BOD Elections - Write in / Nomination from floor

Bill

Allow me to add one more thing before I address your post. Proxy voting is allowed in SC unless your Bylaws say otherwise so be prepared for this.

In an election there needs to be an election oversight committee and one of their functions is to verify the person(s) nominated is eligible. This includes one nominated from the floor and any write-ins. Typically any nominated from the floor can be verified as eligible before the voting begins. Write-ins can only be verified as the votes are being counted as no one saw their name before. Nobody wastes there time verifying Mickey Mouse when he gets a write in vote.

Typically it is the person himself that nominates himself from the floor. You are suggesting someone not in attendance could be nominated by someone in attendance. I would expect the nominator would have to have something in writing from the person he nominated saying the person allows his name to be putin nomination. One cannot willy-nilly nominate another and expect it to be valid.

As far as a person being elected with only one vote, I suppose it could happen. It would mean all others eligible to vote did not vote. Generally in order to hold an election you need a quorum and requiring such means there is more then one person there and If so, then I fully expect more then one will vote. I do not see this as a concern. Have you even considered the quorum issue?

My experience says that typically an individual nominated from the floor has little chance of winning especially if he is not well known.

My opinion is if the winner(s) are not in attendance to accept, then the oversight committee will have to verify they are willing to accept election and serve before validating the election results. The election results might not be final before the meeting ends.

Hope this helps.

Bill,

We also have nominations from the floor. Additionally, with write-in candidates, members may write-in any name they wish (be they an announced candidate, a candidate nominated from the floor or someone the member simply thinks would be good). This is not a bad thing.

At one meeting, we had two members write in the name of another member. Nobody knew of this until the votes were counted. Like you, we didn't have enough candidates to fill all of the open positions. Therefore, technically this person won. Therefore, we approached the individual, explained what happened and asked if they were willing to serve. They said yes. It was actually one of the better boards I've served on.

My opinion is, unless you have qualifying factors for nominees, don't bother asking those questions at the meeting. If the individual is elected and later declines to serve, the Board typically has the power to appoint someone to fill the vacated position.

Bill, I ask the same. What size quorum do you need to even hold an election?

Our Association consists of 422 total lots. Approximately 270 of these are developed with single family homes constructed on them. The Developer still owns the remaining 152 lots. Control of the Association was turned over to the membership in July 2010.

Our By Laws require 1/3 of the membership to establish a quorum (141 for a quorum). Since the Developer normally submits his proxy we have never had a problem establishing the quorum requirement.

Our HOA is in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina.

Our annual election is coming up in less than three weeks. We have a nominating committee that chose to only put two candidates on the ballot for two open positions and did not include other applicants who were members in good standing who had applied saying they have that right by their role as described in our bylaws. The absentee ballot has been issued and states that you cannot do a "write in" on the absentee ballot and only offers those two candidates. We have over 400 members and many vote by absentee. Can HOA's include a write in line on an absentee ballot in New Mexico? Why wouldn't that be allowable?