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Dear Herons Glen Resident,
Please be advised that the election ballots were mailed out on February 27th. Now that the election ballots have been sent out, we would like to provide you with some important information. Each Owner is entitled to a vote in the upcoming Election. It is our standard process and intent to ensure that each owner on the Property Appraiser’s records receives an election ballot. Sometimes those records are difficult to follow. The District is required by the Charter to use the Property Appraiser’s records for determining who can vote. Because mistakes sometimes happen, the Rec District staff have always been quick to provide additional ballots to anyone who says they did not receive one. In order to qualify and be counted, each ballot must be returned in the MAILING ENVELOPE containing a signature on the Oath by the voter and the owner’s legibly printed name and Herons Glen property address. The District’s Election staff compares each voter envelope returned with the ownership list provided by the County Property Appraiser to make sure there is only one vote per owner.
In order for your vote to be counted, it is imperative that you follow the instructions on the ballot carefully. Please be sure to mark your ballot, place it in the SECRECY ENVELOPE provided, place the SECRECY ENVELOPE inside the MAILING ENVELOPE and finally and most importantly SIGN and print your name and Herons Glen property address legibly on the outside of the MAILING ENVELOPE before submitting your ballot so we can verify ownership rights against the Property Appraiser’s lists quickly and easily. If this process is not followed correctly, the ballot will be rejected, and your vote will not be counted. You may mail your ballot to the Recreation District Administration Office at the address on the MAILING ENVELOPE or drop it in the ballot box in the Administrative Office in the Clubhouse during normal business hours.
1. Ballot counting will be conducted by the District’s staff volunteers and monitored by the Election Committee volunteers appointed by the Board in the presence of any members of the public wishing to observe.
2. At or prior to the counting of the ballots, the MAILING ENVELOPES will be alphabetized, checked for proof of ownership rights against the Property Appraiser’s Lists, and names checked for duplications [by the Supervisor of Elections and staff volunteers]; then put aside in a locked space.
3. Any questionable ballots will be set aside to be reviewed for eligibility by the District Council prior to completion of the vote counting.
4. Beginning at 2:00 P.M. on the day of the election, any ballots received before the Close of Election at 4:00 P.M. will be brought to a convenient place in the Clubhouse to be opened in public. The District’s staff volunteers will open the MAILING ENVELOPES, remove the SECRECY ENVELOPES containing the anonymous ballots that have previously qualified as a valid vote to be counted and mix the unopened SECRECY ENVELOPES together.
5. At Close of the Election, 4:00 P.M. on the day of the election, any additional MAILING ENVELOPES received prior to that time will be brought to the counting room, opened, and mixed with the previously received unopened SECRECY ENVELOPES. The District’s staff volunteers will then publicly begin to open and count the ballots. The Election Committee volunteers along with the District’s Council will monitor the process. Anyone, including Herons Glen residents and the general public are welcome to attend.
6. The process will require four teams of two staff members to publicly review ballots and tally the votes with one member calling out the vote, the second member recording the vote called on a tally sheet and the Election Committee volunteer observing each recorded vote to assure accuracy.
7. When the counting has been completed, the Supervisor of Elections will tally up the votes, and the District’s Council will review the calculation to determine if an automatic recount is called for. If any candidate loses by a margin of one-half percent or less of the total votes cast, a recount is required. If no recount is mandated the Supervisor of Elections will then announce the results.
8. The Board will officially accept the election results at the Board Meeting to be held on March 26th at 9:00 A.M. in Card Room C.
If you have questions or comments concerning the Recreation District Board Election please submit them by email to Lynn Brew, HGRD Supervisor of Elections at controller@hgrdnfm.com.
Sincerely,
HGRD Board of Supervisors
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