Every year hundreds of associations fret over the details of their elections. The truth is, they should. There are many details to the elections process that may invalidate your election. One of the most important factors is to make sure all mailings go out on time. Believe it or not, ever manager should review these processes every single year.
After you watch this short video, drop below and read some of the top priorities to keep in mind....
· A person must be eligible to serve on the board of directors at the time of the deadline for submitting a notice of intent to run (At least 40 days before the scheduled election)
- candidate who is delinquent in the payment of any assessment to the association, is not eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be listed on the ballot.
- A person who has been convicted of any felony in this state or in a United States District or Territorial Court, or who has been convicted of any offense in another jurisdiction that would be considered a felony if committed in this state, is not eligible for board membership unless such felon's civil rights have been restored for a period of no less than 5 years
· First Notice - at least 60 days prior to the election and must contain the correct
name and mailing address of the association. This notice should remind the unit owners that if they wish to run for election, they must submit their notices of intent, in writing to the association not less than 40 days prior to the election
· Second Notice - not less than 14 days, or more than 34 days - must be mailed or delivered to the unit owners with the written annual meeting notice that must include an agenda - must be posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 14 continuous days before the annual meeting. - If an election is to occur, included with the second notices are the printed ballots, the envelopes (inner ballot / outer) for returning the completed ballots and any candidate information sheets that have been submitted to the board.
A quorum is not required to hold the election (but usually required for the Annual Meeting); however, at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast ballots for the election to be valid. The association must have additional blank ballots available at the election for distribution to eligible voters who have not yet voted. These ballots must be handled in the same manner as if previously submitted, using both the inner and outer envelope and signing the exterior of the outer envelope.
Forgery of a ballot envelope used in a condominium association election or voting certificate is punishable as forgery pursuant to s. 831.01, F.S.,(Forgery & counterfeiting).
For a complete guide, check out MyFloridaLicense.com/condo