Election inspectors: Offer voting services to your clients as an Inspector of Elections

An inspector of elections may assess the eligibility of candidates and determine the voting membership. This involves the following:

• Reviewing the qualifications and requirements of the organization or governing body conducting the elections
• Checking nomination forms, verifying the required number of supporting signatures, and confirming that nominations were submitted before the deadline
• Looking at membership records, registration forms, or other relevant documents to establish the voting eligibility of candidates
• Confirming the membership status of candidates to ensure that only eligible members have the right to cast their votes during meetings

Plus, if proxies are allowed, a manager will:

• Review the proxy documents submitted (proxy form or written authorization) to ensure they’re properly filled out and signed by the eligible voter
• Validate the authenticity of the proxy by directly contacting the voter or cross-referencing identification documents
• Verify the voter’s membership status, any specific requirements or restrictions related to proxy voting, and compliance with deadlines for submitting proxies
• Maintain accurate records of the proxy documents received to effectively manage the proxies

However, once everything is ready for the ballot, inspectors will then organize the election, from preparing materials, such as an ADA-compliant voting platform, to hiring additional staff or seeking out volunteers to work as poll officers, security personnel, etc. They are essentially the director or manager of the election to ensure everything goes smoothly. The inspector is essentially the director or manager of the election to ensure everything goes smoothly.

During an election, an inspector of elections checks whether a quorum is present so voting can take place validly. They should be aware that anyone other than a ballot candidate has the right to observe the election. Once that’s settled, the inspectors, with the help of a team, manage the election. A manager will check voter identities (including those of proxies, if allowed), manage the candidate list, ensure that voting is done confidentially, announce each absentee elector’s name as their proxy votes, and receive and hold the ballots, all while monitoring that election rules are followed. Once voting is complete, they’ll close the polls.

The responsibilities of an inspector of elections don’t end at the polls. After the inspectors manage the vote, they must then collect and count all the ballots and tabulate each decision, as well as declare that the polls are closed. Inspectors can also appoint or hire independent third parties like volunteers to verify and tabulate votes to ensure they meet the election deadline.

In case there are issues, they must hear and rule on any challenges during the elections, in which their say (or the say of the majority, depending on the rules) is final. For instance, if the organization or a member finds an error on the voter list, the inspector will have to correct these as soon as possible. Similarly, if the election ballot has to be recounted, the inspector has to make the ballots available for inspection by members of the organization.

However, after everything is ironed out, the inspector of elections must report the results to the association and certify the decision. To wrap up their election services, an elections inspector may also debrief their team and archive the records for legal reference.

An inspector of elections must understand the gravity of their responsibilities. Their services have been trusted to ensure that a major decision within a community is reached fairly, transparently, and cleanly, which they can do by faithfully accomplishing their duties during the elections.

However, inspectors of elections may run into problems like human error during vote tabulation, technical glitches, ballot miscounting, or improper voting machine set-up. The manager can eliminate these issues or errors by:

• Ensuring they have enough support
• Implementing security protocols
• Providing clear guidelines to volunteers
• Paying attention to election guidelines and regulations
• Using online voting systems to ensure accuracy and reduce human error
• Enrolling in training programs to gain the skills needed to deal with unexpected situations

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.