New Election Rules

New Election Rules - Only requires 28-day membership review prior to Board Vote to recognize New Election Rules governing document. Homeowner Vote: NO Will be implemented at the August 26, 2026 Board Meeting. The new rules are 8 pages compared to current 4 pages. The main change is electronic voting. However, the Board President unilaterally directed the attorney to default to electronic voting when issuing Election Ballots.

who decided the new elction rules?
President or Board?

During our last open Board meeting, I asked who determined the specific provisions included in the proposed Election Operating Rules—particularly the decision to make electronic voting the default method for homeowners with an email address on file. As a Director, I had no involvement in developing the proposed policy decisions reflected in the draft, nor was I asked for input before legal counsel prepared the proposed rules. In my view, policy decisions affecting the Association should be discussed and directed by the Board—not developed outside the Board process and presented later for review.

Management responded that Board President Dave Settles directed the Association's legal counsel to prepare the proposed Election Rules using policy decisions made personally by him, and that the remaining Board members were not involved in developing the initial draft.

The completed draft was then presented to the Board for review. At the June Board meeting, I questioned both the process used to develop the proposed rules and several of the policy decisions reflected in the draft. I also requested that homeowners be provided with a comparison matrix showing the differences between the current Election Rules and the proposed revisions so the changes could be more easily understood. The Board majority declined to provide that comparison and instead chose to proceed with distributing the proposed rules so they could be considered before the next election cycle.

Why This Process Should Be Examined

Since the Association retained its current legal counsel, I have consistently maintained that the Board—not an individual Director—should authorize policy direction given to counsel. I raised this issue on multiple occasions and argued that if the President was going to direct legal counsel on behalf of the Association, the Board should first approve that authority in an open meeting.

To my knowledge, no such Board authorization has ever been approved during my service on the Board.

Against that backdrop, Management's statement that the President directed legal counsel to prepare the proposed Election Rules, while the remaining Directors were not involved in those initial policy decisions, raises an important governance question: Was that direction authorized by the Board as required by the Association's Bylaws?

The Association's Bylaws state:

"Unless authorized by the Board, individual Directors have absolutely no authority to take action outside of Board meetings. Individual Directors have no authority to direct management, vendors, committees or take any action whatsoever on behalf of the Association, unless authorized by the Board." (Bylaws, Section 6.7)

The opinions expressed on this website are my own and are based upon documented events, Association records, meeting proceedings, correspondence, and my direct participation in matters affecting the Association. Wherever possible, supporting documentation has been provided so that homeowners may independently evaluate the information presented. Certain information may not be published due to legal, privacy, confidentiality, or other applicable restrictions. Where documentation cannot be fully disclosed, I have attempted to accurately describe the circumstances while respecting those limitations.

The purpose of this website is not to ask homeowners to accept my conclusions. Rather, it is to provide information that allows each homeowner to review the evidence and reach their own conclusions.

Before the Board Votes

The Board intends to adopt the new rules on August 26, 2026, in order to use the new rules for the next Board Election. It was stated in open session that they needed to be adopted on or before this date without fail. Based on that information, any changes will likely not be considered.

Homeowners may submit comments before the meeting or comment during the meeting.

The proposed rules, current rules and Board notice are available below:

This overview is provided for homeowner information and is not legal advice.

Proposed Election Rules: What Is Changing?

The Board has proposed replacing the Election Rules adopted in 2020. Most of the revisions update the rules to reflect changes in California law enacted since 2020, including electronic voting, election by acclamation, and expanded election procedures.

In several areas, however, California law gives HOAs discretion in how they implement those changes. This page summarizes the most important updates and identifies questions homeowners may wish to ask before the Board considers adoption.

The Most Important Changes

Electronic Voting

The proposed rules would allow the Association to conduct elections electronically.

Homeowners whose email addresses are on file would automatically receive electronic ballots unless they opt out in writing. Homeowners wishing to change between electronic and paper voting would be required to do so at least 90 days before the election.

Electronic voting became legal for California HOAs on January 1, 2025. It is authorized by California law but is not required.

Election by Acclamation

When the number of qualified candidates does not exceed the number of open Board seats, the Board may declare those candidates elected by acclamation without mailing ballots, provided all statutory notice and procedural requirements have been satisfied.

This option has been available to California HOAs since 2022.

Expanded Candidate Qualifications

The current Election Rules require only that a candidate be a member of the Association.

The proposed rules would add additional eligibility requirements, including possible disqualification based on:

Delinquent assessments
Less than one year of membership
Joint ownership with another candidate or sitting director
Certain criminal convictions affecting the Association's insurance

California law authorizes associations to adopt these restrictions, but—with limited exceptions—does not require every HOA to include all of them. The proposed rules adopt each of these optional qualifications.

Expanded Election Procedures

The proposed rules add detailed procedures governing:

Election notices
Candidate registration lists
Voter lists
Electronic ballot security
Inspector of Elections responsibilities
Electronic ballot retention

Most of these additions reflect changes to California law and are intended to modernize the Association's election procedures.

Questions Homeowners May Wish to Ask

1. Is Section 36 written clearly?

Section 36 states that the Board "may, but is not obligated to, use an Inspector of Elections" when conducting an election by electronic secret ballot.

California law assigns important responsibilities to the Inspector of Elections for administering electronic voting. Homeowners may wish to ask whether Section 36 should be clarified so it cannot be interpreted to allow electronic voting without an Inspector of Elections.

2. Why did the Board adopt every optional candidate qualification?

Several of the proposed candidate restrictions are permitted by California law but are not mandatory.

Homeowners may wish to ask why the Board believes each optional qualification is appropriate for our Association and whether alternative approaches were considered.

3. How were the proposed policy decisions developed?

Homeowners may want to ask how these new policy decisions were developed, whether they were authorized by the Board before legal counsel was directed to prepare the draft, and whether that process is consistent with the Association's Bylaws.