Arizona HOA absentee ballot question(s)

First - I apologize in advance if this has been discussed elsewhere, I could not get a good search (from this site or google) to work.

Our HOA annual meeting is coming up in a few months. There has been a problem with reaching a quorum the past few years, and thus no action could be taken on the agenda items (beyond electing board members). This year the board has mailed/emailed out ballots for the meeting. I understand that Arizona state statute allows these ballots to count towards reaching a quorum. I have 2-ish questions about this process:

1. They have mailed/emailed the ballots every month (and say they will continue to do so until the meeting). They send one titled 'Ballot 2016', plus other explanatory documents, plus the board member election ballot. My question is, are there specific legal requirements for the actual ballot (that the homeowner is expected to mark and return)? The wording on these is very terse and they refer to the 'explanatory' documents for additional information (for example, one ballot item says 'Outbuildings YES NO'). I feel like the ballot to be returned should state exactly verbatim what we are voting on, but don't want to bring this up if there's no legal basis for my feeling.

2. Is there any legal guidance on delivery of the ballots to the meeting - i.e., can a homeowner print and mark their ballot and give it to a neighbor to take to the meeting? (or board members go from house to house to 'collect' the ballots before the meeting) Related to this question, how do we insure that each vote only counts once and that the vote was from the actual homeowner? (there are some contentious issues at this meeting, and a number of homeowners are fearful that some ballot manipulation will take place since we are using emailed/mailed ballots)

Sorry to be so wordy, and thank you in advance for any guidance y'all can provide!

Patricia,

Arizona ballot HOA requirements are found in ARS 33-1812. It states:
33-1812. Proxies; absentee ballots; definition

A. Notwithstanding any provision in the community documents, after termination of the period of declarant control, votes allocated to a unit may not be cast pursuant to a proxy. The association shall provide for votes to be cast in person and by absentee ballot and, in addition, the association may provide for voting by some other form of delivery, including the use of e-mail and fax delivery. Notwithstanding section 10-3708 or the provisions of the community documents, any action taken at an annual, regular or special meeting of the members shall comply with all of the following if absentee ballots or ballots provided by some other form of delivery are used:
1. The ballot shall set forth each proposed action.
2. The ballot shall provide an opportunity to vote for or against each proposed action.
3. The ballot is valid for only one specified election or meeting of the members and expires automatically after the completion of the election or meeting.
4. The ballot specifies the time and date by which the ballot must be delivered to the board of directors in order to be counted, which shall be at least seven days after the date that the board delivers the unvoted ballot to the member.
5. The ballot does not authorize another person to cast votes on behalf of the member.

B. Votes cast by absentee ballot or other form of delivery, including the use of e-mail and fax delivery, are valid for the purpose of establishing a quorum.

C. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, an association for a timeshare plan as defined in section 32-2197 may permit votes by a proxy that is duly executed by a unit owner.

D. For the purposes of this section, "period of declarant control" means the time during which the declarant or persons designated by the declarant may elect or appoint the members of the board of directors pursuant to the community documents or by virtue of superior voting power.

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The ballots you described seem fall short of the requirements. The corrections needed are self-explanatory.

I know of no law that prevents a person from collecting and delivering ballots but I do not like the idea. It would be best if absentee ballots were mailed directly to the election committee and not opened until the time to count arrives.

In my association we do not have secret ballots. We each own varying amounts of rural ranch land. Our CC&R's provides that we each have one vote per acre. That means the election committee must be able to identify who cast the vote and just how many votes he may cast. This system has been in place for close to 20 years and I have yet to see the sun rise in any direction except east. I see no reason why adults should be afraid to have their votes identified. Voting when ballots cannot be verified is inviting fraud. Put their names on their ballots.

Thank you all for your replies. We have a vested interest in the outcome of this year's meeting and voting, because one of the ballot items is directed at us. Our current CC&R's also votes based on amount of land owned (1 vote per 9 acre lot). The original parcels were 36 acres, sub dividable into 9 acres. We still own 45 acres, and thus have 5 votes. Only 2 other owners have multiple votes (2 votes each), everyone else has 9 acres and 1 vote. Those with 1 vote have been crying foul that anyone else has more votes than they do.

Last year, they tried to modify the CC&R's to assign 1 vote per family, but could not make a quorum because we didn't attend (and they did not mail out absentee ballots). This year, they are pushing very hard to get absentee ballots turned in so they can make the quorum without us, and remove our votes. I believe we have been good property owners here - pitching in with road maintenance, attending volunteer days, and being patient (9 years!) on getting our end of the road graded and re-graveled (we live at the very end of the main road into the neighborhood). We have abided by the letter and spirit of every CC&R, even when it was inconvenient, and watched while others did not and just had waivers granted after the fact by the board.

I hope to stop this year's vote by bringing up (a few days before the scheduled annual meeting) that these ballots do not meet the standard required by Arizona statutes (there will not be a quorum without counting absentee ballots). Perhaps that makes me a $itch, but we're pretty tired of obeying the rules and watching so many around us get away with constantly breaking them.

Thanks again for your input

Do you pay 5x what a 9 acre lot owner pays? Or do you pay the same as everyone else?