Secret Ballot and Inspection of Election Ballots

The election of Board members in my HOA is conducted by secret ballot. My state's statue (A.R.S. 33-1812 A(7)) regarding HOA Board elections states "Ballots, envelopes and related materials, including sign-in sheets if used, shall be retained in electronic or paper format and made available for member inspection for at least one year after completion of the election."

What's the purpose of a secret ballot if right after the results are announced, any member can see how another member voted?

This is the exact wording of the statue:

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. You might check out what is in bold.

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.

6. The completed ballot shall contain the name, address and signature of the person voting, except that if the community documents permit secret ballots, only the envelope shall contain the name, address and signature of the voter.

7. Ballots, envelopes and related materials, including sign-in sheets if used, shall be retained in electronic or paper format and made available for member inspection for at least one year after completion of the election.

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.

It requires secret ballot.

Yes it has, but since I have not exercised my right to inspect after election results, I do not know if all these items are segregated for privacy when kept for one year after election.

THEN, just maybe, you should start exercising your right to make sure all the ducks are line up in just the matter you want them. Once you have done that, please report back.

Thank you!

Says the person who has 2103 posts! I was pointing out a statute that might be in conflict with the whole premise of a secret ballot.