Academy/Membership & Annual Meetings
Candidate statements
What a candidate statement is, and where its rules actually come from.
A candidate statement is a short written statement a candidate submits before the election so members can review it before voting. Its length, format, deadline, and content requirements come entirely from your state's election statute or your association's own election rules; Robert's Rules of Order, the default parliamentary authority named in most bylaws, says nothing about candidate statements at all.
What it is, and why it exists
A candidate statement gives members something to read about a nominee before they cast a vote, especially where ballots are mailed or voted electronically and members never hear the candidates speak. It typically covers background, priorities, and why the person is running.
It matters more than it looks because nomination itself is a low bar. Under Robert's Rules, a nominee does not need to consent in advance, only be qualified for the office.
"The nomination is valid provided the nominee is qualified for election to the board; the nominee need not be contacted in advance of being placed on the ballot."
Source: Candidate Nomination, FindHOALaw
A member could end up on the ballot without ever campaigning. A candidate statement, where one is required, is often the only information voters get.
Robert's Rules has no rule here
Boards sometimes assume a parliamentary authority as thorough as Robert's Rules must cover this. It does not. A direct search of the Robert's Rules Association's own FAQ and its Official Interpretations turns up zero mentions of candidate statements. That silence is the finding: candidate statements are a creature of state election statute and of an association's own election rules, not of parliamentary procedure.
Whether a statement is required at all, how long it can be, when it is due, and who reviews it before it reaches members vary by state and by your governing documents. Check your state's HOA election statute, if one exists, and your own election rules before telling a candidate what is or is not allowed.
The floor-nomination wrinkle
Most election rules set a statement deadline in advance of the meeting so ballots or packets can go out on time. Robert's Rules complicates that: nominations from the floor stay open at some point before the election even when a nominating committee has already reported a slate, and a floor nomination needs neither the chair's recognition nor a second.
"even if a nominating committee is in place, under Robert's Rules, nominations from the floor are in order at some point before the election is pending"
Source: Robert's Rules: Nominations from the Floor, Dummies.com, C. Alan Jennings, PRP
A floor nominee can be validly on the ballot with no statement filed by anyone's deadline. Robert's Rules does not resolve that conflict; it has no candidate-statement rule to reconcile it with. Your election rules need to say, in advance, what happens to a floor nominee who missed a statement deadline that only ever applied to the committee's slate.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A director insists Robert's Rules sets a 250 word limit on candidate statements. What's the accurate response?
Your election rules require candidate statements two weeks before the meeting. A member is nominated from the floor at the meeting itself. What's true?
A new board member asks where the association's candidate statement rules, such as the deadline and page limit, actually come from. What's the accurate answer?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, official FAQ, Robert's Rules Association
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Official Interpretations, Robert's Rules Association
- Candidate Nomination, FindHOALaw
- Robert's Rules: Nominations from the Floor, Dummies.com, C. Alan Jennings, PRP
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Membership & Annual Meetings
Next, see how floor nominations work under Robert's Rules, and what your election rules still have to decide.
Whether a candidate statement is required at all, its length, its deadline, and who reviews it before ballots go out vary by state election statute and by your association's own election rules.