Another Proxy question

[PCRHOA]

Our HOA by-laws state:

"At any meeting of the Association, every Membership having the right to vote shall be entitled to vote in person or by written proxy. Subject to Colorado Statutes, such proxy shall be valid for such meetings or subsequent adjourned meething thereof and shall be filed with the Secretary prior to the meeting at which the same is to be used."

The way the proxies have been used is that some members will solicit proxies from other members who will not be present at the HOA meetings. The present members with the proxies will vote all proxies the way they want them voted, regardless of how the non-present member might have voted them. In general, it is not known before the meeting what issues, if any, we might vote on during the meeting, thus making a directed proxy somewhat impossible.

There is also a limit of 6 votes per present-member meaning if I am going to be at the meeting I can vote a total of 6 proxies by "giving away" my vote to some other present member (now that member has 1 proxy vote, which was my vote). Or, I could vote from 0-5 proxies plus my own vote for a total of 1-6 votes. There is nothing in our bylaws that talk about this limit.

At our last HOA meeting one member who was present gave her vote to another member who was present so that she (member 1) could vote 6 proxies her way. The member she gave her vote to voted the opposite of the way she (member 1) wanted her to vote. I personally thought it served her right.

I'd like to hear your thoughts/comments on this. I have looked through the Colorado laws on this and cannot come up with a clear understanding of how it applies.

[J. J.]

Based on your quoted bylaws, the action appears to be valid.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

"Subject to Colorado Statutes, such proxy shall be valid for such meetings or subsequent adjourned meeting thereof and shall be filed with the Secretary prior to the meeting at which the same is to be used."

...

I have looked through the Colorado laws on this and cannot come up with a clear understanding of how it applies.

Proxy voting is not allowed under Robert's Rules of Order.

If you have rules which allow for proxy voting, then you are on your own as to how to use them.

Commenting on Colorado law is WAY beyond the scope of this forum.

[Dan Honemann]

See the answer to FAQ #10.