...and I read in the official notice below that general membership is asked to "recommend" (twice) on the "recommendation form" and, nowhere on that official notice do I see anything else other than to "recommend" by membership... and, the first place where I see the term nominee used is when a list is sent to those who may or may not vote.

It appears to me that the HOF Chair is where the term nominee surfaces, per Archie's description of the process.

I think the mixup is that some members think the name(s) recommended the most will be the new HOF member and, by doing so, they might think they are voting which I think might be a good idea.