[OMS_MANAGERS] Question on Board Election Voting Practices

[HENRY Katie * OPRD]

Hi all,

I’m just going to chime in with a resource that I firmly believe all nonprofits in Oregon should have that might be helpful to consult related to this question: The Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook.

Looks like a 6th edition is in the works but that they have also added some additional toolkits.

https://nonprofitpublications.net/handbook

Katie

[cid:image001.jpg at 01DCF812.196C4CE0]

Katie Henry (she, her, hers) |  Oregon Heritage Commission Coordinator
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oregon Heritage, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Oregon Heritage Commission
Cell: (503) 877-8834
725 Summer St NE, Ste C
Salem, Oregon 97301

Visit our website<http://www.oregonheritage.org/>, Like us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage>, Visit our Blog<http://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/>, Join the Oregon Heritage News e-news<https://omls.oregon.gov/mailman/listinfo/Heritage>.
From: OMS_MANAGERS <oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> On Behalf Of Rachel O'Rourke
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 12:42 PM
To: judyg at macnet.com
Cc: Oregon Main Street Network Members <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>
Subject: Re: [OMS_MANAGERS] Question on Board Election Voting Practices

Thanks for sharing Judy - that makes sense for a 501c3 setup. I really appreciate your response.

Rachel

On Tue, Jun 9, 2026 at 12:38 PM <judyg at macnet.com<mailto:judyg at macnet.com>> wrote:

We are a 501c3, and not a business association.  Our bylaws are about Board Members, one vote per member. Neither a business nor a business owner "owns" a seat on the Board. Board Members are voted in, serve a term.  They might be voted in for several terms (term limits not in our bylaws).  That's how we handle it. We are a tiny group, small town.

Judy Gerrard - Dayton Community Development Association



On 2026-06-09 8:06 am, Rachel O'Rourke wrote:

Hello Main Street colleagues,

I'm reaching out to get some perspective on how other Main Street organizations handle voting rights during board elections.

We recently encountered a situation where an individual stakeholder owns multiple downtown businesses and/or properties within our district. Historically, our organization has not had a formally adopted policy addressing whether that person receives one vote as a stakeholder or multiple votes based on the number of entities they own. Practices have varied over the years.

For this year's election, we opted to allow one ballot per stakeholder, regardless of how many businesses or properties they own. The rationale was to create a more equitable and consistent process, but it has prompted questions from some members who believe voting rights should be tied to each separate ownership entity.

I'm curious how your organizations approach this issue:

  *   Do you allow one vote per person?
  *   One vote per business or property?
  *   One vote per legal ownership entity (individual, partnership, corporation, LLC, etc.)?
  *   Is your process outlined in your bylaws, board policies, or another governing document?
  *   Have you ever had pushback on this issue, and if so, how did you address it?

We're planning to review our bylaws and governance policies to provide greater clarity moving forward, and I'd greatly appreciate hearing how others have navigated this situation.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and any language or policies you're willing to pass along.

Best,

Rachel O'Rourke
Executive Director
Downtown Bend Business Association

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