So what does a voter do? If there are 9 voters that write in "No Vote" or leave the space blank and 1 vote for "Mr. Smith" (his own), then Mr. Smith is elected 1 to nothing (Hey, Mr. Smith get 100% of the vote! What a popular candidate!)
Clearly that is not what the discussion intends. What is a voter supposed to write down instead of the name of an unopposed candidate. "Against Mr. Smith"?
This has come up quite a bit on these boards. My last group ran under the assumption that an unopposed candidate was a shoe-in. While having the by-laws revised last year we were told that 'winning by a majority vote' is also interpreted to mean that an unopposed candidate must receive the majority Yes votes in order to win the spot. A majority of No votes is a vote of no confidence and leaves the position open until an acceptable candidate is elected.
If I understand correctly, your by-laws must explicitly state that unopposed candidates automatically win the seat.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
Does anyone know if a candiadate runs unopposed for an elected position can they be voted against by the membership or does that person win by default since there are no others running?
We have a situation that it may be in the best interest of the organization to leave a position unfilled for now (yes, there are reasons) until a better candidate is available.
