Candidate nominations

Four ways a name gets into contention

Most boards picture one path to the ballot: a nominating committee picks candidates and presents a slate. That is one valid method, not the only one. A name can also come from the floor at the meeting, from the candidate nominating themself, or, later, as a write-in on the ballot itself.

None of these routes requires the chair's advance permission. A nominating committee is a convenience many boards adopt for structure, not a gate that other paths must pass through.

"A person can nominate himself or herself."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Chapter XII, Nominations and Elections, Public-domain 1915 edition, mirrored by Westside Toastmasters

Self-nomination usually doesn't need anyone's permission

Under Robert's Rules, standing up and naming yourself as a candidate is a legitimate nomination on its own. Nobody has to second it, and the chair does not get to decide whether to accept it.

In states with a detailed election statute for community associations, this default can turn into a guaranteed right written into law rather than just parliamentary custom. Check your own state's statute and your association's operating rules for whether self-nomination is a right you can insist on, or simply the common practice your board happens to follow.

A write-in can win, and the two ballots are not the same document

If a committee circulates a preliminary ballot to gather names for a slate, that is a nominating ballot. It is a different document from the ballot members later use to actually vote, and the two should never be combined into one.

Once real voting starts, a member is not limited to the names that made the slate. Writing in a name that was never formally nominated is a valid vote under ballot voting.

"Voting by ballot enables a member to vote for a candidate not formally nominated by writing in a name, a write-in vote."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Chapter XII, Nominations and Elections, Public-domain 1915 edition, mirrored by Westside Toastmasters

Where your nomination rules actually come from

Robert's Rules only fills gaps left open by law and by your own governing documents. If your state has a detailed election statute for community associations, it can require specific nomination procedures your bylaws must follow. If your state does not, the general nonprofit corporation law and then your bylaws do most of the work, with Robert's Rules covering whatever is still silent.

Before assuming your board's usual practice is required, check whether your state has a dedicated election statute at all, since most do not, and if so, what it says about nominations specifically.