N.Y. Private Housing Finance Law § 13-c: Voting, election and referendum procedures

§ 13-c. Voting, election and referendum procedures. 1. Any shareholder

vote involving the election of board members, by-law amendments, or on

dissolution or reconstitution or conversion of a mutual housing company

including any votes for a special assessment pursuant to subdivisions

one, two or three of section thirty-five-a of this article shall be

conducted using secret ballots. Such ballots shall be cast in-person by

tenants entitled to vote in the project; unless such tenant casts such

ballot using an absentee ballot issued pursuant to subdivision two of

this section.

2. Any shareholder entitled to vote may request an absentee ballot to

cast a ballot in any shareholder vote. Such an absentee ballot may be

delivered or mailed only to the primary residence address of the

shareholder entitled to vote in the project. An absentee ballot cast

pursuant to this subdivision shall be sealed within two envelopes and

shall be mailed or delivered to a neutral third party not running for a

position on the board of directors. The outer envelope containing the

ballot shall instruct the shareholder to affix their signature to the

outer envelope only, and further instruct the shareholder not to sign

the ballot itself.

3. Proxy voting shall not be permitted in a vote for a position on a

board of directors, for dissolution or reconstitution of the mutual

housing company, for the authorization of a feasibility study, for the

authorization to develop and submit to the attorney general an offering

plan for dissolution and reconstitution of the mutual housing company,

for the authorization to develop and submit to the attorney general a

proxy statement or any other documents permitted by the attorney general

instead of such offering plan, or any other vote relating to dissolution

or reconstitution required by the regulations of the commissioner or

supervising agency, or for an assessment approved pursuant to section

thirty-five-a of this article to fund the development, submission,

completion, or distribution of any of the aforementioned documents.

4. All ballots shall produce a paper or electronic record which may be

audited in the case of a contested election result.

5. No otherwise-eligible person shall be prevented from being a

candidate for, being elected to, or serving on a board of directors

based solely on that person owing or having owed any amount of any form

of arrears to the mutual housing company, unless, at the time of

nomination, that person currently owes an amount of arrears greater than

the equivalent of two months of that person's monthly maintenance.

Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require or mandate any

mutual housing company to adopt bylaws, rules, policies, or procedures

restricting any person's eligibility to be nominated, elected, or serve

on a board of directors. No grounds other than the above arrearages in

excess of two months maintenance shall be a basis in itself to deny such

eligibility to any person unless specifically incorporated in

regulations promulgated by or procedures approved by the commissioner or

supervising agency. Neither a mutual housing company nor the

commissioner or the supervising agency may modify in any way the above

limitation so as to restrict eligibility on the basis of fewer than two

months of arrears.