I would like to promote a discussion of the upcoming vote to ammend the CC&R's to eliminate cummulative voting by posting the text of an argument in favor which I submitted to the Board in support of the change:
When the HarborPlace Tower Association was formed, the cumulative voting provision for Board elections made sense; it ensured that the investor majority could maintain control of the Board while making it possible for individual unit owners to "pool" their votes and elect at least one representative. Today, unit ownership is widely distributed with a few instances of multiple unit ownership. There is no longer a need to protect the rights of a majority owner or provide an advantage for a special group to compete on an uneven playing field.
In the extreme case, cumulative voting could be used to the potential disadvantage of the average unit owner if one candidate sought the cumulative votes of owners who would otherwise not have participated in the election. With five cumulative votes per unit, it is theoretically possible to be elected with five votes each from fewer than 41 of 225 unit votes.
Even ignoring the possibility of devious use, cumulative voting can tend to focus attention on electing one particular candidate who might be strong in one area. Eliminating cumulative voting would encourage us to distribute our votes among a team of candidates who will work well together for the betterment of our community.
By Stewart Sexton
When the HarborPlace Tower Association was formed, the cumulative voting provision for Board elections made sense; it ensured that the investor majority could maintain control of the Board while making it possible for individual unit owners to "pool" their votes and elect at least one representative. Today, unit ownership is widely distributed with a few instances of multiple unit ownership. There is no longer a need to protect the rights of a majority owner or provide an advantage for a special group to compete on an uneven playing field.
In the extreme case, cumulative voting could be used to the potential disadvantage of the average unit owner if one candidate sought the cumulative votes of owners who would otherwise not have participated in the election. With five cumulative votes per unit, it is theoretically possible to be elected with five votes each from fewer than 41 of 225 unit votes.
Even ignoring the possibility of devious use, cumulative voting can tend to focus attention on electing one particular candidate who might be strong in one area. Eliminating cumulative voting would encourage us to distribute our votes among a team of candidates who will work well together for the betterment of our community.
By Stewart Sexton
