Mail in Ballots

Actually, these may be called absentee ballots. I found a statement from a 2009 article that said VA does not allow mail-in voting. I cannot find a direct statement in VA Statutes that says that.

Thank you. We are a single-family development so that reference (like others) is not specific enough. But reading that statue leaves open possible interpretations, such as: Should one assume the absence of any mention of mail-in ballots allows them or disallows them? Also, would it be reasonable (common sense) to think of a restricted proxy serving the same purpose as a mail-in ballot?

The absence of any mention of absentee or write-in ballots would seem to disallow them. Otherwise, it might be similar to sayin that no mention of phone-in voting means it's acceptable.

If they’re not mentioned AT ALL in your documents or in state law (which may or may not apply to your community depending on whether the law applies to ALL HOAs or those established on or after the effective date), you could make the argument either way. Since we aren’t attorneys you may need to put this to your association attorney, but in the meantime, the real questions you should consider are things like:

• Where will these ballots be mailed?
• How do you keep the ballots secured (unopened) until the day they’re to be counted (e.g. at an annual meeting)?
• Who will count the ballots (you’ll need to ensure the number of ballots doesn’t exceed the number of eligible voters)?
• What do you do if someone turns in a ballot and then shows up at the meeting wanting to vote in person?
• How do you ensure the people casting ballots are eligible (e.g. no mailing ballots to delinquent homeowners or disallowing them if a ballot is returned)?

And so on.

A proxy isn’t necessarily the same as an absentee ballot, so you’ll also need to determine if you want the document to serve as one or the other or perhaps both. If you talk to your attorney about this, he or she could give you suggestions on when and how the association could use them.

This seems correct. Mail in votes are not allowed unless governing documents and bylaws allow them. You could try to make a stand saying that a mail in ballot should be allowed since its not written in the governing documents but it would be difficult and costly since any vote or proxy can be rejected by the HOA, the burden will be on you to prove that rejection was improper.

You are all over the place.

If quorum is never reached, then all you need to do is collect directed proxies for quorum. Or get an un-directed proxy for voting and quorum.

You also cannot limit the number of proxies by rules or policies. A person can hold as many as they allow for another household until households run out.

Ballots don't count as anything other than a vote for something on the agenda. They don't count towards quorum. Mail in ballots are not allowed unless your documents state otherwise.

I have seen online voting but that brings about so many other issues as well.

I'm sorry but your idea of somehow getting mail in votes allowed is going to be difficult. Lastly, you are confused on the difference between Bylaws and Covenants. You should read both. You cannot change either of them without a majority member vote in a member meeting (Bylaws) or a 2/3 majority vote of the entire membership (Covenants). Very difficult since you indicate the same people control the vote, they would also vote against your proposals.

The only option I see for you is to collect proxies.

Could you post the county ordinance related to the limit on proxies. Because HOA's are incorporated by the state not the county. And most states don't have a limit on the number of proxies any one person can hold.

TimB4 is in Virginia, I'm sure he can say something on this.

Sheila, Find that reference here on page 43 http://sunderbriar.org/assets/fairfax-cty-community-assoc-man.pdf

Thank you, I see but no where does it say a limit on proxies unless your bylaws state something as stated here on page 43 "The bylaws usually limit the number of proxies that can be assigned to and voted by a single person."

Overall, the link you reference are just guidelines but not law.