Hoa first board election

Started by AlleneF • 8 replies • 1354 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

AlleneF (Illinois)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Hello

New here and to HOA laws in general. We recently had our hoa turned over to us, but the developer still has voting rights for 56 vacant lots (126 total lots in subdivision).

We had an initial election and there were two errors. One: another HOA's name was listed on the proxy, along with the correct one. 2: one member going for the presidency used his nickname, not his legal name on the ballot.

Over 30# members are calling for a re-vote. Do the mistakes above make the election null & void?

What is the process for handling the new election?

Thank you

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

IMO no but I'm not an attorney. The standard for a nonprofit corporation is a bit lower than for public office. As long as the H/O could reasonably know and understand who they were voting for it shouldn't matter. They of course have the option to call a special meeting to recall the persons elected and hold another vote, there should be a section in your CC&R's on how to do this. We used to have a member on our Board whose name on the ballot was Larry rather than his given name of Lawrence, simply because that's how everyone knew him. Or was it a more esoteric nickname like Bubba or Slim?

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

One thing you may want to consider is whether these two votes made a difference in the outcome of the election.

If so, the vote could be declared null and void and held again, but really, they don't seem so outrageous as to require a whole nuther election.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

AlleneF,
IMO the mistakes do not make the election null & void. The proxy is slightly flawed but the use of a person's nick name is not if the members knew them. If enough members do not like the results they have recourse through the association's Bylaws.

The process for those objecting would be to follow the Bylaws.
The 30+ members objecting may be able to get enough signatures on a petition to have a Special Members Meeting via a petition. The petition would need to state specifically all business which would be on the agenda for such a meeting, i.e., vote to remove Board members who were elected because the flawed proxies, which resulted in obtaining a quorum, should not have been counted. Or the ballots were flawed by using the nickname rather than using the name of the owner of record. If the meeting is held the purpose of the meeting also should include election to fill any resulting vacancies.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Allen

I agree with Rodger, the errors were so minor that the election stands.

Along the same lines, there was a court issue once about correct spelling on write in names. The name was unique, and hard to spell but the court ruled if the spelling was close, it was counted. Of course their opponents claimed otherwise.

MikeN4 (South Carolina)
Posts: 10

Posted:

Hi all,

I've been learning a great deal from this forum and all of the very
learned subjects and replies.

Please help me a bit more.

Does "another HOA's name was listed on the proxy, along with the correct one"
mean that another Home Owner Association was listed on the proxy as well as
another?

Thanks,

Mike.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

If there was confusion about a ballot, the "teller" (election verifier) could have discarded the confusiing ballot.

My question was not answered: Did these two ballots impact the outcome of the vote?

AlleneF (Illinois)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I guess I was not clear on my first post.

All the proxies had the wrong name for the hoa. All the ballots had the nickname.

I appreciate all the input and am also looking for something official, like a statute or a law or something.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Allen

How wrong was the name of the association on the proxy? Do you believe those that signed the eproxies thought they were signing for anyplace other then your association regardless of the name on the proxy?

According to your earlier numbers the declarant has 44% (56 of 126?) of the vote. If the declarant votes their 44% one way, I doubt the rest of the owners could ever overcome that. Assuming all the owners vote one way and the declarant votes the other way it will be 56% homeowners to 44% declarant. It appears that at this time you do not have the power to do most anything the declarant does not want to do especially if a quorum of 66 or 75% is required.

Even if you can overturn the election, what makes you think it will go any different?

Hope this helps.

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here