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ELECTION COMMITTEE

Purpose

The purposes and operating responsibilities of the Elections Committee are set out in State Law and the Board’s Elections Rules, a copy of which can be viewed and downloaded by Clicking Here.  

In general, the Committee is responsible for organizing and conducting the Association’s annual election process following the tasks and dates set out in the Annual Election Calendar, which begins in September with the first solicitation of candidates and ends in May with the Inspector of Elections report and the Board’s certification of election results. The Committee maintains an online library of informational resources related to the election, including the Annual Election Calendar and the forms and email templates used in each step of the process. This resource information can be found on the Committee webpage. In addition, the Committee is responsible for the Election Committee web page’s content on the Association’s website.  

Structure

This Committee is comprised of a chairperson, who shall be the appointed Inspector of Elections, and up to two (2) or more members of the Association, one of whom may be a member of the Board not running for election. The Board shall appoint all members of the Election Committee in September before the March Election of the Board of Directors. 

The Board must annually appoint at least one Inspector of Elections between September and January but may appoint as many as three Inspectors of Election should they desire. The Inspector of Elections may be selected from the membership of the Association or maybe a person who meets the requirements for serving as an Inspector of Elections as set out by State Law and the Association’s Election Rules. Those wishing to serve as Inspector of Elections should contact the President of the Board of Directors. The Inspector of Elections is appointed for a one-year term beginning in October of each year.

Activities

Preparation of Annual Election Calendar

The Committee meets in May and June to prepare and present a recommendation for an Election Calendar and further recommendations for improving association election processes for Board consideration and action at the July or September Board meeting. 

Recruitment of Board Candidates

The Committee conducts recruitment of Board candidates beginning in September of each year preceding the March Election. 

Candidates for Board may come from a nomination by the Nominating and Elections Committee, from nomination by a Member of the Association, from a self-nomination by the candidate, or a nomination from the floor at the Annual Meeting. The Committee will solicit applications for nomination to the Board via the Association website, Association newsletter, and at least three of their solicitations in October, November, and December. The Committee shall make its nominations report at the January Board Meeting, but no later than a least 60 days before the election.

Ballot Preparation

The Committee will prepare a sample ballot for review and action by the Board at the November Board meeting. The ballot shall be approved for design and narrative content without the names of candidates. The final vote with the names of candidates and other issues to be voted upon by the membership shall be presented for Board review and action at the January meeting. The ballot package shall be reviewed and approved by the Committee in February before distribution to the membership.

Ballot Counting

The Inspector of Elections will secure the mail-in ballots received at the designated location for receipt no later than the day before the Annual General Meeting. Later returned ballots may be personally delivered to the Inspector of Elections before the close of balloting at the Annual General Meeting. The Inspector of Elections and any appointed assistants will count the votes at the designated location on the day of the election after the President has closed the election.  

Ballots are opened and then tabulated using the official Vote Tabulation Form and reported to the President and those in attendance at the Annual Meeting during the meeting. Only votes that meet all quality control requirements will be counted. In addition, the counting of votes must be done in a manner that will allow a member(s) to view the counting in person or via the internet continuously.  

After the votes are tabulated and reported to the President, the President will announce the election results. Within two days following the adjournment of the meeting, an automatic recount of the ballots will be made to verify the tabulations. The results of the recount are reported to the Board and Community Manager.

Election Reporting

The Inspector of Elections will prepare a report of the results of the elections for transmittal to the Association Membership within 15 days of the counting of the ballots and reporting of results at the Annual General Meeting. 

Election Certification

The Inspector of Elections will prepare a report certifying the election results for Board consideration at the May Board meeting. 

Budgeting and Finances

The Committee shall prepare an annual budget request for presentation to the Board in October based upon committee programming needs for the following year.  The committee shall abide by all Association and Board policies related to the expenditure of funds,

Record Keeping

The Committee should keep any resource materials used in researching, developing, and making recommendations relative to the committee’s activities in electronic file format, stored on the Association website or other suitable location, for future reference and use.

Reporting

The Committee is not required to submit committee minutes, but if it chooses to prepare meeting minutes or notes, those documents should be submitted (in draft or final form)  to the Board of Directors within 30 days of a committee meeting.

 

The Committee shall provide a written or oral report to the Board of Directors at each meeting of the Board. The information shall be captured and described in the Board of Directors’ Regular Meeting Minutes.

The Committee shall periodically prepare brief informational updates for publication in the bimonthly Association newsletter to inform the general membership about the status of committee work.

The Committee shall submit any proposed updates, changes, or additions to the election process to the Board of Directors for review and/or approval.

 

The Committee shall prepare and present an annual committee report at the Association’s Annual General Membership Meeting. The information shall describe the activities and accomplishments of the Committee during the year. The report will be archived on the Association website.

MEETINGS

The Election Committee meets as necessary during the year to complete its essential tasks. For more specific information about the Election Committee’s activities or serving on the Committee, please contact the Board President or the Inspector of Elections. In addition, they can be found on the Board webpage by Clicking Here.

RESOURCE MATERIALS

These sample documents and resources are provided to assist the Inspector of elections and the Election Committee in meeting their responsibilities. The documents are created in Microsoft Word. The content in the sample documents should be modified as necessary for continuing use. However, because sample documents have been developed in coordination with Association Election Rules and State law, any modification to the documents should be minimized except as it may relate to dates, times, names, and addresses.

2022 Election-Rules

Inspector of Elections Responsibilities

Election Calendar Calculator (Sample)

Election Process Presentation 2023

Sample Documents

 

IMPORTANT DATES