Dennis Greenstein Quoted in The Cooperator "Fair Elections"

Dennis Greenstein was quoted in the Questions & Answers section in the May 2008 issue of The Cooperator. The letter writer wrote that when it comes to elections in her building, unit owners have little influence. After the ballots are cast, the president (who is also one of the candidates) takes all of the ballots and mails them to the accounting firm that runs the elections. The letter writer’s concern was that the ballots could have been manipulated prior to being delivered to the accounting firm, to whom they should go to deal with the situation.

Dennis responded, “The bylaws of the condominium provide for the procedures and requirements of the calling and holding of the annual meeting of the unit owners and the election of the board of managers.… They further state that all unit owners may attend the meeting in person or by proxy given to another person.”

With respect to the letter writer’s concern with the ballots being manipulated, Dennis said, “It is highly irregular and is not appropriate for any person running for the board to receive the ballots or have access to them. Each of the inspectors of the election should receive the ballots at the meeting, tabulate and submit an affidavit confirming that the tabulation of the ballots was properly performed.”

In response to the letter writer’s question regarding whom to go to in order to deal with the situation, Dennis noted that , “In the event a unit owner believes that there was an irregularity in the election, the following options may be available: 1) an application to the court challenging the election to determine if it was properly conducted, and possibly ruling that another meeting must be held for a new election; 2) a special meeting may be called for the election of a new board; or 3) the unit owners may seek to remove a board member or members. The bylaws of the condominium must be reviewed to determine how some of the above actions may be taken and what requirements must be met to proceed with such actions.”