Does an absentte ballot need a signature.

Started by BonnieG1 • 9 replies • 1648 views

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BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

I don't know if I did the right thing or not at our annual meeting. When we mailed the notice we mailed both a proxy form and an absentee ballot form. The owner was to complete one or the other and return it to us before the meeting.

During the meeting the PM made the statement that some absentee ballots were invalid because they were not signed.
We did not need to know how each person voted, we just needed to have the vote. Both the absentee ballots and the ballots distributed at the meeting had the names cut off just before the meeting. The ones who made it to the meeting got the ballot and then the name was cut off and returned to the member. The percentage remained on the ballots.

My question -- Does an absentee ballot need a signature to be valid?
I did advise the PM to count the votes of all absentee ballots. (Except of course the absentee ballots of anyone who made it to the meeting was not counted.

All proxies were signed.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

1st does NE allow absentee ballots, Bonnie? what does the law say about them? Must they be signed??? And/or do your bylaws require something ??

They're allowed in CA, but CA requires a secret ballot system where the outside of the double envelope is signed, but not the ballot itself.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 02/21/2015 7:38 PM
1st does NE allow absentee ballots, Bonnie? what does the law say about them? Must they be signed??? And/or do your bylaws require something ??

They're allowed in CA, but CA requires a secret ballot system where the outside of the double envelope is signed, but not the ballot itself.

I have recently reviewed the newer condominium laws and our documents and I don't remember absentee ballots being required or prohibited in either the law or our documents. Having a signature on the outside of a double envelope sounds like an excellent idea. Later this year we will have a member meeting to amend our documents and I want to get all my ducks in a row before we have this meeting.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

I'm not in the legal profession, Bonnie, but I believe that if both your own document and NE law are silent about absentee ballots, you may not use them. Instead, you would use proxies, which you seem to use anyway.

NigelB (Texas)
Posts: 254

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 02/21/2015 7:21 PM
I don't know if I did the right thing or not at our annual meeting. When we mailed the notice we mailed both a proxy form and an absentee ballot form. The owner was to complete one or the other and return it to us before the meeting.

During the meeting the PM made the statement that some absentee ballots were invalid because they were not signed.
We did not need to know how each person voted, we just needed to have the vote. Both the absentee ballots and the ballots distributed at the meeting had the names cut off just before the meeting. The ones who made it to the meeting got the ballot and then the name was cut off and returned to the member. The percentage remained on the ballots.

My question -- Does an absentee ballot need a signature to be valid?
I did advise the PM to count the votes of all absentee ballots. (Except of course the absentee ballots of anyone who made it to the meeting was not counted.

All proxies were signed.

Why not just go with what was the intent of the association member when they mailed in the absentee ballot?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

Bonnie,

How many were not signed?

Would that amount change the election results?

If yes, and it's a major issue - then consider a new vote.

If no, don't worry about it. Learn from it and take steps to address the issue for the next vote. However, if it doesn't change the outcome - count them or not - it doesn't matter.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Nigel & Tim make good points. Count them all anyway and if removing the unsigned ones and all the absentee ones won't change the outcome, you're probably OK.

I still don't think that absentee ballots would need to be signed. The question, if not now, for the future, is can you use absentee ballots at all in your state. Best to chaco with your HOA attorney. You really want her/his advice before you send our ballots/proxies for your document rewrites.

NpS (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 4,216

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 02/21/2015 7:21 PM
My question -- Does an absentee ballot need a signature to be valid?

All proxies were signed.

If the proxy needs a signature, then the absentee ballot should need a signature. Otherwise, you have created 2 different classes of voters.

The choice of whether to use the proxy or the absentee ballot could be an arbitrary selection. They shouldn't be treated differently IMO.

Sikubali jukumu. Read all posts at your own risk.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 02/22/2015 4:46 PM
Bonnie,

How many were not signed?

Would that amount change the election results?

If yes, and it's a major issue - then consider a new vote.

If no, don't worry about it. Learn from it and take steps to address the issue for the next vote. However, if it doesn't change the outcome - count them or not - it doesn't matter.

There were four that were not signed. It would not have changed the result of the vote. We only got 42% agreement for a large capital expense and even if all four each had a 3% vote and they all voted yes that still would have only given a 54% agreement when a higher percentage was needed for approval.

I do want to make certain all my ducks are in a row before we have the meeting to vote on amending our documents.
That is a goal I would like to accomplish before I step down from the Board. I don't know how much longer my macular degeneration will behave.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 02/22/2015 5:10 PM
Nigel & Tim make good points. Count them all anyway and if removing the unsigned ones and all the absentee ones won't change the outcome, you're probably OK.

I still don't think that absentee ballots would need to be signed. The question, if not now, for the future, is can you use absentee ballots at all in your state. Best to chaco with your HOA attorney. You really want her/his advice before you send our ballots/proxies for your document rewrites.

We did count them anyway and I will check with our lawyer before he meeting to amend our documents. On a side not, I am surprised at people who get upset about us spending money to pay a lawyer.

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