40 Square advocacy leads to Executive Order allowing mail-in ballots for cooperatives; annual meeting remains postponed

Following advocacy efforts from 40 Square Cooperative Solutions’ leadership, Gov. Walz in late August employed his peacetime emergency powers by issuing Executive Order 20-86 (EO). The order allows all Minnesota cooperatives, including 40 Square, the flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct director elections via a special meeting rather than a traditional in-person annual meeting, providing cooperatives of all sectors the ability to vote for directors via mail-in ballots. The EO also temporarily removes the statutory requirement that cooperatives hold an annual meeting during the peacetime emergency.

“We are grateful to the governor and his administration for listening to our concerns by issuing this Executive Order in response to these unprecedented circumstances,” says 40 Square Executive Director Char Vrieze. “This greatly expands our options to ensure trust and transparency in our cooperative annual meeting process, which are inherent in the cooperative model.”

Cooperative Network, along with 40 Square, has been working with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Some cooperatives, including 40 Square, expressed concerns about how to track their ‘one member, one vote’ process while holding virtual annual meetings, specifically the difficulties in establishing a quorum to conduct official business. Now, elections can take place via mail-in ballots because a special meeting allows for other forms of voting, while annual meetings do not.

Cooperative Network expressed its gratitude to the staff at 40 Square Cooperative Solutions “for helping to formulate the idea and helping us work with the department staff on the language.”

Due to the ongoing pandemic and measures restricting large in-person gatherings, 40 Square’s annual meeting remains postponed. 40 Square Chair Robby Gieseke said the board will continue updating its members on the status and format of its annual meeting.

“In light of this Executive Order, our board will meet to discuss and consider our next steps,” said 40 Square Chair Robby Gieseke. “We all want to be together in the same room, but until that can happen, we’re thankful for the flexibility given by the Executive Order from Gov. Walz.”