During the dredging project discussion at the August 2014 POALH Annual Meeting, the subject of who was eligible to vote at POALH meetings came up. President Gail Miers stated that those who were registered at the sign-in table and wearing nametags could vote. This question prompted the Board to look further into voting requirements, and we found that our Charter addresses the issue. Section 1 of our Charter, Voting Rights, states “Any natural person who is an elector of the Town of East Haddam and resides within said limits of the Association or who has attained the age of eighteen years and owns any legal lot within said limits which has an assessed value equal to or in excess of one thousand dollars and has registered with the secretary-clerk of the Association shall, while he or she continues to be such elector and resident or an owner of such lot, be a member of the Property Owners’ Association of Lake Hayward, shall be entitled to vote at any meeting or referendum of said association and shall be eligible to hold any office in said association. No member shall be entitled to more than one vote.”
The 2015 POALH spring packet contained a Voting Registration Form and a message from Secretary-Clerk Bonnie Sudell, advising that, per our Charter, members of the POALH should be registered with the Secretary-Clerk to be able to vote at meetings and referendums. This form generated considerable discussion at our June meeting, including a motion to form a committee to review the Charter regarding the “registered voter” definition and voting rights of POALH members, not make any changes prior to the August meeting and to bring suggestions to the August meeting.
Gail Miers and Bonnie Sudell were asked to spearhead the committee and seek legal opinion from our attorney. Diane Camacho and Jo-Anne Gallant came forward to help interpret our attorney’s response. Here is the result of this committee’s work:
Why do we need to register to vote?
To simply say “because it is in the Charter” won’t combat the attitude that we have always voted without registering and there is no need to change the “past practice.” However, as soon as the Board had knowledge of the voter registration requirements and informed the members, any subsequent votes that we take without following the proper procedures can be called into question by any member. As a political subdivision of the State of Connecticut, we are subject to State laws that govern taxing districts and like it or not, voter registration is included. As long as the language is in the Charter, the association members need to abide by it for votes taken at meetings to be legal and binding.
Are we the only lake association in Connecticut to require voter registration?
Not all of the lakes in the state have lake associations. Some lakes, such as the nearby Lake Andover require memberships, and one need not be a lake resident to join, but membership was required to be able to vote. Two lakes, Cedar Lake (Bristol/Wolcott, Conn.) and Lake Quassapaug (Middlebury, Conn.) did have their bylaws online. The bylaws indicated that to vote, one needed to live within the boundaries outlined and purchase a membership ($500 and $100 respectively) which provided one member of the household one vote at their annual meeting. Several of the lakes with associations had websites that were not as comprehensive as ours and basically listed rules, regulations and events. A visitor to the site had no access to the association’s charter or bylaws, so determining who could vote wasn’t possible. One even had a member login so non-members could not access it.
Who is eligible to register to vote?
In order to be eligible to register with the secretary-clerk to vote, you must meet one of two conditions. First, you must be a natural person who is an elector of the Town of East Haddam and live within the lake boundaries. Second, you may be eighteen or older and own a lot within the lake boundaries with a value in excess of one thousand dollars.
What does our Charter mean by “Any natural person”?
The Charter uses the term “Any natural person” which immediately eliminates companies such as the Connecticut Water Company, which owns land, from having a vote. Likewise, a corporation or LLC (limited liability corporation) which owns a cottage cannot vote because they are not a natural person. If an individual, tenant or member, from the corporation is a resident of the cottage and an elector of East Haddam, they satisfy the Charter and can register to vote.
What about trusts and estates?
If a property is listed as a trust with no co-owner listed, there is no natural person and therefore no vote. So if the language of the trust reads ‘the living trust of John Doe’, John cannot vote unless John resides at the property and is an elector of East Haddam. However, listed co-owners may register with the secretary-clerk and vote even if they are not electors of the Town because they own property valued at least $1,000. So if the trust reads John and Jane Doe and the living trust of John Doe, both are eligible to register and vote. If just John’s name is on the trust, his wife must live at the lake and be an elector of the Town to be eligible to register to vote.
If the property is held in a Life Estate Deed, the situation is similar to that of a trust. All of the owner(s) of the life estate may register to vote if they are specifically named on the life estate deed. Otherwise, they must reside at the lake and be electors of the Town.
What about deeded properties?
Anyone listed on the deed may register to vote with the secretary-clerk. If a spouse is not on the deed, or the property has other owners not listed, they cannot vote unless they are residents and are registered as an elector of the Town of East Haddam. Children of the owner may register to vote with the secretary-clerk if they are residents and are registered as an elector of the Town.
What if you own multiple properties?
If you own multiple properties and are listed on multiple deeds, you only have one vote. The number of properties doesn’t matter.
What about renters?
Renters may register with the secretary-clerk to vote if and only if they live within the lake boundaries and are registered as electors with the Town of East Haddam.
What can we do if we are dissatisfied with the voter registration process?
As the language regarding voter registration is in the Charter, and the Charter was accepted by the Connecticut state legislature, there is little we can do. Changing the Charter literally takes an ‘Act of Congress’ and the state legislators would rather not deal with what they consider a minor issue. Even if we voted to change the Charter, it could take several years before changes could be made. In the meantime, it is in our best interests to abide by the voter registration process so that votes taken at our annual meeting are legal and binding.