HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 27, 2017
Published: Fri, 01/27/17
=================================================================
Owners Want to See Your HOA Election Ballots. Should You Fork Them Over?
=================================================================
In this week’s tip, we discuss how you can meet two possibly contradictory requirements: Allowing an owner contesting your HOA election to see the votes and preserving your owners’ right to privacy in any vote.
States vary greatly on what HOAs are required to provide owners in an election challenge.
In California, there’s a statute that specifically addresses this issue. “Most of our elections are subject to a secret ballot requirement,” states Susan Hawks McClintic, co-managing shareholder and the chair of the community association transactional practice group at the law firm of Epsten Grinnell & Howell in San Diego. “Elections for directors, on increasing assessments, on amendments to governing documents all have to be done by a secret-ballot, double-envelope process.”
The statute also requires that the secret ballots be maintained for a year, which also happens to be the time period under which owners are permitted to challenge the vote, says McClintic. “People contesting the election would be able to look at the ballots. But they wouldn’t be able to determine how each owner voted.”
That’s because of the double-envelope voting process. On the outside envelope where the postage stamp goes, owners have to put their name, address, and signature in the upper left hand corner, explains McClintic. “That’s how the inspector determines if they’re an owner and if they submitted only one ballot,” she says. “Inside that is the blank envelope with the ballot.”
The sanctity of the ballot box is also preserved in Colorado though a secret-ballot process. “In Colorado, it’s statutorily driven,” says Melissa Garcia, a partner at Hindman Sanchez, a law firm in Arvada, Colo., with about 1,600 association clients. “Owners who contest an election can see all the ballots, proxies, any consent—anything used in the election for up to one year after the election.
“The tricky thing is that contested elections are required to be done by secret ballot,” adds Garcia. “So owners will see what the ballots say, but the ballots won’t show who the owner is. That’s because at the meeting, owners check in, and they get delivered a blank ballot.”
The problem sometimes is with proxies. “Owners send in the proxies, which get exchanged for ballots,” notes Garcia. “The proxies aren’t secret. Whoever is exchanging the proxies will know who the owner is and how that owner voted. But the secrecy is preserved because it’s just the counter who sees that; the other owners don’t see it.”
Find out more, including the unique requirements in Texas, in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/2496.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
=================================================================
Upcoming Event
=================================================================
Accommodation Requests Under the Fair Housing Act:
Best Practices to Avoid Discrimination Claims & Lawsuits
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
With Practical Tips for Condo and HOA Boards
Thursday, February 23, 2017
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Learn more or register now:
http://www.hoaleader.com/products/accommodation-requests-under-fha-a.cfm
Members save $30!
=================================================================
Brand-New Special Report Available!
=================================================================
What HOA and Condo Boards Need to Know About Regulating Rentals
Rental restrictions are unlike most other policies HOA boards create because they necessarily curb owners' real property rights. The law jealously protects property owners' rights, which means any HOA board that seeks to restrict rentals in their community needs to act wisely and deliberately. This report provides you with the information you need to achieve that goal.
Members can download this exclusive special report now:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOA-Policies.cfm
Not a member yet? Start your free trial membership:
http://www.hoaleader.com/details.cfm
=================================================================
Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
=================================================================
Owners Want to See Your HOA Election Ballots. Should You Fork Them Over?
In this week's tip, we discuss how you can meet two possibly contradictory requirements: Allowing an owner contesting your HOA election to see the votes and preserving your owners' right to privacy in any vote.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Owners-Want-See-Your-HOA-Election-Ballots-Should-You-Fork-Them-Over.cfm
=================================================================
What HOA Election Records You Can Withhold
You've had an election, and it went smoothly. Goodie for you. Now some owners are challenging the results, and one demand is to see all the ballots. But wouldn't that violate the privacy of the owners who voted?
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-HOA-Election-Records-You-Can-Withhold.cfm
=================================================================
What's My Line? The Roles, Duties, and Responsibilities of HOA or Condo Board Members
If you missed our webinar yesterday, on the roles and responsibilities of HOA or condo board members, you missed a great session. But don't worry, you (and your entire board) can view the webinar on demand.
We regularly hear from association members who want more detail about their responsibilities--or who want an easy way to educate their newly elected fellow board members about what, exactly, board members do They ask: What's the president supposed to do? How about the vice president, secretary, and treasurer? They also ask much more detailed questions on how their board can and should operate, like: "What's apparent authority?" "Who can act alone and when?" "Who chooses the officers?" "When am I personally liable for my actions as a board member?" And more.
Watch this in-depth webinar today. It's led by two community association experts: A lawyer with nearly two decades of hands-on experience in advising associations, along with an industry-leading association manager who can speak to what he sees when it comes to on-the-ground roles of board members.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/products/responsibilities-hoa-board-members-b.cfm
=================================================================
Accommodation Requests Under the Fair Housing Act: Best Practices to Avoid Discrimination Claims & Lawsuits
Is your HOA or condo board seeing more and more requests for exceptions to your pet rules? What about requests for specific parking spots or deviations from your architectural rules? Afraid saying no to any request will trigger a costly and stressful discrimination complaint against your HOA? Take charge of the process for handling requests for accommodations! Join us for an in-depth webinar on February 23 led by two experts in HOAs, condominiums, and fair housing challenges.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/products/accommodation-requests-under-fha-a.cfm
================================================================
HOAs Sue Without Following Their Procedures. And Lose Because of It
In this week's tip, we scratch our heads and wonder if a North Carolina court went too far in dismissing two HOAs' lawsuits because the HOA boards didn't follow their own governing documents. According to the court's opinion, in 2013, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership Inc. had the local city council rezone more than seven acres of land abutting portions of the Willowmere Community Association Inc. and the Nottingham Owners Association Inc.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOAs-Sue-Without-Following-Their-Procedures-Lose-Because-It.cfm
=================================================================
Get your own copy!
Subscribe to the HOAleader.com Tip of the Week at: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/department49.cfm
=================================================================
Please feel free to forward the *entire text* of this email to others.
Copyright 2017, Plain-English Media, LLC (866) 641-4548 http://www.hoaleader.com