Elections

Our Bylaws allow proxy voting. At last years annual meeting there were 58 uninstructed proxies, 51 of which were held by current board members. 22 of these were held by a board member who routinely gathers proxies in high numbers and who has been on the board for 22 years. It is this way every year. Basically, the board decides, through the use of proxies, who is elected to the board. One other resident and I would like to see elections more indicative of selection by people who care enough to attend meetings. As it is, with an average of 30 to 4o people actually attending the meeting and the board controlling 50 to 60 additional votes, the board might as well eliminate voting and just dictate who will serve on the board. Any thoughts to help change this unfairness?

It’s not so much that the board is deciding who will serve as much as the HOMEOWNERS who apparently hand out their proxy to whoever asks for it, not thinking about the implications – or, as Tim said, they simply don’t know. Since those homeowners aren’t taking the time to go to the meeting anyway, I guess they figure this is a form of absentee balloting. Which it is, but the homeowners aren’t dictating to their appointed proxy how he/she is to vote (unlike absentee voting where you choose).

(I realize some board members can be manipulative as hell, but homeowners need to understand THEY ultimately hold the power – and if they don’t use it, chaos can ensue. Put another way, it’s really difficult for a tiny group of people to blow off a hoard unless the hoard doesn’t give a rip in the first place).

Ultimately, you may need to pursue ALL of Tim’s options, starting with option A. While soliciting proxies, you may want to encourage people to actually show up at the meeting and cast a vote there. In our association, people can send in a proxy, but if they change their mind and show up, the proxy is cancelled and they can vote in person, provided their eligible (that is, current in dues).

I especially like Option B’s creation of a directed proxy. Our association allows the homeowner to either nominate him/herself or someone else to serve and the proxy must vote accordingly. I’ve seen some proxies where the homeowner can state it’s only to be used to create a quorum to hold the meeting and doesn’t cast a vote for anyone.

Does VA permit mail-in ballots? Once they became permitted in CA in about '06, no one submitted proxies anymore. I've been on the Board nine years and have never seen a proxy at an election. There is a space on the mail-in ballot to check "For purposes of achieving quorum only," and a few check that box.

Quorum for our election of directors is only 25% of members so that's been easy. At our election a couple of weeks ago--5 candidates for 3 seats-- 104 ballots were submitted from 211 condos. About 20 attended the actual annual meeting. We have about 32% absentee owners and they comprised 45 of the 104 ballots. But it would be difficult getting proxies from them.

If you want a role in shaping the outcome, then you and others who are likeminded & do Tim's C. Then, later, work on D. An AZ poster has told us that AZ does not permit proxies at all and I'm sure that they generally achieve a quorum.

Jack

How large is your association and how many are needed for a quorum in order to hold an election? If no quorum then typically the existing BOD stays in office.

I doubt you can control the type of proxies (General, Directed, or a combination of both) allowed.

I love proxies.

Jack

My advice is:

1. You only need 75 to have a quorum so work on getting more to turn out and actually vote. Even if someone holds their proxy, by turning up and voting they can override their own proxy.

2. Out proxy the proxiers. Beat them at their own game.