Question:
After being a resident in my community for 4 months, I found out the Annual Meeting which involved the election of a director who is president , was going to be done by a proxy vote. The Bylaws explicitly state that elections of board directors is to be done by hand written, secret ballot. I read the document carefully and even compared it to Roberts Rules of Order, our best practices guide. The board president, also the candidate, could not be dissuaded from using a proxy form for voting instead of a mail-in, or secret ballot.
He refused to listen to my viewpoint and said that the proxy procedure had been used for the last several years and there was nothing wrong with it, even though I explained it was not a ‘secret ballot’.
The vote went ahead as a proxy.
Please give me your thoughts on this.
– Joan
Answer:
Hi Joan,
A proxy vote is a form of voting wherein a homeowner votes on behalf of another homeowner. Homeowners associations can generally allow proxy voting, but that does not mean all homeowners are required to use it. Proxy votes still typically follow the voting method the HOA uses, such as secret ballots or traditional ballots. The only difference is that homeowners are permitted to have someone else vote for them.
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