Tanner
Law Group
Community Association Legal Services
6125
S East Street (US 31)
Indianapolis, IN
46227
317.536.7435
Phone
317.735.2703
Fax
|
Scott A. Tanner
Chief Counsel
Registered Mediator
Fellow, College of
Community Association Lawyers
Member, Community
Associations Institute
Donald W. McInnes
Associate Counsel
Member, Community
Associations Institute
|
April
18, 2017
To: The Residents of Waterford Lakes
RE: Proxy
Voting
Dear
Owner:
I
have been asked by my client, the Waterford Lakes Homeowners Association (“Association”),
to put together a letter that explains some basic “do’s” and “don’ts” when it
comes to proxy voting at membership meetings.
First, you should
know that a proxy is a “power of attorney” form. It is NOT an actual ballot. When you appoint someone to be your proxy,
you are giving the person the right to show up at a meeting and cast a ballot
for you.
Why have
proxies? When a member meeting is held,
you must have a “quorum” of members at the meeting before you can vote on any
issue. A “quorum” is just a fancy legal
term that means “minimum number”. Hence,
a “quorum” is the minimum number of members that must be at the meeting before
you can vote on anything. You can reach
that minimum number by counting the people at the meeting in person “or by
proxy”. Proxies are a way to help the
Association reach that minimum number of members that must be at a meeting to
conduct business.
Because proxies
are basically a “power of attorney”, a member should be very careful when
granting someone the power to act on your behalf. You should make sure YOU fill out the whole
proxy form.
a.
If someone hands you a proxy form that’s already
filled out, don’t sign it!
b.
If someone hands you a blank proxy form and asks
you to sign, and they’ll fill it out for you later, don’t sign it!
You should only
sign a proxy form that YOU filled out from start to finish. If you feel like you were pressured to fill
out a proxy form, you should contact a board member or the property manager
immediately! You can always:
a.
Revoke your proxy before the meeting,
b. Fill out a new
proxy form, or
c.
Come to the meeting in person to take back your
proxy form.
Indiana has laws
that cover proxy voting and procedure.
Your management company does a fine job making sure the proxies you use
meet the requirements of these laws. But anyone that uses a proxy, or allows a
proxy to be used, that doesn’t meet the state requirements or was collected by
improper methods can get in trouble with the Indiana Attorney General! That would include your board members, your
property manager, and any owner in the community.
Proxies
are a great way to make sure your membership meeting can move forward with
business when the members get together.
It is also a great way to make sure you get to cast a vote if you cannot
personally be at the meeting. But you
should make sure you follow these steps if you plan to give someone your proxy
power to vote.
Sincerely,
Scott
A. Tanner
Registered Mediator
Fellow, College of
Community Association Lawyers
TANNER
LAW GROUP
