HOA Proxy Guide: Understanding Proxy Voting

The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Steps

Step 1:

Confirm that proxies are permitted by the association's governing documents (usually found in the bylaws of the association or the election rules).

Step 2:

Find the email address of the association's Secretary. In most cases, the association's governing documents require proxies to be submitted to the Secretary. For transparency, Condo Elects recommends sending all proxies directly to the Secretary.

Step 3:

Appoint an inspector of elections.

Step 4:

Create the ballot and use the ballot to make a detachable page.

Step 5:

Notify all members that they can serve as proxy holders

Step 6:

Create the proxy form and distribute it to members. Please review the Condo Elects proxy form for ideas, or use the Condo Elects software, which provides this service free of charge when using the inspector of election service.

Step 7:

A proxy grantor writes an email or fills out a proxy form for a proxy holder to vote on their behalf. The proxy grantor writes their name, their unit address, the expiration date, and a signature. They usually at this time request a detachable page to give their preferences to the proxy holder.

Step 8:

The proxy (either email or pdf form) and NOT the detachable page is sent by the proxy grantor to the proxy holder and the inspector of elections via email. If the association's governing documents require that the Secretary receive proxies, the proxy must be sent to the Secretary of the association as well. Should you be using Condo Elects' software, this is done automatically when the proxy form has been filled out.

Step 9:

The detachable page if needed is sent from the proxy grantor to the proxy holder.

Step 10:

The proxy holder fills out a new ballot with the information from the detachable page. The ballot is put into an inner envelope. The inner envelope is placed in the return envelope.

Step 11:

The proxy holder writes on the return envelope the unit address of the proxy grantor, and the proxy holder writes his/her own name and signs his/her own signature (not the proxy grantor's name but the name and signature of the proxy holder)

Step 12:

Send the ballot package to the inspector of elections. If the ballot is received before the election, then it will be irrevocable, counted toward quorum, and opened.