Perspective from the COOCVE Election Chair:

Timing of the Election: Currently, COOCVE Directors whose terms are ending, or have already ended, participate in the annual elections of Master Management BOD, CenClub BOD, and COOCVE Executive BOD. Outgoing COOCVE Directors may no longer live in the village or may feel less obligated to vote as they are either leaving or have already left their Director positions.

Additionally, the current timeframe for candidates to submit their names for the ballot falls during the off-season, making it challenging to reach potential candidates. Adjusting the starting term of the annual elections from January to March could effectively eliminate these issues.

Weighting Formula: In the current voting system, each Garden building receives 1 vote, while Hi-Rise buildings receive 3, 4, or 5 votes based on the number of units in the building. This setup results in a maximum of 414 possible votes, cast by 414 COOCVE Directors. However, finding multiple COOCVE Directors for the Hi-Rise buildings can be challenging. When Hi-Rise buildings elect fewer than their allotted directors, it undermines the weighting system and leads to underrepresented owners.

An alternative approach would be to assign the weighted votes to each Association, with each Association casting one vote. This would still total 414 votes, but they would be cast by 253 COOCVE Directors rather than 414, simplifying the voting process and providing a means to achieve the desired weighting outcome and better represented owners.

An even better approach would be to replace the fixed weighting (1, 3, 4, 5) with each building’s actual unit count, resulting in 8,508 votes cast by 253 COOCVE Directors. This method removes potential disparities in representation, such as 16-unit and 24-unit Garden buildings each receiving 1 vote despite representing vastly different numbers of owners (a 50% difference).

Clarifying Voting Responsibilities: The President and other Board Members have a fiduciary duty to the Association and its owners. According to our Association's governing documents, the Board is granted the authority to manage the Association's affairs (either directly or through representatives). This authority would logically include the responsibility and duty to vote, which the Board could choose to delegate to COOCVE Directors.

This distinction is subtle but important: while COOCVE Directors are not bound by the Association’s governing documents, the Association Board of Directors is. By centering voting authority with the Board—who may delegate this duty to COOCVE Directors as needed—we reinforce accountability within the established framework of fiduciary responsibility.

I look forward to meaningful discussions in 2025 about potential enhancements to the election process, incorporating input from all CVE stakeholders.