Last night we held our annual meeting and elections. There were 26 voter members. I gave out one sheet ballot with all positions and nominees names on it. The Board chose two non-voter members to collect the ballot and count them. At the end the new Board members were announced, the ballots were put into a sealed envelope and handed over to me. The meeting was adjourned.

When I got home, I took the minutes out to type up, when I noticed that there was a discrepancy in the sheet that the votes were counted. For one of the positions - there were 27 votes - one person having 14 votes and the other 13 votes. Only 26 people were eligible to vote. Also for two other positions only 25 votes were added up.

I called both co-chairs and we agreed to have an Exec meeting tonight. Now, my questions are:

1. Is it allowed to open the sealed envelope at this meeting and recount the ballots or should that be done among the board/general membership members?
2. Should the Member-at-Large also be sitting in the Exec meeting?

A: Unfortunately, RONR does not address your questions. It describes in great detail how to prevent mistakes and fraud, but not what to do after they occur.

I advise bringing your questions to your organization. It may be appropriate to call a special meeting just for that purpose. Optionally, if your bylaws have granted your board the authority, the board can answer the questions and decide how to proceed, remembering that it is answerable to the organization.

Whatever you do, I recommend documenting it well, and perhaps consulting with an attorney. Good luck!