Elections Procedure

Our HOA has failed to hold elections for the past four years, resulting in appointed board members instead of elected ones. This year, there will finally be an election, but the current board members are inexperienced with the process and our new property management company is also unfamiliar with the process. They have previously only managed rentals and have made mistakes in providing incorrect information to our community of 125 units. As a result, we are seeking advice on how to ensure the election process is fair and proper, despite the lack of knowledge from our board and management. Any suggestions or resources would be greatly appreciated.

TLDR
If the board and property management company are unsure of the policies and procedures around elections, how does the board confirm the elections are handled correctly?

First read your documents - there should be information on deadlines, nominations, etc. You might go to the board and suggest an election committee that could put together an election guide and send that to the homeowners or post it on the community website. The guide could provide information like

* where to submit a name (yours or someone else) as a candidate. A one page bio on the candidate's background, why he/she would like to serve and community issues he/she's particularly interested in should accompany the name

* overview of what board members do, along with the officers. You might want to note if the documents state the homeowners vote for board members and the board members appoint officers from among themselves and when that happens. There could be a separate organization meeting right after the annual meeting (when board elections are usually held) or the next regular board meeting

* deadline for submitting nominations. If your documents allow for nominations from the floor, that's ok - provide an explanation on how that will be done during the meeting

* how to use proxies (deadlines for submission, how to designate what it'll do, e.g. use it to establish quorum, etc.). If you look at older conversations on this website, you'll find many people are clueless on how to use them properly, and unscrupulous people use them to seize and hold onto power. You will need to provide blank copies of the proxy and should run it by your association attorney to make sure it has the right format. You'll need a deadline on when they should be submitted. If people decide to come to the meeting and cast their vote in person, the proxy submitted earlier will be canceled. If the unit has several owners, they, not the board, decide who will cast the vote or submit the proxy

* where to submit your name if you'd like to volunteer to be an election counter, or whatever you want to call it. The counters shouldn't have any relationship to whoever's running - they should check people in during the meeting, comparing names against a list of eligible homeowners (that should be defined by your documents - usually people who are current in all assessments and are on the title)

A "meet the candidates" event would be lovely, so people can listen to what the candidates have to say and ask questions.

How to ensure everything's decent and in order - how about YOU bring these suggestions to the board and volunteer to help out? As for the management company, they can assist the board in organizing the meeting and getting information out to homeowners, but remember, the BOARD, not the property manager, is ultimately responsible for making sure the election is run according to the community documents. An election committee can be helpful in monitoring who does what and that it's done properly.

Finally, if you haven't had board elections in four years, it's probably because there hasn't been a quorum during the annual meeting. That's because not enough people show up at the meeting or submit proxies so the elections can be held. Whose fault is that - the homeowners (all of you). If you are able to establish an election committee, that's something they need to be candid about and encourage people to participate, either by returning the proxies on time or actually showing up to cast a vote.

Are you on the Board, Chris? Shelia covers a lot of what your Board needs to think about and do. You can see that there are many steps involved. But all HOAs are different, and states are different too. There might be, for instance, a difference between how condo HOAs handle elections vs. detached home HOAs in WA. I think older HOAs might have different laws about them than newer ones. We had a regular poster from WA for quite some time and noticed that there right be more than one set of state statutes that affect your HOA re: elections.

I think in your state, now, owners may vote by absentee ballots or even electronically. Both of these methods increase turnout so that you have a quorum (enough % of require owners) to hold your annual meeting and election.

I think I'd start by simply Googling Condo HOA Elections in Washington State.That should give you the statutes with which your HOA must comply.

Maybe start with your HOA's Bylaws too, where you'll learn a lot, e.g., how many directors there should be, how long their terms are. You'll also see how officers are chosen. As Shelia notes, usually the new Board selects its officers from among themselves.

My complicated HOA hired a new onsite full-time Property mgr. a year ago. The Board chose someone very experienced with high rise buildings, elevators, pumps & motors, etc. etc. He's very good with our residents. BUT he was not HOA experienced. GAH! This has been a constant challenge to bring him up to speed in a state with lotsa HOA laws. Though retired from the Board, I've been called upon a to straighten out some mistakes. Most recently, he accepted an application for our board election and even announced it at an open board meeting from someone who does not qualify, which I had to point out to try to keep our hOA out of legal trouble. Sigh.

Because of my ongoing negative experiences with a green PM, and because your Board is inexperienced, I'd urge the Board to have your HOA attorney guide your Association every inch of the way. If your PM has a full-service management company to support your PM, that might help too. If you're not on the Board and are interested, ask if you can work to help set up a timeline and maybe help to count ballots as an inspector of elections (if WA has such a role).

Regular annual reliable elections are fundamental to healthy HOAs.

Our HOA documents say almost nothing about elections, proxies, nominations, deadlines, process....this is it:

"Voting by proxy shall be allowed."

That's it. Nothing else.

Chris

A few things to keep in mind:

1. I assume all BOD positions will be open for election. Also define the BOD size.
2. If not enough candidates, then no election is necessary. Those wanting on, get on. They will then vote to fill any vacant positions.
3. If more candidates then positions, clarify the top vote getters get on. Say 5 of the 7 that ran assuming a 5 person BOD.
4. Decide on a tie breaking method such as flip a coin.
5. If staggered terms (which most are), then work out who gets what. As an example the top 3 vote getters get a two year term then next two vote getters get a one year term. Thus there will be some vacancies each year.
6. Retain a non interested 3rd party to oversee the election. I know one HOA that used a local Minister.
7. Allow all and any owners that are current in their dues to run. Do not try and eliminate anyone for any reason short of a convicted felon.