Greetings Members,
This communication serves to inform Membership of the results of the 2014 CRA election for Board of Directors. This year’s election, held in accordance with the official CRA bylaws and executed according to all applicable state laws, presented the Club with a unique circumstance. Before I go into the details of what is coming next, I will take this opportunity to congratulate Clint Lee and Brian Mattson on their election to the Board!
What about the third seat? The election was valid per the number of ballots received as a percentage of our active membership as of the date of record. However, no single remaining candidate received enough votes to constitute a majority of the ballots cast.
I will attempt to clarify via example. First, our bylaws state: “A majority of the total number of votes cast by the members for each Director’s seat to be filled shall prevail.” This means that each open seat must be filled by a candidate that has acquired enough votes to be considered a majority of the ballots received.
Here’s an example: Let’s assume there are 100 club members eligible to vote (members as of the date of record specified in the ballot). In order for the election to be considered valid, at least 10 members (10%) must submit valid ballots. In this example we will assume all 100 members submitted valid ballots (clearly a valid election). There are three candidates on the ballot for two open seats. 75 members chose candidate A on their ballot (a clear majority of the 100 ballots in favor of A). 25 members did not choose candidate A at all. Candidate B received 40 votes and candidate C received 20 votes. The 75 ballots indicating Candidate A were split between B and C as were the 25 ballots not indicating A. Some ballots only indicated one choice which is still acceptable (only voting for someone you know or trust, etc.)
Since a majority of votes within the 100 ballots received is equal to 50 or more votes per candidate (according to election law), only candidate A can be seated. As neither candidate B nor C received enough individual votes to constitute a majority, membership must re-vote to declare a winner of the second seat in the example.
This means the CRA will hold a special election in the next few weeks to elect the third board member for 2015. We will assemble and mail a new ballot for the remaining single open seat indicating the remaining candidates and space for a write-in candidate. Voting eligible members (members as of the original date of record – September 7th, 2014) will cast a single vote for one of the remaining candidates or use the write-in space to indicate their single choice. A special election night will be held on November 4th at the Richfield VFW to certify the special election results. Voting eligible members can either submit their ballot via mail (must be received by November 4th) or can deliver their ballot in person on election night. The new ballot will indicate these same details.
Why did this happen this year? While it was exciting and refreshing to see so much interest in running for a CRA Board position for 2015, it is the first time in Club history the field of candidates was sufficient in numbers to effectively dilute the number of votes across so many candidates! The CRA Board will publish the results of this special election immediately following certification. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact anyone on the Board via the information located here: https://www.cra-mn.com/wordpress/contact#bod Thank you for your participation in ensuring the future of the CRA!
Mark Fisk – 2014 President
