Preventing Election Rigging — Or Even Its Appearance — at Annual Meetings

First of all, how common is rigging? "I've never seen it in my career," Peter Lehr, director of management at Kaled Management, says of co-op / condo voter fraud. Attorney Phyllis H. Weisberg, a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, has "seen very little of it in all my years." And as James Glatthaar, a partner at Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, puts it, "I've never experienced a rigged election in 27 years, but I've experienced charges of rigged elections."

Indeed, homeowners often report "irregularities." As Ken O'Brien, a condominium unit-owner, said in Board Talk: "Our previous board knew the turnout at annual meetings was usually low, barely reaching a quorum. Since they were unpopular and at least one or two seats would certainly change hands, they arranged for the annual meeting/election to take place in some basement in a commercial area several miles away, where no parking is available, expecting no one to show up. Only five or six out of the sixteen needed for a quorum showed. This ensured no election would take place and everyone got an automatic new term without being elected."

Appearance of Impropriety

If homeowners believe there are voting irregularities, it can be hard for co-op or condo-board members to convince them otherwise Longtime co-op board member Grant Varga, of the 57-unit 17 West 67th Street in Manhattan, says his board avoids any perceptions of being unethical "by keeping really open communication throughout the year, by answering all questions, by explaining any projects as they come up, by posting notices about not just what's happening but why it's happening that way. And if anybody has questions or challenges what we're doing, we spend as much time as it takes so they understand the reason behind everything. We have town hall meetings in our lobby every few months." And symbolically, holding their annual meetings at the New York Society for Ethical Culture doesn't hurt.

As well, conducting online elections through independent outside companies such as Elections Online, Survey & Ballot Systems and BigPulse is that they help reassure suspicious homeowners that a board election is on the up-and-up. So do such independent election companies as the Honest Ballot Association.

Calling the Inspector

The simplest solution may be to use a provision in most bylaws that allows inspectors of elections. "Inspectors are sometimes the accountants or representatives of the managing agent, but they can also be shareholders who represent divergent views," says attorney David L. Berkey, a partner in Gallet Dreyer & Berkey. "So if you have a contentious election, you might consider an inspector from each of the different groups. That way they look over each other's shoulders as ballots are being counted and see to it it's fair and unbiased."

The managing agent generally conducts the tabulation when there's no outside company. "We record all our votes on an Excel spreadsheet," says Lehr. "I may be reading off the results and an inspector watches me to verify I'm reading correctly and another inspector watches someone else from my office as they input the information and make sure it's correct." He'll also do sampling as an additional check. "Say there are 50 [voters]. I'll tell the inspector, 'Pull a random 15 throughout the stack and you read them back and verify they're correct on the computer."

To read about the pros and cons of candidates running as slates read Part 3 or the May issue of Habitat.

For more see our Site Map or join our Archive >>