Homeowners association under fire for election process

SALEM — Multiple residents have brought forth concerns regarding the election process and overall board dysfunction for a local Homeowners Association (HOA). 

Jocassee Ridge Subdivision, located between Lake Jocassee and Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, describes itself as a “small, private, gated community” with “stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and abundance of nature and wildlife.” 

But under this idyllic exterior, residents have claimed they can’t trust the way the HOA board election is being run. 

In documents provided to The Journal, subdivision resident Marie Sussman alleged the 2023 election to be a “horrific, poorly planned and executed charade of an election process that went WRONG (sic) right from the start.”

A top concern for Sussman was the lack of anonymity as the board claimed. She said each voter’s lot number was written on the back of envelopes, which exposed the identity of each voter. 

Board member Laura Eliason — also a candidate on the ballot — was a teller in the 2023 election with the help of appointed “voting inspectors,” according to multiple residents. Eliason inspected all ballots for accuracy and discarded two that did not meet her “validity standard without members present,” Sussman wrote. 

Conflict of interest?

The subdivision’s bylaws state, “The most current ‘Robert’s Rules of Order’ shall govern the conduct of the meetings of the Association.” 

“Robert’s Rules of Order” is a book that, in short, details how meetings are to be conducted with ethics in mind. 

According to the book, “in an election by ballot, for example, the tellers should refer to the assembly for decision on all questions on which there is any uncertainty,” and a later section reads, “If the meaning of one or more ballots is doubtful, they can be treated as illegal if it is impossible for them to affect the result; but if they may affect the result, the tellers report them to the chair, who immediately submits to the assembly the questions of how these ballots should be recorded.”

When The Journal reached out to Eliason to verify the ballot situation and other allegations, Eliason said she had “no comment.”  

Board president Dean Jackman did not respond to a request for comment by press time Thursday.

Sussman also alleged Eliason ignored a member’s concern that it’d be a conflict of interest for Eliason to handle the election.  

Karen Maertens, another subdivision resident and a candidate on both the 2023 and 2024 ballots, told The Journal she “absolutely” felt it was a conflict of interest for Eliason to run the 2023 election. 

“I told her so a few times. There’s no other way around it,” Maertens said. “She was on the board, she was appointed to the board in October, and then in January, she had to run for reelection.”

Robert’s Rules state a teller “should not have a direct personal involvement in the question or in the result of the vote to an extent that they should refrain from voting under the principle stated in 45:4.” 

According to that principle, “no member should vote on a question in which he has a direct personal or pecuniary interest not common to other members of the organization.”

Shredding Ballots?

Sussman and other residents alleged Eliason “immediately shredded” the ballots following the election, despite members’ suggestions to keep records for review at a later date. Sussman alleged the ballots were shredded before the meeting was adjourned. 

Ballots should be put under seal until the time for a recount expires, and then they should be destroyed, according to “Robert’s Rules.” Recounts can be called within the meeting, at the next meeting if held within the quarter or at a meeting specially called for the reason of a recount if it is within the quarter and before the organization’s next scheduled meeting. 

Proxy debate

Jocassee Ridge Subdivision’s HOA website forbade the use of proxies in the upcoming 2024 election. “Per legal consultation, proxies will not be accepted for Absentee Ballots or in-person ballots to vote in directors,” the site reads. Multiple HOA members confirmed the HOA didn’t allow proxies in the 2023 election, either.

However, the community’s bylaws read, “Members may also vote by proxy, whereby the Member selects another Member to vote on his or her behalf on any issue at a meeting of the Membership. The Proxy attached to these Bylaws may be used for proxy voting.”  

In a document given to The Journal dated December 2022, attorney Mark Bible, acting on behalf of Jocassee Ridge Subdivision and in response to a South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs complaint, stated, “As previously indicated by the Board, voting at the 2023 annual meeting may be made in accordance with the Bylaws, in person, by proxy, and/or by absentee ballot.” 

‘Toxic atmosphere’

In a post published and dated July 22, 2023, to the HOA’s community website, board member and secretary Bob Arnold resigned his position. Arnold was elected in January 2023. In his post, Arnold thanked the members who voted for him and thanked “some board members for their calm devotion to handling the HOA business without losing sight of serving the members at large.” Arnold then went into detail about his reasons for resigning. 

“I tire of the machinations that sanitize the minutes before publishing and implement secrecy when the board wishes to hide what it’s doing,” Arnold said.

“Finally, while on the board, I have discovered new friends and lost some that turned out to not be so,” the post continued. “I also know now that I do not have the temperament for politics. I cannot work with individuals that smell of corruption and exude a toxic atmosphere.” 

2024 election details

In a letter sent to residents of the Jocassee Ridge Subdivision, proxies are not allowed in the 2024 election due to “legal consultation,” and ballots are to be shredded immediately after the election. The election is scheduled for Saturday.