2026 Board Election — Certified Results
Results by community, vote counts, rejected ballots, and the quorum math — from the Association’s August 5 announcement and its attached “Voting data as recorded by Association Voting” report.
🗄️ ARCHIVE — THE 2026 ELECTION IS OVER
Voting closed July 17, results were certified August 5, the annual meeting was held August 15, and the new Board took office August 25, with Ross MacLaren elected President. This page is kept as the permanent record: certified vote counts by community, the quorum math, the seated Board, and the election calendar as it actually ran. Candidate questionnaire answers, the signed forms and Georgia’s SB 406 are on the 2026 Election & SB 406 page →.
✅ CERTIFIED — RESULTS ANNOUNCED AUGUST 5, 2026
802 ballots cast against a quorum requirement of 791 — the election was valid by just 11 ballots. Turnout: 20.28% of 3,955 eligible votes. Full vote counts below, from the Association’s own certification data.
Results by community
| Community | Winner | Votes | Runner(s)-up | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Forest | Richard Stonecipher | 88 | Jonathan Meyer (write-in, all spellings) | 24 |
| Beaver Bendall write-in race — no candidate on the ballot | Ross MacLaren (write-in) | 20 | Susan Decker (write-in) | 15 |
| Beaver Lake Estatesdecided by 6 votes | Thomas Grahame Anthony | 36 | Betty Reece | 30 |
| Eagles Mountain Resort | Mike Padgett | 181 | Cary Beatty 77 · Robert Hepfer 72 · Frank Darrow 60 | — |
| Eagles Mountain Campground | Leah Godfrey | 74 | Tom Kenney (write-in, all spellings) | 60 |
| Villaswon with a single vote | Timothy Miller (write-in) | 1 | “No preference” | 3 |
The certification numbers
- Eligible votes: 3,955 · Quorum requirement: 791 · Total ballots cast: 802 — the election was valid by 11 ballots (turnout 20.28%)
- Electronic: 879 ballots started, 776 cast (50 opened only, 27 reached preview but never cast) · Paper: 443 mailed, just 26 cast
- Ineligible write-in votes were itemized per community (votes for non-residents, unknown ownership, or owners not in good standing) — a handful in each race; no separate whole-ballot rejection count was published
- Participation reality check: the six winners were elected by a combined 400 decisive votes in an association of 3,955 eligible votes — and one seat was filled with a single write-in vote
- For scale: 2025 was certified with 833 ballots; 2024 fell short at ≈17%
The seated Board — terms began August 25, 2026
The new Board was introduced at the August 15 annual meeting and seated on August 25, when executive officers were elected. Ross MacLaren was elected President. The Association has not published the remaining officer assignments — Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer — and they will be added here when it does.
| Director | Community | Term expires |
|---|---|---|
| Ross MaclarenPresident | Beaver Bend | 2028 |
| Nick Jackson | Beaver Bend | 2027 |
| Richard Stonecipher | Beaver Forest | 2028 |
| Kurt DeVries | Beaver Forest | 2027 |
| Thomas Anthony | Beaver Lake | 2028 |
| Vacantno appointment announced | Beaver Lake | 2027 |
| Mike Padgett | Eagle Mountain | 2028 |
| Gary Brown | Eagle Mountain | 2027 |
| Leah Godfrey | Eagle Mountain Campground | 2028 |
| Shirley Starling | Eagle Mountain Campground | 2027 |
One gap worth watching. The Association’s posted roster shows the second Beaver Lake seat as vacant through 2027, with no appointment announced in any published notice. Roster as posted by the Association at coosawatteeriverresort.net, retrieved August 28, 2026.
How the 2026 election unfolded
🗳️ HOW THE 2026 ELECTION UNFOLDED
E-voting closed at 11:59 PM on July 17; mailed ballots were accepted through July 27. On July 30 the Association announced quorum: 802 ballots received. The dates below are the Association’s own published election calendar.
Quorum: the Association’s official Facebook announcement (“Election update,” July 30) reported 802 electronic and paper ballots received. Certification on August 5 put the requirement at 791 of 3,955 eligible votes — the election was valid by 11 ballots. Dates above are the Association’s own published election calendar.
What happens next
Still outstanding: the remaining officer assignments, whether and how the vacant Beaver Lake seat gets filled, and the new Board’s first meeting agenda. Candidate questionnaire answers, in their own words, remain on the Election page.
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🗄️ ARCHIVE
Kept for the record — older material and the underlying documents. The 2026 election closed July 17, 2026; results were certified August 5 and the new Board was seated August 25.