Guest ClubPrez Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:24 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:24 AM Hi -I'm getting ready to hold elections for our club. We mailed ballots weeks ago. I had 4 people running for 3 open board positions. Now I learn one of the nominees will likely decline the position. More than likely she will be one of the 3 with the most votes.If she withdraws before the meeting, what do I do about all the votes cast for her?If she is elected and then declines, and the #4 person does not have a majority of the votes, can I just put the runner up in her position or do I have to have an entire new election for the last seat?Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:26 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:26 AM Hi -I'm getting ready to hold elections for our club. We mailed ballots weeks ago. I had 4 people running for 3 open board positions. Now I learn one of the nominees will likely decline the position. More than likely she will be one of the 3 with the most votes.If she withdraws before the meeting, what do I do about all the votes cast for her?If she is elected and then declines, and the #4 person does not have a majority of the votes, can I just put the runner up in her position or do I have to have an entire new election for the last seat?Thank you for your help!Firstly, you seem to be assuming too much personal responsibility for this election.In any case, if the person who is elected declines the office, you vote again. And as often as necessary until someone is elected who is willing to serve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Goldsworthy Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:29 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 02:29 AM What do I do about all the votes cast for her?Count them!(That was easy!)One disadvantage of voting by mail is that there is no meeting ongoing. You cannot make changes on the fly. You cannot dynamically add new nominees. You cannot take off unwilling nominees.No wonder Robert's Rules of Order disallows voting by mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ClubPrez Posted June 3, 2010 at 03:06 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 03:06 AM Count them!(That was easy!)One disadvantage of voting by mail is that there is no meeting ongoing. You cannot make changes on the fly. You cannot dynamically add new nominees. You cannot take off unwilling nominees.No wonder Robert's Rules of Order disallows voting by mail.Why do you say Robert's Rules disallows voting by mail? It's in Art. VIII 46. The ballots are mailed in advance so we have a quorum of votes. We then have an annual meeting where the votes are opened and counted. So there can be changes at the meeting. But I will not have a quorum of members there to complete an entire new vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted June 3, 2010 at 03:13 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 03:13 AM Why do you say Robert's Rules disallows voting by mail? It's in Art. VIII 46. RONR does not (and never has) permitted absentee voting unless the bylaws specifically permits it (RONR pp. 408-409). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted June 3, 2010 at 04:00 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 04:00 AM Why do you say Robert's Rules disallows voting by mail? It's in Art. VIII 46. The ballots are mailed in advance so we have a quorum of votes. We then have an annual meeting where the votes are opened and counted. So there can be changes at the meeting. But I will not have a quorum of members there to complete an entire new vote.If you are looking at something that says "Article" you are not looking at the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th edition (2000). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted June 3, 2010 at 11:38 AM Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 at 11:38 AM I will not have a quorum of members there to complete an entire new vote.Individuals don't have quorums, meetings do. Or don't.Again, your use of the personal pronoun suggests an excessive sense of personal responsibility, if not personal control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted June 4, 2010 at 12:08 PM Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 at 12:08 PM ...The ballots are mailed in advance so we have a quorum of votes. We then have an annual meeting where the votes are opened and counted. So there can be changes at the meeting. But I will not have a quorum of members there to complete an entire new vote.'An organization should never adopt a bylaw permitting a question to be decided by a voting procedure in which the votes of persons who attend a meeting are counted together with ballots mailed in by absentees.' (RONR p. 409 ll. 4-7)Since RONR strongly recommends against what you are apparently doing, it will not provide much guidance on how to proceed when you run into problems here. Moreover, as others have pointed out, one hopes that voting by mail is specifically authorized in your bylaws; RONR does NOT authorize absentee voting. If the bylaws do authorize voting by mail, then details of procedure should be spelled out in the bylaws.> The ballots are mailed in advance so we have a quorum of votes. <This idea of making a quorum for the conduct of business, adding up mailed-in votes and actual live members at the meeting, is also not from RONR... so it would have to be spelled out in your bylaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted June 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM Since RONR strongly recommends against what you are apparently doing, it will not provide much guidance on how to proceed when you run into problems here.Yep.As a wise man said in this forum some years ago: "You can't seek shelter under the roof you're tearing down." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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