Ballot Impropriety

Hello HOA members,

I have a question that I hope someone here can help me with.

My HOA recently had our Annual Meeting at which time the Inspector (our newly hired Accountant) was to bring the unopened sealed ballots that arrived by mail to the meeting to combine with the ballots collected at the meeting. During the meeting and prior to the ballot session a board nominee and assigned board member walked around showing a spoiled ballot to some homeowners. Apparently the Inspector has been opening the ballots and passed this one on to the board member/nominee (she also recently hired this accountant).

It was soon made clear to those attending the Annual Meeting that the Accountant/Inspector would not be attending the Annual Meeting and neither would the ballots she collected. She sent a teenager to pick up the collected ballots at the meeting. Many homeowners were upset and confused about this change in procedure.

I have two issues here: 1) evidently the Accountant/Inspector was opening the ballots prior to the Annual Meeting at a time and place of her choosing, probably as she received them in the mail; and 2) the Accountant/Inspector gave a copy of an opened, unsealed ballot to an assigned board member/nominee.

There were 5 openings for the board. There were 6 nominees. (I was not running.) I called long-standing board members and past members with my concerns. They simply do not care and are having another meeting this week to seat the new board. We have been having great difficulties with board members and trust and confidence in our board has fallen drastically. This does little to regain trust but apparently is going to be overlooked by the "new" board.

Is this proper? Should these results be certified? Thank you!

Lyn

If the mailed in ballots were counted and used, where is the big problem even if not done the way you expected? Are you accusing them of dishonesty? There were 6 people running for 5 spots so unless you care about the one person that did not make it I see no problem.

You say there has been trust problems well if 5 of the 6 were elected one was bound to lose so where is the trust problem? Are you suggesting an entirely new election be held?

sorry left out "against". two board members voting against ...

The "displaying" of the spoiled ballot might have happened to show how an incorrect vote gets NOT counted.

Perhaps there were witnesses there and you just don't know about it.

The "results" should have been given to the President, who would then make the announcement of the new board.

The Inspector needs to attend a board meeting and explain the process taken to count ballots, but don't hold your breath.

No time to thoughtfully reply, Lyn, but I do think it's a big deal since it's codified in your HOA's election rules/policy, assuming that document was crafted properly.

Also, is the public opening & tabulating method in NM state law?? It certainly is in CA!!

Lyn,

If you believe that the ballots were counted correctly, I would consider it a concern vs. a big deal.
However, if the issue is repeated, regardless of how the ballots are counted, I would consider it a very big deal.

I am sorry John I will try to address your questions now.

1st post:
1. there was a time when I believed a new election was indicated but now I do not due to the trouble and/or expense. HOs are fed up and we may not reach a quorum again.
2. Yes there is a trust problem and I am trying not to be too specific until the election is certified and some of the issues resolved.

2nd post:
1. There were two troublemakers nominated. One was guaranteed to win. It did not make much difference to me which one did.

Which returns me to my original question where I was seeking advice as to whether this has happened elsewhere and what if anything was done about it.

I do not know if the rules were abandoned on purpose or out of ignorance. The Elections Inspector was not given permission to open the ballots early or on their own -- they did. Then did not show up at the annual meeting (probably due to having a box of opened ballots). We do not know if the results were shared with others and never will. But that is probably a moot point anyway as the results would probably be the same if a new election were held. An open and fair election would have gone a long way towards restoring confidence in the board. I suppose we can't have everything.

Thank you so much for your input.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Earlier this year two board members resigned, mostly due to issues with new board members. We had an election which did not reach a quorum so nominees were "assigned" to the board until we could produce a successful election that could be certified. Of those five two more resigned due to infighting and around the same time our Management Co fired us due to difficult (new) board members. This left a board of three (again). This went from bad to worse.

No, I am not on the board and have never run for the board, in fact in all the years I have lived here our board has been above reproach.

Yes, I did find CA rules which leave no room for error. I plan to ask that our election rules be included with voting materials and/or in newsletters before elections. This should help clear up any confusion as to the procedures.

Thank you again I appreciate your help.

Kerry, thank you for your thoughtful suggestions and everyone that replied.

The new board was certified with no issues. This should go a long way in improving the morale within the HOA. I thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Happy Holidays to you all!