Nominations and Elections
There are many ways nominations and elections can be conducted within a community association. The important thing is to know what is required and allowed by a community's governing documents. Some community by-laws have a very structured and detail procedure. Others have little to say on the subject. If the latter is the case, the board should establish a written procedure and process for elections and amend and add it to the governing documents.

Candidates
The election process starts with nominations. Nominations can be done through a nominating committee, by write-ins on ballots and proxies and from the floor at the meeting when the elections take place. Using a nominating committee can help organize the process. This is especially true in larger communities. When there are more candidates running than offices available, a nominating committee can add clarity and dispel confusion. Some candidates may only be interested in a specific office while others may be willing to serve in any capacity if elected. The nominating committee can confirm that all candidates nominated are ready, willing and able to serve. The nominating committee can collect candidate platforms and biographies and put a package together that is then presented to the board. This information can be used to create the slate of candidates, ballots and proxies. Information about the candidates can be circulated to all owners prior to the election or presented at a special candidates meeting where all candidates are given the same amount of time to present their platform and qualifications to the community. The important thing is that the work of the nominating committee be very transparent and open to the community as a whole.

Ballots
Written ballots for everyone is the best practice. This provides protection in case the election is challenged. It can also be difficult to count a show of hands during a meeting. Ballots are private and allow people to exercise their judgment without consequence. A consistency is created in that all voters, whether they use an absentee ballot, proxy or submit their ballot at the election will have a written ballot. Absentee ballots and directed proxies both allow someone to vote and not be present at the election. However, case law currently supports the use of directed proxies to count towards a quorum for the election meeting but not so for absentee ballots. Most statues say that the meeting quorum must be a certain percentage of the total votes represented at the meeting in person or by proxy.

Voting
Voting structure varies from community to community. Generally, the voting and assessment structure follow one another. If every owner pays the same amount in assessments, then every owner gets one vote. If assessments are based on the percentage of interest in the common elements, then so is the voting. Occasionally, governing documents will base assessments on percentage of interest but still give each owner one vote. In Illinois, cumulative voting is not allowed. Normally, if there were three board positions open you would vote for three different candidates, one for each position. Cumulative voting allows you to vote for one candidate three times. This can be viewed as a form of ballot stuffing.

Again, based on your governing documents, planning your election process in advance will assure a smooth process that will enhance the credibility of the board and community. 

The Chicagoland Cooperator Condo Expo on Navy Pier  

Thanks for visiting our booth. It was great to see so many of our building community board leaders at the Cooperator Exposition at Navy Pier. This event was specially designed for community association board leaders. It provided educational seminars and the opportunity to learn from a broad variety of service providers in one place. Running and managing a residential building and its community association can be a complex and overwhelming task without the proper support.  That is what we love about our work. By guiding the good will and work of volunteer leaders, we enhance the quality of living for entire communities. Our responsive, proactive, experienced strategies really work. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to serve you!  

Cagan Winter Leadership Seminar 

Cagan welcomes Thomas Engblom - An evening dedicated to "Basics for Boards".


Thomas Engblom, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, ARM, CPM
Vice President Regional Account Executive Midwest
Community Association Banking & Condo Certs
Former CAI National Business Council Board Member
www.CABanc.com    www.CondoCerts.com 

Hope You Had a Good Thanksgiving!