Voting Certificate Election Pitfalls

The election of directors creates the most fertile area of disputes for condominium and homeowners’ association. Procedures as involving notices, the conducting of the election itself, and the proper casting of a ballot must be complied with strictly in order for an election to be valid.  One of the more common mistakes made both by the Association and the Owner casting a ballot is complying with the obligation to pre-submit a “Voting Certificate”.  Many governing documents of associations, often times referenced in the Bylaws, reference a Voting Certificate process.  Typical language is seen obligating a non-individual owner to submit to the Secretary of the Association a form called the “Voting Certificate” designating a person entitled to physically cast the ballot for the non-individual owner.  Non-individual owners are commonly a corporate entity (where an Inc. or Corp. appears at the end of its name), a limited liability company, a “trust” such as a land trust or a couple’s revocable or irrevocable trust, and limited partnership.  Sometimes a unit owned by more than one person, married or unmarried, also requires the submission of a Voting Certificate designating the person authorized to vote on behalf of the jointly owned unit.  These issues and requirements are driven by the plain language of the association’s governing documents.  A close review of the pertinent provision is necessary to ensure you properly cast a ballot during the annual election or any other meeting where a membership wide vote is taking place.