isn't an option.

In addition, since the organization has only managed to obtain nominees to fill less than half of the offices, it would seem prudent for the organization to consider some changes to its bylaws, such as by combining offices to reduce the number of officers and/or removing the prohibition against members holding multiple offices.

It should also be noted that if the bylaws do not require a ballot vote, the assembly should skip the election altogether and the chair can simply declare the nominees elected (although the one person nominated to two offices will have to pick one).

Just to be clear, your bylaws authorize the President to do this?

At the time of the vote, there will only be one eligible person for each office being voted on. So, instead of "yes/no" options, should the voter only see the nominee name on the ballot, and either circle it to express a vote for this nominee, or abstain by not circling it? Writing "abstain" was never encouraged as I recall from past threads, and I am not sure how else one could abstain besides just wadding up the ballot and tossing on the way out the door //content.invisioncic.com/r127373/emoticons/default_smile.png

The organization is in transition right now which explains why several offices remain open, as we will be restructuring next month, and this vote will seat the leaders who will be championing that for the group. The transition will lead to far fewer offices and responsibilities in general.

The bylaws do require a secret ballot vote.

Yes, the bylaws state the President "shall" appoint officers when there is a vacancy.

Edited January 27, 2022 at 11:09 PM by Niki Lynn
typographical error & clarification

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/27/2022 at 12:55 PM, Bruce Lages said:

Do your bylaws actually require a ballot vote? If they don't, then the one nominee per open position can be declared elected by acclamation, and then you would hold an election for the remaining open positions. But also, importantly, why do you say that write-ins are not allowed? Do you have bylaw language regarding this?  If so, can you quote it exactly?

Yes, our bylaws require a secret ballot vote.

The language that prohibits write-ins is, "No nominations will be accepted after the January general meeting."
The vote is at February general meeting, and the nominating committee submits the list of nominees at the January meeting (which occurred 2 weeks ago).

[Dan Honemann]

On 1/27/2022 at 6:06 PM, Niki Lynn said:

Yes, our bylaws require a secret ballot vote.

The language that prohibits write-ins is, "No nominations will be accepted after the January general meeting."

The language you quoted does not prohibit write-in votes.

[Josh Martin]

On 1/27/2022 at 5:03 PM, Niki Lynn said:

So, instead of "yes/no" options, should the voter only see the nominee name on the ballot, and either circle it to express a vote for this nominee, or abstain by not circling it?

Whether the assembly prefers to instruct members to circle the name or use checkmarks or something else is at the assembly's discretion, but yes, you generally have the right idea.

On 1/27/2022 at 5:06 PM, Niki Lynn said:

The language that prohibits write-ins is, "No nominations will be accepted after the January general meeting."

This does not prohibit write-in votes. A write-in vote (by definition) is a candidate who has not been nominated. So the fact that nominations are prohibited is immaterial.

So based on these facts, it seems to me members may 1) vote for the candidate listed on the ballot, 2) write-in a candidate of their choice, 3) abstain.

[Niki Lynn]

Thanks, everyone!

[Gary Novosielski]

On 1/27/2022 at 1:33 PM, Niki Lynn said:

No write-ins are allowed. 

I hope this is written somewhere.  What's written in RONR is that write-ins are allowed.

[Atul Kapur]

On 1/28/2022 at 5:35 PM, Gary Novosielski said:

I hope this is written somewhere.  What's written in RONR is that write-ins are allowed.

Don't keep yourself in suspense, Gary.
Read all the way to the end of the thread.
😉

Edited January 29, 2022 at 03:19 AM by Atul Kapur

[Gary Novosielski]

On 1/28/2022 at 10:17 PM, Atul Kapur said:

Don't keep yourself in suspense, Gary.
Read all the way to the end of the thread.
😉

Yeah.  Turns out there wasn't.

[Niki Lynn]

On 1/27/2022 at 5:56 PM, Dan Honemann said:

The language you quoted does not prohibit write-in votes.

Quick Question, Dan (and any others who wish to chime in): If no one else is able to accept nominations at the time of the vote, why would write-ins be allowed at that time? The nominating committee would have to vet that candidate just like an other nominee, so I am not sure what makes that scenario different.

[Atul Kapur]

There is a difference between a nominated candidate and a qualified (or "eligible") candidate.

Anyone can write in any name on a ballot. There is no restriction in RONR that a voter is limited to the names of people who have been nominated. The vast majority of the time, the vast majority of voters will limit themselves to voting for someone who is nominated, but sometimes write-in candidates even win.

A vote for someone who is not nominated is as legal as a vote for someone who is, unless, a nomination is required for the office/position. A vote for someone who is ineligible for the position is an illegal vote. You have not shown us anything to say that a person has to be nominated (and vetted by the nomination committee) in order to be eligible for the position. There may be good reasons to make nomination/vetting a requirement to be eligible, but you cannot assume that it is unless that is in your governing documents.

[Dan Honemann]

On 1/27/2022 at 7:09 PM, Josh Martin said:

 A write-in vote (by definition) is a candidate who has not been nominated. So the fact that nominations are prohibited is immaterial.