ELECTION NOT HELD ON SCHEDULE

You said:
"Since an election was not held in 2007" - Why not? Why wasn't it held as a special election?

"The person holding the expired position is also the president of the HOA, and one would think that the president should know when his term expires, but nevertheless, this problem now exists." - The Pres. should have resigned AS A Board member, the VP would have gone up into his place. Then there could have been either an appointment or special election to fill the empty spot(s).

A Special election should have been called when it became obvious that there was going to be a problem in the long-run. It's not good for Boards to get off balance, but that is the job of the Nominating Committee - to make sure this voting process stays on track and there are people who have volunteered to fill all slots.

Actually, the Nominating Committee does operate on its own. Most times, it's a Standing Committee, established in the bylaws. It's the only committee the Pres. can not be included as a member. Once a chair has been appointed - by the Board or Pres. - it is on its own to find candidates for election. It is discharged after submitting a list of candidates - but can be reinstated if there are any declining nominees.

The date for the Annual Meeting should also be in the bylaws. Since it's a meeting of the Members, all Board members are there as members. They can give their reports from their seat in the audience, if I had my druthers.

The membership can vote to suspend the rules and vote in a presider for the meeting of their own choosing. It is NOT a Board meeting and the annual meeting of the Members belongs to the membership. Hopefully, there are some members who are on top of all this. This is where the Board answers to the Membership.

In response to MaryA1, the election was not held in 2007 because the Board, either by oversight or intention, failed to recognize that one of the positions filled in 2005 was to fill the unexpired term of a resigned Board member. Board members are elected to 3 year terms, but the election to fill the unexpired term was for 2 years, with an expiration in 2007. This just came to my attention when I was reviewing minutes of the past meetings and realized that the existing president's term actually expired in 2007. The present Board may, or may not, be aware of this problem, and I wanted to get input from this forum before I confront the Board with this situation.
To answer another question posted in regard to this matter, we do not have a nominating committee, the Board simply requests applications from the membership for those who wish to run for the Board when vacancies occur. In 2007, no request was made, so no election was held, even though a vacancy did actually exist. I too would think that a Board member, especially the president, should know when their term expires, and make this known so a proper election can be held in the proper sequence.

There should NEVER be the preception that the Board is accepting nominations. That's too much like "screening" applicants for itself.

A nominating committee is a "neutral, approachable" way for anyone to get info on Board roles and get on the ballot. I'd strongly recommend one.