Florida Statutes 617.0721 – Voting by members
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(1) Members are not entitled to vote except as conferred by the articles of incorporation or the bylaws.
(2) A member who is entitled to vote may vote in person or, unless the articles of incorporation or the bylaws otherwise provide, may vote by proxy executed in writing by the member or by his or her duly authorized attorney in fact. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, any copy, facsimile transmission, or other reliable reproduction of the original proxy may be substituted or used in lieu of the original proxy for any purpose for which the original proxy could be used if the copy, facsimile transmission, or other reproduction is a complete reproduction of the entire proxy. An appointment of a proxy is not valid after 11 months following the date of its execution unless otherwise provided in the proxy.
(a) If directors or officers are to be elected by members, the bylaws may provide that such elections may be conducted by mail.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 617.0721
- Articles of incorporation: includes original, amended, and restated articles of incorporation, articles of consolidation, and articles of merger, and all amendments thereto, including documents designated by the laws of this state as charters, and, in the case of a foreign corporation, documents equivalent to articles of incorporation in the jurisdiction of incorporation. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Board of directors: means the group of persons vested with the management of the affairs of the corporation irrespective of the name by which such group is designated, including, but not limited to, managers or trustees. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Bylaws: means the code or codes of rules adopted for the regulation or management of the affairs of the corporation irrespective of the name or names by which such rules are designated. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- domestic corporation: means a corporation not for profit, subject to the provisions of this chapter, except a foreign corporation. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Foreign corporation: means a corporation not for profit organized under laws other than the laws of this state. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Mail: means the United States mail, facsimile transmissions, and private mail carriers handling nationwide mail services. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Member: means one having membership rights in a corporation in accordance with the provisions of its articles of incorporation or bylaws or the provisions of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Person: includes individual and entity. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- Voting power: means the total number of votes entitled to be cast for the election of directors at the time the determination of voting power is made, excluding a vote that is contingent upon the happening of a condition or event that has not yet occurred. See Florida Statutes 617.01401
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) A corporation may reject a vote, consent, waiver, or proxy appointment if the secretary or other officer or agent authorized to tabulate votes, acting in good faith, has a reasonable basis for doubting the validity of the signature on it or the signatory’s authority to sign for the member.
(3) If authorized by the board of directors, and subject to such guidelines and procedures as the board of directors may adopt, members and proxy holders who are not physically present at a meeting may, by means of remote communication:
(a) Participate in the meeting.
(b) Be deemed to be present in person and vote at the meeting if:
1. The corporation implements reasonable means to verify that each person deemed present and authorized to vote by means of remote communication is a member or proxy holder; and
2. The corporation implements reasonable measures to provide such members or proxy holders with a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting and to vote on matters submitted to the members, including an opportunity to communicate and to read or hear the proceedings of the meeting substantially concurrent with the proceedings.
If any member or proxy holder votes or takes other action by means of remote communication, a record of that member’s participation in the meeting must be maintained by the corporation in accordance with s. 617.1601.
(4) If any corporation, whether for profit or not for profit, is a member of a corporation organized under this chapter, the chair of the board, president, any vice president, the secretary, or the treasurer of the member corporation, and any such officer or cashier or trust officer of a banking or trust corporation holding such membership, and any like officer of a foreign corporation whether for profit or not for profit, holding membership in a domestic corporation, shall be deemed by the corporation in which membership is held to have the authority to vote on behalf of the member corporation and to execute proxies and written waivers and consents in relation thereto, unless, before a vote is taken or a waiver or consent is acted upon, it appears pursuant to a certified copy of the bylaws or resolution of the board of directors or executive committee of the member corporation that such authority does not exist or is vested in some other officer or person. In the absence of such certification, a person executing any such proxies, waivers, or consents or presenting himself or herself at a meeting as one of such officers of a corporate member shall be, for the purposes of this section, conclusively deemed to be duly elected, qualified, and acting as such officer and to be fully authorized. In the case of conflicting representation, the corporate member shall be represented by its senior officer, in the order stated in this subsection.
(5) The articles of incorporation or the bylaws may provide that, in all elections for directors, every member entitled to vote has the right to cumulate his or her votes and to give one candidate a number of votes equal to the number of votes he or she could give if one director were being elected multiplied by the number of directors to be elected or to distribute such votes on the same principles among any number of such candidates. A corporation may not have cumulative voting unless such voting is expressly authorized in the articles of incorporation.
(6) If a corporation has no members or its members do not have the right to vote, the directors shall have the sole voting power.
(7) Subsections (1), (5), and (6) do not apply to a corporation that is an association, as defined in s. 720.301, or a corporation regulated by chapter 718 or chapter 719.