Registration
Registration usually begins 30 minutes before the start of the meeting.
It is almost never enough time and so the meeting starts late or the
registration process becomes a distraction for the first part of the
meeting. I can't understand why the registration desk doesn't open
earlier, especially for the larger corporations as the meetings often
have to start late.
Registration is handled by the property management company. They use
current records of service and a list of who is over 30 days in arrears
to determine if the proxy forms are valid and if the owners who appear
in person should receive a ballot.
Owners and proxy holders may be required to show photo ID.
Owners in arrears
Any owner who is in arrears has the right to pay up and receive a
ballot so the management company must be prepared to accept cash or
cheques and issue receipts.
Receiving proxies
The proxy forms are the principals' voting instruments and the
registrar will take the forms
and keep them secure for the election scrutineers.
The owners may receive ballots with different colours for each separate
election. For example, a green coloured ballot may be used for the
election of the owner-resident director and a blue ballot for all
the
other open director positions. A third colour may be used for the
voting of other meeting business.
Challenge the
registration personal
In some condos, there are suspicions that the property management
company and the board resort to dirty tricks to win elections.
Perhaps corruption is suspected or at a minimum, you believe that the
incumbents will cheat in order to remain in office and that the
property management will assist them.
If you think this is absurd, read "Condo Board Election Revolt".
A few years ago, at as west-end Toronto AGM, the challenging candidates
asked the chairman, who is a prominent Bay Street lawyer, to open the
ballot box to ensure it was empty. The chairman got all indigent and
said such an accusation was an affront to the property manager. After a
long and bitter argument, it was discovered that there was 30 marked
ballots supporting the incumbents sitting in the closed box.
If you have reason to believe that there is a possibility of election
fraud,
once the date of the AGM has been announced,
write to the corporation lawyer and state your concerns and request
that a neutral party observe the election process or that the concerned
candidates be allowed to appoint scrutineers to examine the proxies
during registration.
If possible you may want to have your condo lawyer, an experienced
property manager, an accountant or a condo consultant act as a
scrutineer
during the registration process and the counting of the ballots.
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