Board failed to send absentee ballots

I have to admit, I'm somewhat confused about what happened (or didn't happen).

Are you saying that notices of the meeting was mailed, but a voting ballot covering the item to be voted on was not included?

Just needing a little more information or clarification.

Thanks.

That is correct. No ballots were sent out with the notices to homeowners who don't live in the complex. Most live in town and apparently it was anticipated that they would attend the meeting and vote in person.

Mary, we're in Tucson

Susan,

You are absolutely wrong! I quoted the law here in AZ, absentee ballots are a requirement and they "shall" be provided to all members. Please don't confuse the poster!!

Mary - from the bit of the law that you posted, I don't see that absentee ballots must be included with the meeting notice. Your post stated:

Taken by itself, the statement "The association shall provide for votes to be cast..." can also be interpreted to mean that the association must provide the member with an absentee ballot if the member requests one, but otherwise is not obligated to automatically send a ballot to every member.

Now there may be other parts of the law that DOES require a ballot be included with the meeting notice, but I don't see it in the part that was posted.

Christine,

A re-vote sounds good! Make certain to include a ballot in each notice, whether mailed or hand-delivered. Actually, there's another thing you can do, which I feel would be much better since you've already had a meeting. You can do an "action by written consent". This is IAW the provisions of ARS 10-3704 of the nonprofit corp act, which HOAs must also abide by. This is how it works:

1) instead of a ballot, entitle the form "Action By Written Consent". State the reason for the vote (special assessment for +++++++) and provide for a "yes" or "no" vote and require the form be signed by the property owner and dated. Also state on the consent form the date by which it must be returned to the HOA.
2) send this consent form to all property owners, whether residing on the premises or not. The consent form can be hand-carried to those property owners residing on the premises.
3) the record date for determining members entitled to take action w/o a meeting is the date the first member signs the consent form
4) the consent is approved by members holding at least a majority of the voting power unless the articles of inc or bylaws require a different amount of voting power.
4) the consent is effective on the date that the consent form was signed by the last member whose signature.
5) all of the consent forms recieved by the HOA should be filed with the corp records.
4) the statute says: "written notice of member approval pursuant to this section shall be given to all members who have not signed teh written consent"; however, IMO, all members should be notified of the outcome of the vote.
5) any member may revoke his consent by delivering a signed revocation of consent to the Pres or Sec b/4 the date stated in #4 above

If the board agrees to conduct the re-vote in this manner it will mean not having to call a meeting and worrying about obtaining a quorum. I think the members would be happier with this method also as it would only takee a minute of their time! The board may also consider including a self-addressed stamped envelope for the consent to be returned in.

I asked where you are located because here in the Phx area many cities have started providing HOA classes which are very informative for board members. In Glendale we have the HOA Training Academy. I don't know if Tucson is doing this, but you might want to check it out with the City Neighborhood Dept.

I get the impression you are new to HOAs and are trying to learn all the state laws and digest what your gov docs say. Know that I've been there, done that, so I know exactly what you are experiencing. If I can be of any help please feel free to email me privately at sweetpea.43&cox.net

Take care,
Mary

PS:
I was treasurer of a small self-managed HOA (49 single family homes) so I have experience with that also! :-)

Mary - I'm guessing that the part of the law that hasn't been posted here provides more clarification, but the "shall provide for..." part that HAS been posted only looks to me like a process must be in place that will allow for in-person votes and for absentee votes. The law doesn't need to specify exactly what the process is, only that there must be one. I don't know about AZ, but in ID we can vote in general (non-HOA) elections either by requesting an absentee ballot or by going to the polling place on election day. I would think that the same would hold for HOA elections.

If that is the case, then that requirement can be satisfied by allowing members to request an absentee ballot and by holding a meeting where members can vote in person.