How to Adopt Electronic Voting for Your California HOA

Since January 1, 2025, a California HOA board can adopt electronic secret ballots with a single rule change: no membership vote, no CC&R amendment. The decision is easy. The calendar is not: the statute builds in a runway of at least 120 days before the first electronic election, so most boards need about six months from first conversation to results.

What changed on January 1, 2025?

A board can now adopt an election rule that lets members vote by electronic secret ballot. No membership vote is required and no change to the CC&Rs or bylaws. AB 2159 added Civil Code section 5105(i), and it applies even where older governing documents call for paper-only ballots. The one carve-out: votes on regular or special assessments must still be conducted by paper secret ballot.

Boards switch for four reasons. A member who votes electronically counts as present at the meeting, which is the quorum problem solved at the root (§ 5105(i)). Paper ballots and double envelopes go only to members who opt out or who have no email address on file, so printing and postage fall with them (§ 5115(c)). Members vote from a phone in a few minutes instead of finding a stamp. And when members vote on a CC&R or bylaw amendment, the text of the amendment can be delivered electronically to electronic voters instead of printed with every ballot (§ 5115(g)(2)).

Which votes can be held electronically?

Every secret-ballot vote except an assessment vote. Section 5105(i) overrides governing-document language that requires paper ballots, so the only questions are what is being voted on and whether the association has an independent inspector.

Vote	Electronic ballot allowed?	Note
Election of directors	Yes	The most common use
Recall of directors	Yes
Amendment of CC&Rs or bylaws	Yes	Amendment text may be sent electronically to electronic voters (§ 5115(g)(2))
Grant of exclusive use of common area	Yes
Regular or special assessment approval	No	Paper secret ballot only (§ 5105(i))

Two things still apply to every election, electronic or not. An independent Inspector of Elections must conduct it, and the management company, the attorney, or any other paid vendor of the association cannot serve (§ 5110(b)). The inspector, not the board or the manager, operates the electronic voting system (§ 5110(c)(4)). And the election rules cannot be amended within 90 days of an election (§ 5105(h)), so a board whose annual meeting is less than four months away should plan electronic voting for the following one.

What does the law require of the association?

Fourteen things, and the board owns the first four. Every row comes from sections 5105, 5110, 5115, 5120 and 5260 as amended by AB 2159.

Requirement	What it means for the HOA	Statute
Amend the election rules	Adopt an electronic-voting rule through the normal operating-rule process: general notice of the proposed rule, 28-day comment period, adoption at an open board meeting, notice of adoption within 15 days. At least 90 days before the election.	§ 4360, § 5105(h), § 5105(i)
Opt-out (or opt-in) right	Members may change voting method in either direction, electronic to written or written to electronic, by written request no later than 90 days before the election. The rule may make electronic the default with an opt-out, or paper the default with an opt-in.	§ 5105(i)(1)(A), § 5260(g)
120-day voting-method notice	At least 30 days before the opt-out deadline, individual notice to each member: current voting method, the email address on file, that they must opt out to receive a paper ballot, how to opt out, and the deadline. Individual delivery means first-class mail or, for members who have consented, email.	§ 5105(i)(4), § 4040
Valid email address	A member who votes electronically must give the association a valid email address. A member with no email on file when ballots are distributed gets a written ballot.	§ 5105(i)(1)(E), § 5105(i)(7)
Voting list	The association keeps a list showing which members vote electronically and which on paper, describes the opt-out procedure in the annual policy statement, lets members verify their own entry at least 30 days before ballots go out, and the inspector corrects reported errors within two business days.	§ 5105(a)(7), § 5105(i)(1)(D), § 5310
Same ballot content	The electronic ballot and the paper ballot list the same items.	§ 5105(i)(1)
No floor nominations	Candidates may not be nominated from the floor of a membership meeting once electronic voting is in use.	§ 5105(i)(1)(F)
30-day pre-ballot general notice	The usual notice of candidates, deadline and count meeting also states when electronic ballots are due and gives preliminary instructions for voting electronically.	§ 5115(b)
30-day electronic ballot notice	At least 30 days before the election, each electronic voter receives individual notice with instructions on how to access the voting system and how to vote, which may go to the email address the member designated.	§ 5105(i)(3)
Device check	Each electronic voter must have a way to confirm, at least 30 days before the voting deadline, that their device can reach the voting system.	§ 5110(c)(4)(A)
System standards	The inspector ensures the system authenticates each member, keeps the ballot secret and unaltered in transit, sends each voter a receipt, permanently separates the voter’s identity from the ballot, and stores ballots for recount and inspection.	§ 5110(c)(4)(B)
Irrevocable vote	An electronic ballot is effective when transmitted to the inspector’s system and cannot be changed or withdrawn.	§ 5105(i)
Quorum	A member who votes electronically is counted as present. Once quorum is established that way, the members may not take a substantive vote on anything that was not on the electronic ballot.	§ 5105(i)
Tally secrecy	No one, including a manager or member, may open or review the electronic tally before the time and place the ballots are counted.	§ 5120(c)

What are the steps, in order?

Twelve. Steps 1 through 7 belong to the board; the inspector takes over at step 8. Start about six months before the election, and use the timeline calculator to put dates on each one.

1. Pick the election. A director election, recall, or amendment vote. Do not start with an assessment vote; those stay on paper.
2. Decide opt-out or opt-in. Opt-out makes electronic voting the default and paper the exception. Opt-in does the reverse. Opt-out delivers the quorum and cost benefits; opt-in is gentler for a community that is nervous about the change. Most associations choose opt-out.
3. Have counsel draft the rule amendment. Start from the sample language. The rule must cover the right to change voting method and its deadline, the email requirement, the voting list, identical ballot content, the voting-method notice, and the ban on floor nominations.
4. Run the § 4360 process. General notice of the proposed rule with a 28-day comment period, adoption at an open board meeting, general notice of adoption within 15 days. Adoption must land at least 90 days before the election; aim for 120 or more so the voting-method notice can cite the adopted rule.
5. Select an independent Inspector of Elections. Not the manager, the attorney, or any vendor the association pays for other work. Confirm in writing that the inspector will operate the electronic system and meet § 5110(c)(4).
6. Choose the voting system. The inspector may bring a platform, or the board may select one and the inspector operates it. The questions to ask are in the PDF guide.
7. Collect and clean email addresses. Ask every member for an email address now and say why. Update the annual policy statement to describe the opt-out procedure.
8. Send the 120-day voting-method notice. Individual notice to every member: current voting method, email on file, how to opt out, and the opt-out deadline.
9. Close the opt-out window and build the voting list. Log every written opt-out request. The list shows who votes electronically and who votes on paper. Members may check their own entry at least 30 days before ballots go out.
10. Give the 30-day pre-ballot notice. The standard notice of candidates, deadline and count meeting, plus the electronic ballot deadline and preliminary voting instructions. Nomination notice goes out at least 30 days before the nomination deadline, earlier in the calendar.
11. Distribute ballots. At least 30 days before the voting deadline, the inspector emails electronic voters their access instructions and mails paper ballots with double envelopes to everyone on the paper list. The device check must be available from this point.
12. Count and report. The inspector tabulates at the noticed meeting; the electronic tally stays sealed until then. Results go to the members by general notice within 15 days (§ 5120). Ballots, paper and electronic, remain in the inspector’s custody for one year (§ 5125).

How long does adoption take?

About six months. Count backward from election day and the start date falls out on its own. Nothing after the 90-day mark can be compressed, and the rule must be adopted before the 120-day notice goes out. The example below is an election held April 15, 2027; swap in your own date and the gaps stay the same, or let the calculator do it.

Days before election	What happens	Who
~180	Counsel drafts the rule; board shortlists an inspector and a platform	Board
~150	General notice of the proposed rule; 28-day member comment period opens	Board / manager
~120 or more	Board adopts the rule at an open meeting; voting-method notice goes to every member	Board / manager
90	Opt-out deadline. Last day the election rules may be amended (§ 5105(h))	Members / manager
60	Pre-ballot general notice: candidates, deadlines, count meeting, electronic instructions	Inspector
30	Ballots distributed: email link to electronic voters, paper to the opt-out list; device check live	Inspector
0	Voting closes; inspector counts at the noticed meeting	Inspector
+15	Results reported to members by general notice (§ 5120)	Inspector / board

For the April 15 example: the rule is drafted in October, the 28-day comment period runs November 10 to December 8, the board adopts on December 10, the voting-method notice goes out December 16, the opt-out deadline is January 15, the pre-ballot notice goes out February 14, and ballots go out March 16.

Who gets a paper ballot, and how are opt-outs handled?

Every electronic election is a hybrid election, and the association must know exactly who votes on paper before ballots go out. Under an opt-out rule, paper goes to two groups: members who delivered a written opt-out request by the deadline, and members for whom the association has no email address. Everyone else receives the electronic ballot. Under an opt-in rule, paper goes to everyone who did not opt in.

Written means written. An opt-out request is effective only if delivered to the association in writing (§ 5260(g)). A phone call to the manager does not count. The voting-method notice should say exactly where to send it: a mailing address and an email address.

The deadline is firm. The opt-out deadline is no later than 90 days before the election. A member who misses it votes electronically for that election.

Email addresses. A member voting electronically must provide a valid email address (§ 5105(i)(1)(E)). Collect them early, confirm them in the voting-method notice, and keep them with the membership list. A member whose address is missing or dead when ballots go out gets a written ballot by mail (§ 5105(i)(7)), which is why the 120-day notice is the moment to confirm every address, not day 30.

The voting list. The association maintains a list identifying which members vote electronically and which vote on paper. Members may verify their own entry at least 30 days before ballots are distributed, and the inspector corrects reported errors within two business days (§ 5105(a)(7)). The voting system should maintain this list; if it cannot, the manager builds it by hand.

Annual policy statement. Once the rule is adopted, the annual policy statement (§ 5310) must describe how a member opts out of, or into, electronic voting.

What should the rule say?

It has to cover the contents § 5105(i)(1) requires: the right to change voting method and its 90-day deadline, the email requirement, the voting list and its mention in the annual policy statement, identical ballot content, the voting-method notice, and the ban on floor nominations. The sample rule in Word or PDF tracks those contents clause by clause, offers an opt-in alternative for clause (b), and ends with a fill-in checklist for the board. It is a starting point for the association’s attorney, not a finished rule.

Questions boards ask

The short answers, each with the section behind it, are on the FAQ page: whether a membership vote or CC&R amendment is needed, whether the management company can run the election, whether a member can change a vote after submitting it, whether an electronic vote counts toward quorum, and what happens when a rule is adopted too close to the annual meeting.

How BallotLink fits

BallotLink is built for elections under these rules: conducted by an independent Inspector of Elections, with both tracks of a hybrid election, electronic and paper, in one election. It maintains the voting list, sends the electronic ballot notice and an emailed receipt to every member who votes, and keeps the election records for the one-year period the law requires. Data stays on servers in California.

Related guides: Is Electronic Voting Legal for California HOAs?, California HOA Election Timeline and Deadlines and California HOA Election Rules in Plain English.