Condo Annual Meeting & Election in Florida

Started by NicholasL3 • 2 replies • 2431 views

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NicholasL3 (Florida)
Posts: 5

Posted:

Our Condo Association will be holding it's annual meeting and election soon and was wondering if I can get some clarification. Our Bylaws state that "The election of directors shall be by written ballot or voting machine. Proxies shall in no event be used in electing the Board at general elections ot to fill vacancies caused by resignation or otherwise, provided, however, that limited proxies may be used to fill a vacancy resulting from the recall of a director, in the manner provided by the rules of the Division. Elections shall be decided by a plurality of those ballots and votes cast. There shall be no quorum requirement, however at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast a ballot in order to have a valid election of members of the Board. There shall be no cumulative voting."

Since there is no quorum requirements to hold an election, do we use only the ballots to establish the 20%? Can we use absentee ballots in order to establish the 20% with or without the limited proxy? Or does 20% of the eligible voters need to be present?

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Since this is an annual election and not the filling of a vacancy resulting from the recall of a director, I would say limited proxies would not apply.

I assume, from what you posted, that absentee ballots are allowed, meaning that a homeowner can cast a ballot without attending the annual meeting. Since there is no quorum requirement, it would mean that there is no minimum number of homeowners that need to attend the annual meeting for the business conducted during the meeting to be valid. The "at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast a ballot in order to have a valid election" part means, at least to me, that the sum of the ballots cast in person at the annual meeting and the absentee ballots cast by those not attending the meeting, must be equal to, or greater than, 20% of the homeowners that are elegible to vote.

Example: There are 100 homeowners eligble to vote. Only 5 homeowners attend the annual meeting and cast a ballot. As long as you have 15 or more absentee ballots, you have a valid election. (5+15=20, which is 20% of 100).

That's my interpretation.

AnnJ1 (Florida)
Posts: 122

Posted:

Hi Nicholas,
Yes, according to the Florida statutes for condominiums, absentee ballots may be used for establishment of the necessary 20%. Below is a snippet from the statutes and I am attaching a pdf file (published by the Fl Division) which explains the process required for elections. It details the "handling" of absentee ballots etc.

718.112 Bylaws (d) Unit owner meetings.— 3a.

The division shall by rule establish voting procedures consistent with this sub-subparagraph, including rules establishing procedures for giving notice by electronic transmission and rules providing for the secrecy of ballots. Elections shall be decided by a plurality of those ballots cast. There is no quorum requirement; however, at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast a ballot in order to have a valid election of members of the board. A unit owner may not permit any other person to vote his or her ballot, and any ballots improperly cast are invalid, provided any unit owner who violates this provision may be fined by the association in accordance with s. 718.303.

HTH,
Ann

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