California Homeowner Association Elections

Prior to Aug 2024, the legislation required California Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to use paper ballots and prohibited electronic voting options or digital ballots. This meant elections were paper-based, with specific rules about secret voting, such as sending two envelopes per ballot to conceal the voter's identity.

The Davis-Stirling Act introduced changes to the California Civil Code, enabling HOAs to implement electronic and digital voting. However, they still need to guarantee voter anonymity and appoint an inspector of elections to act as the responsible party.

For most HOAs, this is a positive reform. They can switch to hybrid elections, including mail-in and electronic options, which offer cost reductions, greater efficiency, better accessibility, and wider participation by providing more convenient voting options for members.

An inspector of elections in California is an independent facilitator and must be a third party. This ensures that HOA elections adhere to the rules designed to guarantee authentic votes, valid results, and consistency with the governing documents.

ElectionBuddy, as a specialist voting platform that provides hybrid election services, acts as the election inspector for multiple HOAs, giving support and independent oversight. As the inspector of elections, the nominated party must ensure the HOA board complies with all the rules, including requirements to:

• Issue written and electronic ballots with the same voting options
• Allow members to switch between paper or digital voting if there are more than ninety days before the election
• Only send paper ballots to members who have opted into this voting option or cannot be contacted digitally to send an electronic ballot
• Maintain records to state which members have chosen each voting process

Additional rules apply, such as providing notice of electronic secret ballots at least thirty days before an association vote. Still, the focus is on transparency, full compliance, and giving members all the information they need to control their participation and choose their preferred voting options.