§ 13-c. Voting, election and referendum procedures. 1. Any shareholder
vote involving the election of board members, by-law amendments, or on
dissolution or reconstitution or conversion of a mutual housing company
including any votes for a special assessment pursuant to subdivisions
one, two or three of section thirty-five-a of this article shall be
conducted using secret ballots. Such ballots shall be cast in-person by
tenants entitled to vote in the project; unless such tenant casts such
ballot using an absentee ballot issued pursuant to subdivision two of
this section.

2. Any shareholder entitled to vote may request an absentee ballot to
cast a ballot in any shareholder vote. Such an absentee ballot may be
delivered or mailed only to the primary residence address of the
shareholder entitled to vote in the project. An absentee ballot cast
pursuant to this subdivision shall be sealed within two envelopes and
shall be mailed or delivered to a neutral third party not running for a
position on the board of directors. The outer envelope containing the
ballot shall instruct the shareholder to affix their signature to the
outer envelope only, and further instruct the shareholder not to sign
the ballot itself.

3. Proxy voting shall not be permitted in a vote for a position on a
board of directors, for dissolution or reconstitution of the mutual
housing company, for the authorization of a feasibility study, for the
authorization to develop and submit to the attorney general an offering
plan for dissolution and reconstitution of the mutual housing company,
for the authorization to develop and submit to the attorney general a
proxy statement or any other documents permitted by the attorney general
instead of such offering plan, or any other vote relating to dissolution
or reconstitution required by the regulations of the commissioner or
supervising agency, or for an assessment approved pursuant to section
thirty-five-a of this article to fund the development, submission,
completion, or distribution of any of the aforementioned documents.

4. All ballots shall produce a paper or electronic record which may be
audited in the case of a contested election result.

5. No otherwise-eligible person shall be prevented from being a
candidate for, being elected to, or serving on a board of directors
based solely on that person owing or having owed any amount of any form
of arrears to the mutual housing company, unless, at the time of
nomination, that person currently owes an amount of arrears greater than
the equivalent of two months of that person's monthly maintenance.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require or mandate any
mutual housing company to adopt bylaws, rules, policies, or procedures
restricting any person's eligibility to be nominated, elected, or serve
on a board of directors. No grounds other than the above arrearages in
excess of two months maintenance shall be a basis in itself to deny such
eligibility to any person unless specifically incorporated in
regulations promulgated by or procedures approved by the commissioner or
supervising agency. Neither a mutual housing company nor the
commissioner or the supervising agency may modify in any way the above
limitation so as to restrict eligibility on the basis of fewer than two
months of arrears.