VOTING BALLOTS

600 home HOA in Florida. We do not send out voting ballots in the annual meeting package. In the package is the agenda, a proxy, and a bio of those homeowners running for the board. Our By-Laws state that voting must be by proxy or at the meeting. Also, you can be nominated from the floor. Several homeowners want to have the voting ballots in the annual meeting package.

How many HOA's send the voting ballot out and why? The ballot can be copied and a homeowner can vote more than once and the homeowner who is nominated from the floor wouldn't have a chance.

Charles

Looks lke your board is trying to get as many owners at the meeting as possible to vote. The fact that you accept nominations from the floor makes it important to attend the meeting.

Proxies should be used ONLY when the person absolutely cannot attend the meeting.

Mixing proxies, ballots and nominations from the floor just does not work. So attend the meeting OR send your proxy with someone, giving them permission to vote as they see fit or as directed by you.

Charles,

All 4 of my Florida HOAs use mail in ballots which are included in the mailed package, the same as your package is. The ballots have 2 envelopes, the inner one contains the ballot and is sealed after vote selections. It is then put into an outer envelope which is addressed to the HOA office, and has the identification number of the unit/address or however the homes are I.D'd. That outer envelope has a signature line for the voter on records name. Mailed, it then gets opened and the outer envelope with the I.D is marked off on a tally sheet. This insures that only 1 vote comes in from a unit.

The sealed envelopes with the ballot goes into a secure place UNTIL the vote is counted at an open meeting. A watch committee counts them and reports the result during the meeting. That would include proxies as well.

Floor nominations should be eliminated because of 600 members, that process becomes very unsuccessful in trying to get a win.

What is everyone's opinion on a Board sending out Proxies and in their letter stating if the proxie is not returned they will take their proxie and use as they see fit. This happened at our last annual meeting so they could vote themselves back on the Board.

Nancy,

A person cannot give theirself a proxie! If the members of your assn didn't rebel against this tactic then they are getting exactly what they deserve.

Nancy - I hope that you will insist that a "Teller" run the election. That person(s) verifies all ballots and proxies and eligible voters, conducts the election, counts the ballots and give the results to the presiding officer to announce.

Management companies should not run elections, IMHO.

Bring in a neutral, independent person(s), if needed to run the election.