Is not receiving a vote counted as a "no" vote?

Recently, our Board send out a ballot regarding allowing sheds in our community. In the ballot they said if they don't receive a response, then it will be counted as a "no." There were 42 yes votes, 17 no votes and 67 no response votes. The Board counted those no response votes as a no and therefore the petition for sheds did not go through.

Can they count those no response votes as a no?

We are in Michigan. Please help.

It depends a lot on what the objective of the vote was.

If your CC&R's prohibit sheds and the same document requires 2/3 of the owners (or some other percentage) to approve an amendment, then non-votes are the same as a "no."

On the other hand, if the no-shed thing is a rule adopted by the board then your state law on association voting would govern. My math says you have 126 homeowners and 59 of them cast ballots. The 47% who voted may constitute a quorum and, if they do, then the measure carried 42 to 17. The percentage of ballots cast to owners eligible to vote is what determines a quorum and in some states can be as low as 10% or may be a percentage set forth in the bylaws or the articles of incorporation.

My first guess would be that sheds are prohibited by your CC&R's. If they are, a ballot may not even be the correct vehicle for amending them. Most CC&R's have language to the effect that to amend them a certain percentage of owners must sign the amendment and that the amendment must be recorded. Holding an election, even if it the amendment gets the required votes, may not satisfy the requirements set forth in the CC&R's. My recommendation is always to circulate an amendment by going door-to-door and getting owners to sign off. Most CC&R's allow owners to amend them without the approval or participation of the board. By circulating an amendment, you will have virtually unlimited time to get the owner approval required.

BTW, I concluded a long time ago that it is easier to amend my state constitution than it is to amend my CC&R's. The constitution is amended by a simple majority of those who cast ballots on election day.

Thank you. You clarified some things and pointed me in the right direction.

I checked the bylaws. We needed 75% of the total homeowners for passage.

Thank you so much.

There's your answer. You needed 75% of 126, or 95 "yes" votes, for passage. There were only 47 "yes" votes. In this case, as I pointed out earlier, an abstention (not voting at all) had the same effect as a "no" vote. The warning stated on the ballot was correct.


Kelly,

This could also be interpreted as a warning to not be apathetic and advice to those in favor of allowing sheds, as if to say: "Do nothing and your vote will the same as a "no" vote. So if you want to allow sheds, be sure to send in your vote."

On my first BOD one with more experience explained it to me like this:

He said that when a % of YES votes is needed to make something happen that while a non-vote is not a NO, that in the final count it has the result of a NO vote.

Your BOD just made it easy for people to vote NO. I assume the BOD did not want the amendment to pass.