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Online Voting & Director Elections

10/01/2020 9:42 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

By Jonah Hunt, Orten Cavanagh Holmes & Hunt, LLC

In today’s coronavirus climate, all community associations should consider implementing and utilizing technology to conduct community association business, including annual meetings and board member elections. 

Online or electronic voting provides the ability to conduct director elections at annual meetings when a significant portion of the owners are unable to attend a live, in-person meeting. Resort and mountain communities have been successfully using this technology for years.   

This year, associations throughout the state are conducting annual meetings on numerous virtual platforms (i.e. Zoom, WebEx, GoToMeeting, etc.). These virtual platforms permit owners to attend meetings by phone or videoconference and vote on director candidates while staying compliant with state and local public health orders.

Colorado law provides that associations may utilize electronic voting, unless expressly prohibited by its bylaws. Owners are permitted to participate in any annual, regular, or special member meeting by any means of communication or technology so long as the owner can be heard by the other participants. There is no statutory requirement, however, that all participants be able to see each other.

So how does an owner cast his or her vote? Any owner virtually present at the meeting may submit his or her vote by voice, raised hand, email, text, etc. While this may work fine for smaller associations, it may be cumbersome in larger ones.  

To better facilitate the voting process, many associations are turning to third party service providers to handle the voting portion of the meeting. The benefits of doing so can include the following:

  • Owner engagement: voting is the most direct way for owners to have a voice in the governance of the association. Increasing owner participation also increases the likelihood of meeting quorum.
  • Accessibility: online voting permits owners who do not live in the community the opportunity to vote from anywhere so long as they have internet access.
  • Cost reduction: no paper ballots, postage or printing means reduced costs as compared to traditional voting methods.
  • Security and confidentiality: a reputable online voting system will have safeguards in place to keep voting information secure and to protect voter identities. Such safeguards can include individualized usernames and passwords, encryption, data audits and backup, etc.
  • Transparency and accuracy: online elections help reduce the chance of election mismanagement or fraud, as there are no rejected, mismarked, or invalid votes. Results are automatically tabulated, eliminating the need for manual calculation or recounts.
  • Results and reporting: voting reports provide associations with qualitative data regarding how and where owners cast their votes, permitting associations to tailor their future voting and community outreach accordingly.

The mechanics of voting at meetings are flexible so long as they comply with the bylaws and Colorado law. Voting usually takes place after the business of the meeting is conducted and the Board candidates are introduced. When it is time to vote, owners log in to the account assigned to them by the association and cast their vote. The association should make volunteers available to assist any owner who may need assistance with the technical aspects of electronic voting.

Don’t forget that Colorado law requires associations to maintain ballots, proxies, and other voting records for at least one year after the election to which they relate.

If you are considering employing online voting in your community, review your governing documents and consult with your community manager and legal counsel before doing so.


Jonah G. Hunt is a partner at Orten Cavanagh Holmes & Hunt, LLC, providing strategic general counsel and litigation services to community associations throughout Colorado.

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