Florida HOA election violation

Hello

My HOA have an upcoming election and they recently announced ballot counting procedure in a board meeting. They are stating that mail in ballots will be opened at the HOA management company prior to election day and will be brought to the annual meeting opened. They did not answer any homeowner questions about the process and did not provide any further details.

Is this legal? I would think this violates some law...our covenants do not specifically state any process around mail in ballots being opened prior to official counting and I see no good reason for doing it.

Thank you

John

Not to mention it calls into question the integrity of the whole process!

In FL condo associations the election procedures are clearly set out in the statute, FS 718. In an HOA, on the other hand, the statute is mostly silent and defers to the association's bylaws. Do your bylaws authorize anonymous mail-in ballots? I seem to remember that's one thing that has to be in the bylaws (or one of the other governing documents) if an association wants to do it. That might be something to look into. I suppose it would be allowed to have non-anonymous voting if the bylaws call for it.

You did not yet answer the question if you are Single Family Home subdivision HOA or if you are a Condo association.

The full text of that section states:

(8) PROXY VOTING.—The members have the right, unless otherwise provided in this subsection or in the governing documents, to vote in person or by proxy.
(a) To be valid, a proxy must be dated, must state the date, time, and place of the meeting for which it was given, and must be signed by the authorized person who executed the proxy. A proxy is effective only for the specific meeting for which it was originally given, as the meeting may lawfully be adjourned and reconvened from time to time, and automatically expires 90 days after the date of the meeting for which it was originally given. A proxy is revocable at any time at the pleasure of the person who executes it. If the proxy form expressly so provides, any proxy holder may appoint, in writing, a substitute to act in his or her place.
(b) If the governing documents permit voting by secret ballot by members who are not in attendance at a meeting of the members for the election of directors, such ballots must be placed in an inner envelope with no identifying markings and mailed or delivered to the association in an outer envelope bearing identifying information reflecting the name of the member, the lot or parcel for which the vote is being cast, and the signature of the lot or parcel owner casting that ballot. If the eligibility of the member to vote is confirmed and no other ballot has been submitted for that lot or parcel, the inner envelope shall be removed from the outer envelope bearing the identification information, placed with the ballots which were personally cast, and opened when the ballots are counted. If more than one ballot is submitted for a lot or parcel, the ballots for that lot or parcel shall be disqualified. Any vote by ballot received after the closing of the balloting may not be considered.

LOL ... Keep in mind that our laws are not always written by the sharpest or brightest legal crayons in the box. While what I pointed out above notes essentially “voting by secret ballot” it is still under the overall headline in the statue of (8) PROXY VOTING! My argument to a Judge would be why is this noted under this title if it did no also apply to Proxies???