Annual election - no candidates

Started by PamelaM5 • 2 replies • 1273 views

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PamelaM5 (Florida)
Posts: 85

Posted:

My annual meeting is next month and no one filed by the deadline to run for the two board openings. We're going to send out ballots with spaces for write-in candidates, but this has been chaotic and confusing in the past, especially when members write in people who don't know they're being vote for.

Would it be appropriate to send an email and post the question on our website that anyone wanting to run as a write-in candidate let us know and we'll let the members know - using the same methods - that they're willing to be write-in candidates? I can see no downside, but maybe I'm too close to the issue to see it clearly.

We're a HOA in FL, and I don't see anything in FL 720 preventing us from doing this.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

You can but it can become expensive for the notifications.

Typically, nominations from the floor (which is basically what you would be asking for) works best when ballots are cast at a meeting. Voting by mail has the problem of notifications of who the floor nominees are. There is the expense of additional mailings to inform everyone of those who are willing to serve.

We actually had someone serve one year simply because a member wrote their name on the ballot. It was a year we had no candidates and the write in won with one vote. Therefore, we contacted them and offered the seat to them. If they said no, that would have been fine. However, they actually said yes and we were able to get work done because of that one write in.

PamelaM5 (Florida)
Posts: 85

Posted:

My understanding is that we did our job when we asked people to respond to a deadline that has already passed. This would just be an informal way of letting community members know who's willing to be written in and I don't know if it would be subject to the same regulations that the regular process is subject to. It sounds like you think it is, with all members being notified by mail, while I'm thinking of it being an unofficial way to publicize who wants to run as a write-in. We will, of course, have floor nominations at the meeting.

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 01/17/2014 7:13 AM
You can but it can become expensive for the notifications.

Typically, nominations from the floor (which is basically what you would be asking for) works best when ballots are cast at a meeting. Voting by mail has the problem of notifications of who the floor nominees are. There is the expense of additional mailings to inform everyone of those who are willing to serve.

We actually had someone serve one year simply because a member wrote their name on the ballot. It was a year we had no candidates and the write in won with one vote. Therefore, we contacted them and offered the seat to them. If they said no, that would have been fine. However, they actually said yes and we were able to get work done because of that one write in.

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