RECALL QUORUM

RECALL QUORUM

QUESTION: The battle goes on in our community… the second recall election in six months! If they can't make quorum, the petitioners believe they can adjourn the meeting to a new date with a lower quorum. I thought a recall died if it failed to meet quorum.

ANSWER: It depends on your bylaws. As you already know, special membership meetings are ridiculously easy to call. Only 5% of the membership need to sign a petition to trigger a recall meeting. That means quorum is the key issue.

Bylaws. Following is a typical bylaw provision: 

In the absence of a quorum at a Members' meeting, a majority of those present in person or by proxy may adjourn the meeting to another time... The quorum for such a meeting shall be at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total voting power of the Association, present in person or by proxy.

No Exception. The provision makes no exception for recall meetings. Since recall meetings are membership meetings, a majority of those present can adjourn to a later date where the quorum drops to 25%. The unintended consequence is that a small number of members can recall an entire board. If only 25 of 100 members cast ballots, the recall meets the reduced quorum. Of the 25, only a majority, i.e., 13, are needed to approve the recall. 

I find it troubling that in a 100-unit association, five members can trigger a special meeting and 13 members can recall an entire board. This scenario lends itself to a great deal of abuse as described in my October 26 newsletter. However, a careful reading of the bylaws with the Davis-Stirling Act provides some balance.

Majority of Those Present. The bylaws state that "a majority of those present...may adjourn the meeting" and the Davis-Stirling Act provides that:

each ballot...shall be treated as a member present at a meeting for purposes of establishing a quorum. (Civ. Code §5115(b).)

That means ballots count as members in the room. If 30 ballots were cast and only ten members physically attend the meeting and all ten vote for adjournment, ten is not a majority of forty. Therefore, the motion fails and the recall dies.

RECOMMENDATION: Rather than go through mental gymnastics, associations should amend their bylaws. I recommend eliminating cumulative voting, proxy voting, and quorum requirements for the election of directors (which eliminates the need for reduced quorums). All other meetings (including recalls) require a majority quorum.
Easy-Peasy. With those amendments, elections are easy. There are no reduced quorums and no cumulative voting calculations to create confusion. It's a straightforward, two-step process. Did the petitioners make quorum? If not, the recall dies--there are no reduced quorum meetings. If they made quorum, did a majority approve the recall? It's a straight up or down vote to remove a director or an entire board. No further calculations are needed.