HOA Elections Requirements in El Cajon, California

California HOA Election Requirements

California HOA elections are governed by Article 4 of the Davis-Stirling Act (Civil Code §§5100–5145). Article 4 applies to incorporated and unincorporated associations alike (§5100(c)), in condominiums, planned developments, community apartment projects, and stock cooperatives (§4100), and it has no unit-count threshold. It does not cover commercial or industrial developments (§4202), it does not apply to votes cast by delegates or other elected representatives (§5100(d)), and director elections are not required under it if the governing documents make one member from each separate interest a director (§5100(f)).

Mistakes can undo an election. A member can sue within one year of the notice of election results, or of when the claim accrues if that is later. If the member shows the election procedures were not followed, the court must void the results unless the association proves the violation did not affect them. A member who wins recovers reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation, though identical violations that affect every member equally draw only one penalty (§5145(b)).

AB 2159 (Stats. 2024, Ch. 383), which took effect January 1, 2025, added the option to run elections by electronic secret ballot (Civil Code §5105).

Secret Ballot Requirements

Secret ballots are required for elections on assessments that legally require a member vote, election and removal of directors, amendments to the governing documents, and grants of exclusive use of common area (§5100(a)(1)). The same procedures apply to any topic the operating rules expressly place under Article 4 (§5100(b)) and to a member vote to reverse a board rule change (§4365). Uncontested director races may be seated by acclamation if the conditions in §5103 are met.

Written ballots, with two preaddressed envelopes and return instructions, must be mailed by first-class mail or delivered to every member at least 30 days before the voting deadline (§5115(c)). If the association uses electronic voting, paper ballots go only to members who will vote on paper. The ballot itself is not signed. The voter seals it in an inner envelope, places that in an outer envelope addressed to the inspector of elections, and in the upper left-hand corner of the outer envelope signs it and writes their name and the address or other identifier of the unit that entitles them to vote (§5115(c)).

The association must select one or three independent inspectors of elections (§5110(a)). An inspector may be a member of the association, but may not be a director, a candidate for director, or related to either. An inspector also may not be a person or business currently employed by or under contract to the association for any other paid services, which rules out the association's management company (§5110(b)). The statute's examples of independent third parties include a volunteer poll worker with the county registrar of voters, a licensee of the California Board of Accountancy, and a notary public.

The inspector determines which memberships are entitled to vote and the voting power of each, decides the validity of any proxies, receives ballots, hears challenges about the right to vote, counts and tabulates the votes, and determines the results (§5110(c)).

Electronic Voting Under AB 2159

Since January 1, 2025, an association may adopt an election operating rule that lets its inspector of elections conduct an election by electronic secret ballot (Civil Code §5105). Electronic voting is not allowed for elections on regular or special assessments; those still use written ballots.

The voting system must authenticate each member's identity, protect each ballot from being altered in transit, send each voter a receipt, permanently separate identifying information from the ballot so it can never be traced to a member, and store ballots for recount, inspection, and review. Members must also be able to confirm that their device can connect to the system at least 30 days before the voting deadline (§5110(c)(4)).

The electronic voting rule must, among other things: let members switch between electronic and written ballots up to 90 days before an election; put the same items on both ballot types; use either an opt-in or an opt-out model; keep a list of how each member will vote and describe the opt-in or opt-out procedure in the annual policy statement; require electronic voters to give a valid email address; and prohibit nominations from the floor (§5105). A member with no email address on file when ballots go out receives a written ballot.

Like any operating rule, it is adopted through the rule-change procedure. The board gives general notice of the proposed rule, with its text and a description of its purpose and effect, at least 28 days before adopting it (§4360).

Nomination and Candidacy Rules

For director and recall elections, the association must give general notice of the nomination procedure and deadline at least 30 days before the nomination deadline (§5115(a)). Election rules may not stop any member from nominating themself (§5105(a)(3)).

Candidate qualifications are limited by statute, not left to the governing documents. The association must disqualify a nominee who is not a member at the time of nomination or who has served the maximum number of terms or sequential terms the association allows, though a developer may still nominate a nonmember consistent with its voting power (§5105(b)). Only through its bylaws or election rules may it also disqualify a nominee for: not being current on regular and special assessments; joint ownership of a unit with another candidate or a sitting director; less than one year of membership; or a past conviction that would cost the association its required insurance (§5105(c)). Unpaid fines, late charges, and collection costs are not grounds, and a member who paid under protest or is complying with a payment plan cannot be disqualified for assessments (§5105(d)). A nominee must be offered internal dispute resolution before being disqualified (§5105(e)).

Floor nominations are optional. The election rules may allow them (§5105(g)), but an association that uses electronic voting must prohibit them (§5105).

If any candidate or member advocating a point of view gets access to association media, newsletters, or websites during a campaign, the association must give all candidates and advocates equal access and may not edit their content (§5105(a)(1)). All candidates and advocates must get access to common-area meeting space, if any exists, at no cost (§5105(a)(2)). Association funds may not be used for campaign purposes in a board election (§5135).

Quorum and Vote Counting

Davis-Stirling sets no default election quorum. A quorum applies only if the governing documents or other law require one (§5115(d)(1)). For an incorporated association whose bylaws are silent, the Corporations Code default is one-third of the voting power (Corp. Code §7512(a)). When the governing documents require a quorum, each ballot the inspector receives counts as a member present (§5115(d)(1)).

If a director election falls short of quorum, the association may adjourn to a reconvened meeting at least 20 days later, where the quorum is 20% of members unless the governing documents allow a lower one. General notice of the reconvened meeting must go out at least 15 days before it (§5115(d)(2)–(3)).

The inspector counts and tabulates the ballots in public at a properly noticed open meeting of the board or of the members, and any candidate or member may watch (§5120(a)). The results are promptly reported to the board, recorded in the minutes of the next board meeting, and made available to members. The board must give general notice of the results within 15 days of the election (§5120(b)).

The inspector keeps the sealed ballots, signed envelopes, voter list, proxies, candidate list, and electronic tally sheet until the period to challenge the election under §5145 has run, then transfers them to the association (§5125). The association must keep election materials for one year after the election (§5200(c)). During a recount or challenge, the inspector must make the ballots available to a member on written request (§5125).