Owners and Proxy Votes- Annual Meeting

Our Association is trying to make changes to the Bylaws. The Board was supposed to present the new bylaw changes prior to the annual meeting last May but did not make the changes in time. They still have not present the changes. At the annual meeting, it was voted to continue the annual meeting and vote on the bylaw changes since we had more than enough proxy votes or owners present to vote on the changes. Since May, six units have sold. Therefore, I believe that the votes for those former owners can not be casted and would not count toward the total of the number of eligible voters. Am I correct? With the sale of these units, the Association would not have the required owners present or by proxy to vote.

I think you are correct but it might be tricky. If someone was a member when they signed their ballot or proxy and then moved before the election, I think their vote could still be counted. Otherwise, you would have to go back and check each voting member and make sure they did not sell their house between the time they signed the ballot/proxy and the election. Also, since the new person who bought the house would not have gotten a ballot, you would be denying that unit a vote. If your CC&Rs or bylaws don't state what to do, it is probably a question for an attorney.

Unless your governing documents say otherwise, if you don't have the election on the stated date, the ballots and proxies should become void, but every state has different laws so I would check with an attorney.

Let me think. How would I feel if there was an amendment change using votes of some owners who no longer lived there. Still thinking as I call my lawyers number.

LOL ... Pretty much my thought

"If a new record date for the adjourned meeting is or must be fixed under s. 607.0707, notice of the adjourned meeting must be given to persons who are entitled to vote and are members as of the new record date but were not members as of the previous record date."

So says FS 720.306(7). You'll have to determine whether or not FS 607.0707 applies to you regarding whether of not a new record date must be fixed. The "record date" is usually the date which determines who is and isn't eligible to vote, but FS 607.0707 talks about general corporate law and shareholders. It seems reasonable to replace "shareholder" with "homeowner" but I'm not a lawyer so what do I know.

FS 607.0707 says in part, "If not otherwise provided by or pursuant to the bylaws, the record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at an annual or special shareholders’ meeting is the close of business on the day before the first notice is delivered to shareholders."

Often the date of the first meeting notice is weeks before the actual meeting, so unless there's a formal determination of "record date" required in your bylaws, it seems likely that whoever was a homeowner on the "record date" is entitled to vote and anyone who took ownership of a property after that date but before the meeting date would just be SOL. Nothing requires that all corporate law be fair.