Does your vote matter in the Canyon Lake POA Board of Directors election? Can one vote really make a difference or change the outcome of the election? The chances of a candidate losing an election by one vote are slim, but it does happen.
In 2015, candidate Paul Queen lost to Ted Horton by just one vote in the POA election. Horton received 518 votes and Queen received 517.
Immediately following the election, Queen inquired about the count. He considered requesting a recount until he learned that it would cost him $200 per hour, with a final cost ranging between $1,000 and $5,000.
While Queen pondered his option to call a recount, he received an email from the company responsible for counting the ballots, HOA Elections of California, Inc. Due to the count being one-off, the company decided to do a recount at no cost to Queen. Unfortunately for Queen and his supporters, the results were still the same. It was official, he lost by one vote.
Approximately 66 percent of the eligible Canyon Lake voters did not exercise their right to vote in the POA election that year. Perhaps some residents felt, as one individual, their vote didn’t matter or wouldn’t have an impact on the election.
The 2015 POA election is an example of how one individual vote has the power to change the outcome of an election. Every vote counts.
