This is why it is illegal for neighborhood organizations to have open elections under current Minnesota non-profit statutes.
Neighborhood groups are covered under Minnesota's non-profit law. In a non-profit corporation, you must be a member with voting rights to be eligible to vote at a meeting. (317a.437 subd. 1) a person cannot be a member without the person's expressed or implied consent. (317a.401 subd. 2) What consent means, is open to interpretation. Some neighborhood groups have people sign forms saying they want to be members. In any case, you cannot simply say that all the people in your neighborhood are members and have voting rights. After fixing a date for a meeting, the nonprofit must prepare a list of voting members. (317a.439 subd. 1) When a date is fixed, only voting members on that date are entitled to notice of and permitted to vote at the meeting (317a.437 subd. 1) What this means is that you cannot simply go to your neighborhood organization's annual meeting and say that you want to vote, the way you can go and vote for, say, president. If you are not on the membership list when the date of the meeting is fixed, you cannot vote. And I did not dream this up. We have had at least one non-profit lawyer who has been telling neighborhood organizations that if they hold open elections they are out of compliance with Minnesota law, and that they must change their bylaws. It was only after hearing what she was telling the neighborhoods that I became concerned about this issue. I will write another posting on the practical impact the current law has had on neighborhood groups. Jay Clark Cooper Robert Johnson wrote: > > Jay Clark wrote: > > > > According to current Minnesota state law, it is illegal for neighborhood > > organizations to do open > > elections, where the people who live in the neighborhood are allowed to > > come to the annual meeting and vote, the way you can go and vote for, > > say, president. > > [RJ] Please provide complete cite in Minn. Statute 317A. for your opinion > above. Thanks. > > Robert Johnson > Professor Emeritus, UM > West Bank Cedar Riverside _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
