The HOA Election Where Math Took A Vacation
In a baffling turn of events, our recent HOA election has transformed from a straightforward vote count into a perplexing saga of unexpected results, mysterious vote discrepancies, abandoned processes, and unanswered questions, leaving residents in search of clarity and accountability.
Brought to you by Drew McManus, your neighbor in 7908.
The Twilight Zone of Election Night
Picture this: It’s election night and after the vote count is secured Salvi Gupta, a candidate not on Board President Scott Timmerman’s recommended slate, is declared a winner. Champagne corks are ready to pop. 🍾
The next day, Salvi even receives a congratulatory email from the Property Manager, complete with a new board member welcome packet.
But hold onto your party hats folks, Salvi learns just hours later that she hasn’t won after all. Suddenly, a candidate from the President’s slate, who initially didn’t have enough votes, is crowned the victor instead.
The explanation? An Excel spreadsheet “sorting error.”
If you’re wondering what that means, you’re not alone. 🤔
A sorting error in a Microsoft Excel file, which is what the Election Judges from Picker & Associates used, happens when data is organized incorrectly, leading to inaccurate results. For example, if a user sorts a list of candidates and their vote totals but accidentally excludes some rows, the final results can be wrong.
But the important part to remember is in addition to a sorting error, the total vote count increased.
A sorting error does not change the total number of votes because sorting simply rearranges how the data is displayed without changing the actual numbers.
When Numbers Play Hide and Seek
Now, here’s where things get really interesting. Remember that total vote count? It decided to play a little game of its own, jumping from 43.99 to 45.221 overnight.
That’s right, even after the ballots were tabulated and the Election Committee overseeing the counting was dismissed, we somehow gained more votes after the counting was supposedly done.
The Silent Treatment
You’d think with all this confusion, those responsible for overseeing the election would be falling over themselves to investigate and explain.
But so far, it’s been crickets. 🦗
Multiple requests for clarification have gone unanswered, and most owners are still in the dark about these voting shenanigans since neither the Property Management Company nor Board President Scott Timmerman have notified them. As of the time this article was written, only candidates have been notified.
In order to learn more and confirm all election processes established in our House Rules have been followed and everything is above board, I reached out to the Property Manager, Board President Scott Timmerman, and Ralph Picker, whose company, Picker & Associates, was in charge of counting votes. Mr. Picker was even on-hand during the entire processing process and played an integral role in compiling data.
So far, the Board President and Mr. Picker have refused to reply while the Property Manager is giving answers that don’t actually answer anything.
What’s Next?
Rest assured, we’re not letting this issue get swept under the rug. A careful and thorough review of the election process is currently underway. We’re taking a close look at all the available information, from copies of the ballots, to the tally spreadsheets.
Our goal is straightforward: to clarify the discrepancies in the reported results and promote transparency in our HOA’s voting procedures.
Despite our best efforts to understand these puzzling events, we’ve hit a wall of silence. Our inquiries have been met with vague responses or no response at all. Fortunately, that won’t prevent us from making progress and you’ll learn more about what we discover in future articles.
Until then, and to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with, here’s the list of questions that remain unanswered by those responsible for the election. They should also help clue you in on what’s askew:
The following questions have been sent to the Property Manager, Board President Scott Timmerman, and Ralph Picker, founder of Picker & Associates on multiple occasions.
Flawed Process
- Could you provide a clear explanation of the sorting error that resulted in an initial declaration of a winner, only to have that result reversed? How was this error identified, and by whom?
- There has been a discrepancy in the total number of votes before and after the error was discovered. A sorting error does not account for this failure. Can you explain why this difference exists and how it was rectified? What device was used for timestamping each ballot during the tabulation process?
- Could you provide a list of all software used for sorting and counting votes, including software versions and any third party templates?
- Could you provide a detailed breakdown of vote tallies before and after the sorting error, including a copy of the spreadsheet that shows a history of all edits and which user was responsible for each edit?
Responsibility and Accountability
- Please confirm the names, titles, and roles of each Election Judge.
- Who specifically was responsible for overseeing and verifying the election results?
- Were there any manual interventions in the counting process? If so, can you provide documentation of those interventions?
- Were ballots left unattended at any stage of the process, or were any single members of the Election Judges or the Association’s legal counsel involved in the oversight?
- Was the room used for counting ballots monitored by a security camera?
- Why has there not been a detailed accounting of the Election Committees role in the flawed process? Did they communicate concerns to any Election Judge? If so, what were those concerns and how were they addressed?
- In a communication to Salvi Gupta on 10/11/2024, Jennie mentions a “recount.” Could you provide all information related to this recount along with a detailed accounting of the process used and which parties were involved?
- Why was Salvi Gupta sent new member onboarding communication and materials if the purported confirmation stage was not yet reached?
Transparency Failure
- Can you provide a detailed timeline, annotated as needed, of the events from the close of voting to the release of the initial (incorrect) results and the discovery of the error?
- Why were all homeowners not immediately informed of the sorting error and the impact it had on the election results?
- Why were the voting percentage discrepancies not addressed in Mr. Sweany’s 10/10/2024 email to candidates?
Integrity Breach and Dangerous Precedent
- Given the flaws in this election, how can homeowners trust the integrity of the current election or that future elections will not suffer from similar issues?
- What safeguards are in place to prevent errors of this nature from recurring?
- What steps will the board and management take to address the integrity breach caused by this mistake, and how do you plan to rebuild trust among homeowners?
- Why has there not been an owner’s meeting scheduled to address these errors, allowing owners reasonable time to ask questions and provide feedback?
Urgent Corrective Action
- It is crucial that we conduct an independent audit of the election process, including the software or tools used to tally and sort votes. The audit should be conducted by a reputable firm specializing in forensic auditing procedures with no business or personal relationships with any of the Association’s current service providers. The audit should also review current processes and platforms and include recommendations for a replacement process that relies on digital voting methods. Can you confirm if there are plans to pursue such an audit? If not, why?
- Why aren’t all ballots being made available to all owners without charge? This should be an option made available upon request, with owners notified in writing.
- Why has there not been a list of all ballots deemed to be invalid, unambiguous, illegible, or otherwise excluded from the final total, along with the reasons for each, provided by the Election Committee and Election Judges? Please make this list available to owners.
- What immediate corrective actions do you plan to implement to ensure future elections are conducted with complete transparency and accuracy?