How to voteProxy Form)

Started by TampaI • 13 replies • 907 views

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TampaI (Florida)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Our community is being transitioned from "Developer" to "Residents" and we are getting ready to vote.

The ballot form is simple however, am not sure how to complete or fill-in the Proxy.

Proxy form is like the below

KNOW ALL MEMBERS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned owner or their voting representative in the OAKCREEK Master Association, hereby constitute and appoint secretary of Association, of the following ______________________(a blank space shall be deemed as appointment of secretary as the proxy holder) as agent and proxy with powers of substitution for an in the name ..................

________ General Powers
I authorize and instruct my proxy to use his or her best judgement on all matters................

This Proxy must be dated, signed and your address clearly indicated for it to be valid.

__________(Signature)
__________(Signature)
__________(Address)
__________(Date)

PLEASE PRINT YOUR LAST NAME -----------------

>> General Powers - to be used to establish a quorum.

Silly Questions.

1. On the 1st blank - do I put my name? If I don't then by leaving blank the secretary has ability - do they have ability to change my ballot vote?
2. On the 2nd blank - do I need to provide General Powers to anyone or can I give it to myself?
3. Not sure why we have 2 signatures

Basically, am looking for guidance on how to fill the above form.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Tampa

If you are going to attend the meeting, you do not need to fill the Proxy out. Even if filling it out then attending the meeting, your attendance will override the Proxy. Bottom line is if you going to the meeting, discard the Proxy.

The part of the Proxy that says you are appointing the Secretary of the BOD as your Proxy holder or So and So (put their name in the blank) as your Proxy holder.

You added the Proxy is to establish Quorum only. If so, it does not replace your ballot nor can it be used to override your ballot.

Hope I am making this clear.

Bottom line again. If you are going to the meeting, throw the Proxy away.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JohnC46 on 03/02/2018 4:16 PM
Tampa

If you are going to attend the meeting, you do not need to fill the Proxy out. Even if filling it out then attending the meeting, your attendance will override the Proxy. Bottom line is if you going to the meeting, discard the Proxy.

The part of the Proxy that says you are appointing the Secretary of the BOD as your Proxy holder or So and So (put their name in the blank) as your Proxy holder.

You added the Proxy is to establish Quorum only. If so, it does not replace your ballot nor can it be used to override your ballot.

Hope I am making this clear.

Bottom line again. If you are going to the meeting, throw the Proxy away.

ADDITION

I must admit I am confused on the General Powers. If submitted, by checking that part you could override your Ballot as you are giving the holder the right to vote as they wish. The Proxy is poorly/confusingly written.

If you are going to the meeting. Trash the Proxy.

ArtL1 (Florida)
Posts: 140

Posted:

The Florida DBPR has published sample proxies, so the fact that whoever's running this $#!7 show chose to hack together such a horrid proxy is not confidence inspiring.

Also, I suggest looking at your governing documents (likely the bylaws) to see what they say about proxies. i.e. Is this general proxy (what you've posted is a general proxy) permitted? My HOA's bylaws only allow for use of limited proxies.

The first blank allows you to appoint someone (someone you know will attend the meeting) as your proxy holder. That person would cast your vote on any matter if you assign them general powers. It's common, perhaps intended in this case (it's not clear), that if you execute the proxy but do not assign general powers, the proxy would only be used to count you as present for purposes of establishing quorum, and no vote would be cast on your behalf on any matter.

I hope you have some typos in the re-typing of that proxy...because it doesn't make sense. Likely, the last blank in the first paragraph is intended to identify the member this proxy belongs to. i.e. You'd print your name there.

Somewhere towards the bottom, likely around where they say to print your last name, you should sign and date it.

http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/lsc/documents/co-6000-7samplelimitedproxy62309.pdf

http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/lsc/documents/GeneralInformationAboutProxies.Master04.16.2014.pdf

Also, you don't have to use their proxy. As already mentioned, if you plan to attend the meeting, you don't need a proxy at all. If you or other members you know do not plan to attend, but want to be counted towards quorum or vote on some issue you know will be voted on, you can use the above info to draft your own proxy.

If your bylaws allow for limited proxies (or allow for proxies but don't specify which type), you could draft a limited proxy with clear instructions for voting on an issue and the proxy holder would only be allowed to vote as instructed on those issues for which you provided voting instructions.

TampaI (Florida)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JohnC46 on 03/02/2018 4:22 PM

Posted By JohnC46 on 03/02/2018 4:16 PM

ADDITION

I must admit I am confused on the General Powers. If submitted, by checking that part you could override your Ballot as you are giving the holder the right to vote as they wish. The Proxy is poorly/confusingly written.

If you are going to the meeting. Trash the Proxy.

Quote:

Posted By ArtL1 on 03/02/2018 5:18 PM

The first blank allows you to appoint someone (someone you know will attend the meeting) as your proxy holder. That person would cast your vote on any matter if you assign them general powers. It's common, perhaps intended in this case (it's not clear), that if you execute the proxy but do not assign general powers, the proxy would only be used to count you as present for purposes of establishing quorum, and no vote would be cast on your behalf on any matter.

I intend to attend however, I do want my ballot vote to count so am leaning towards sending the proxy.

so, it's OK to leave the 1st blank and 2nd one(General Powers) blank right?

ArtL1 (Florida)
Posts: 140

Posted:

If you're present at the meeting, you'll be given a ballot at the meeting and your proxy will not be used. The only reasons to do the proxy are if you know you won't attend or are worried that something might come up and prevent you from attending.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ArtL1 on 03/02/2018 7:46 PM
If you're present at the meeting, you'll be given a ballot at the meeting and your proxy will not be used. The only reasons to do the proxy are if you know you won't attend or are worried that something might come up and prevent you from attending.

Art is spot on. The purpose of the proxy is to:
1) achieve quorum if not enough voting interests show up in person at the meeting.
2) if permitted by state law and governing docs, allow somebody to cast the vote of the proxy granter.

If you are going to attend the meeting, the proxy is not needed. If it has been suggested otherwise by the board or management company, either they are clueless or lying.

I assume this section has a typo and the bolded word should be "or":
appoint secretary of Association, of the following

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

TampaI (Florida)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DouglasK1 on 03/02/2018 8:26 PM

Art is spot on. The purpose of the proxy is to:
1) achieve quorum if not enough voting interests show up in person at the meeting.
2) if permitted by state law and governing docs, allow somebody to cast the vote of the proxy granter.

If you are going to attend the meeting, the proxy is not needed. If it has been suggested otherwise by the board or management company, either they are clueless or lying.

I assume this section has a typo and the bolded word should be "or":
appoint secretary of Association, of the following

Yes, it has typos. Not sure why the HOA management firm won't give us soft copy of the proxy.

I plan on attending but since it's 2 months out am not sure if something might come up

The consensus on properly filling out the form:

1. sign and date and address the address
2. leave the 1st blank out
3. leave the 2nd blank(General powers) out

Is that right?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

1. First blank - identify who will serve as your proxy representative (someone who will be attending the meeting).
If you don't name anyone (leaving it blank), then you are naming the Board as your representative.

2) If you don't initial the second line (general powers), you will not be casting a vote in the election and your proxy will only count toward quorum.
If you do initial the second line, you are allowing the individual to cast a vote on what they think is best (regardless of how you might be thinking)

3) Sign, Date and provide your address.

The question you need to ask yourself is how concerned are you on who serves on the the Board?
If you are not concerned - return the proxy with the 2nd line checked
If you are concerned - attend the meeting or appoint an individual who thinks like you do.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Do we all agree if the poster is attending the meeting, they can trash the proxy?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Absolutely John.

If attending the meeting, a proxy is not required.
If unsure about attending the meeting, the proxy can be sent in when you know for sure.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

I've seen recommendations that if you're not sure you'll be able to attend the meeting then you should send in a proxy. Even if you plan to attend it can be a good idea in case of unanticipated circumstances (you catch the flu the day before the meeting, you have a family emergency to attend to, you get called in to work at the last minute to cover someone else's shift, etc.). Life throws curveballs and a proxy will at least ensure your voice counts even if you can't be there.

If you do attend the meeting you can re-claim your proxy and vote via balloting instead.

So absolutely, if you're attending the meeting you don't need a proxy. But on the off chance you THINK you will attend but CANNOT due to unforseen circumstances, giving a proxy to someone is a good idea right up until the day of the meeting.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

What make me nervous about this is the check box on the Proxy saying:

________ General Powers
I authorize and instruct my proxy to use his or her best judgement on all matters....

The OP says the ballot makes sense which indicates she might have seen it or already filled it out, but does the above not override any ballot she may have submitted? I think it might.

Tampa1: Have you filled out a ballot yet? If so and you need to use the Proxy, I suggest two things:

1. Be sure you list someone as your Proxy holder (blank 1) that you know and trust to act as you would.

2. Do not check the above (blank 2) as it might override your already submitted ballot. Even if you trust the person you assign the Proxy to, you are placing your vote(s) in their hands.

Some of us say the Proxy is poorly/not clearly worded. This could have been done on purpose to mislead/confuse people and on top of that, we are not seeing the actual Proxy. Hell, the Proxy is confusing us....LOL

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

I agree that, if nothing else, the proxy wording is goofy. I'll also point out that there's nothing in the Florida statutes that requires you to use the proxy form provided to you by your association. From FS 720.306(8)(a)...

"To be valid, a proxy must be dated, must state the date, time, and place of the meeting for which it was given, and must be signed by the authorized person who executed the proxy. A proxy is effective only for the specific meeting for which it was originally given, as the meeting may lawfully be adjourned and reconvened from time to time, and automatically expires 90 days after the date of the meeting for which it was originally given. A proxy is revocable at any time at the pleasure of the person who executes it. If the proxy form expressly so provides, any proxy holder may appoint, in writing, a substitute to act in his or her place."

From DBPR Arbitration Case 2009-01-2882...

"A homeowners' association may not impose rules or limits on a proxy the legislature has already declared to be valid."

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