With the introduction of electronic voting last month for HOA elections, we updated our website to provide timelines for both paper balloting and electronic voting for (i) director elections without acclamation, (ii) director elections with acclamation, (iii) non-director elections, and (iv) recall elections.

The pages are arranged so you can move easily between them by clicking on buttons at the top of the page. You can find the timelines here. In addition, I am working on updating our election timeline calculator. I will let everyone know when it is done.

QUESTION: We had a failed election due to  lack of quorum, and board members kept their seats. In the next election, are all five members up for election? –John C.

ANSWER: Yes. If your directors have two-year staggered terms, then all five directors will be up for election at your next annual meeting. If three seats would have been up for election this year, they are no longer serving a two-year term, they serve until the next election. At the next election, the two seats reaching the end of their two-year term will also be up for election. Since all five seats are up for election, how do you restart staggered terms? The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to a two-year term. The next three with the highest number of votes would be elected to a one-year term. The following election, those three will be on the ballot two-year terms. This puts your elections back on track.

QUESTION: A new board was recently elected. One of the directors resigned and the board wants to appoint a person who was on the previous board, but could not run again due to term limits--she served four consecutive years. Do term limits apply to appointments as well as elections? –Jean S.

ANSWER: It depends on the language in your bylaws. If they state a person cannot be elected to more than two consecutive two-year terms, the person could be appointed to fill the empty seat. If your bylaws state a person cannot serve more that two consecutive terms, she cannot be appointed to the board. She would need to wait until your next annual election.

QUESTION: Is a quorum required in an election by acclamation? What about the annual meeting following election by acclamation, is quorum required? –Ron W.

ANSWER: No quorum is required for electing directors by acclamation or the annual meeting that follows.

If the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of open seats, ballots are not mailed. Instead, a notice is sent giving the date of an open board meeting to announce the election results. (Civ. Code § 5103(d).) The new directors would take office on the date of the annual meeting when current director terms expire. (Corp. Code § 7220(b).)

When it comes to the annual meeting, a quorum is not needed since the election already occurred. Without a quorum, no business is conducted. Instead, members can socialize, listen to committee reports, have the president summarize the prior year's accomplishments, and applaud those receiving awards.

QUESTION: We had an annual meeting at which the Inspector opened envelopes and read out loud the candidates' names and how many votes they received. Is there a law that the ballots should be opened up and read to everyone? Who is supposed to take the minutes at the annual meeting? -Patricia L.

ANSWER: The Davis-Stirling Act states that "All votes shall be counted and tabulated by the inspector or inspectors of elections, or the designee of the inspector or inspectors of elections, in public at a properly noticed open meeting of the board or members." (Civ. Code § 5120.) It also states that members may witness the counting and tabulation of votes. There is no law requiring or prohibiting an Inspector from reading names and tallies out loud. The association's secretary, or someone designated by the president is required to take minutes of the meeting.

QUESTION: Associations cannot edit or redact content from a candidate's statement. What if one or more candidates do not include their name anywhere on their statement? Are we prohibited from adding their name to their statement? –Andee Z.

ANSWER: No, adding the person's name does not qualify as editing a candidate's statement. You can add a sentence at the top stating, "The following was submitted by _____." Or you can ask the person to resubmit their statement with their name on it. If you don't do either of the above, you will have confused members and angry candidates.

Last month, wildfires devastated swaths of LA County. HOAs are facing critical recovery and insurance challenges. For undamaged associations statewide, insurance premiums will increase significantly. Join industry experts Adrian Adams, Michael Berg, and Terri Guest as they discuss:

Insurance Ramifications for HOAs
Legal and Financial Responsibilities
Best Practices for Recovery & Rebuilding

You can attend "Wildfire Devastation & Insurance Fallout: What HOAs Need to Know!" on March 4, 2025 from 12:00 noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

Boards can contact us--we are friendly and our rates competitive. Adrian J. Adams, Esq. ADAMS|STIRLING PLC