By Sally Bachman
Committee on Election Procedures Chairperson
The 2005 Cuesta La Honda Board election is a weeks-old memory and the 2006 election is months off, but the Board already faces a deadline to adopt new election rules.
To help it decide on the new rules, which must conform to a new law, the Board wants to hear members' thoughts about how elections should be run.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines: The Board faces a July 1 deadline, and proposals should be submitted for evaluation by the new Committee on Election Procedures by May 1.
Last year, after months of vigorous debate across California about the way "common interest developments" - including homeowners associations -- conduct elections, the Legislature adopted a law requiring such developments to establish new election procedures regarding the handling of ballots, voting procedures, treatment of candidates and establishment of qualifications for candidates.
The law, which has been incorporated into the state's Civil Code, also requires that common interest developments appoint or hire one or three election inspectors to conduct any elections held after July.
Elections held in or later than July 2006 will need to comply with the new Civil Code provisions.
Most of the Guild's existing election rules conform to the Civil Code provisions and so could easily be readopted.
The election inspector or inspectors, however, provide some new opportunities.
To collect Guild member's thoughts on what new rules should be adopted, the Board formed the Committee on Election Procedures, which includes one Board member and six other Guild members. The committee will collect and evaluate suggestions from Guild members regarding all new rules. Because of the new law's provisions, however, the Board is especially interested in members' thoughts about:
1) How many election inspectors (one or three) La Honda should use, and whether they should be volunteers or employed for the work. Note that in case of a dispute, if the Board has decided to appoint three inspectors, two of three would carry a decision.
2) Any qualifications that the inspector or inspectors should have. The law does not specify qualifications for the inspectors, except that it bars Board members, candidates for Board positions or their relatives from serving as inspectors. Inspectors may be members of the Guild, and may be Guild employees only if the Board specifically allows employees to fill the position. The primary role of the election inspector (or inspectors) is to count and tabulate the votes. This role has been filled in the past by the Guild's five-member Election Committee. The new law stipulates that one or three election inspectors be selected. It gives the Board the job of determining the method for selecting the inspector or inspectors, such as by appointing or hiring a volunteer or volunteers or through election. Any Guild member may submit suggestions to the committee. Proposals should be submitted to the Guild office, either on paper or by email (office@clhg.org). The committee will send to the Board proposals that conform to the new provisions of the Civil Code, along with the evaluations of any costs the suggested rules could incur.
The Board hopes to adopt new operating rules in June, so that the new rules will go into effect in July.
The new provisions of the Civil Code, including details about the role of the election inspector or inspectors, are posted on the Guild website. Copies also are available in the Guild office.
The committee will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the clubhouse on The second Tuesday of each month through June. (One exception: February's meeting will be on the 15th.) Guild members on the committee are Tom Dodd, Kathy McGrade, Colleen Quigley, (lower) Bob White, Carol Prentice, and I.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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