Questions boards actually ask

Your association must appoint one. It does not have to pay for one. Civil Code § 5110(a) requires the association to select an independent third party as inspector, and § 5110(b) expressly allows that person to be a member of the association, provided they are not a director, not a candidate, not related to either, and not under contract to the association for any other paid service. A small self-managed HOA with a willing, genuinely neutral neighbour can run a compliant election for nothing. You hire someone when no such neighbour exists, when the election is contested, or when the board needs the result to be unimpeachable.

No. California imposes no licence, registration, bond, exam or certification to serve as an inspector of elections, and no legitimate body certifies them. Civil Code § 5110(b) sets a status test (independence), not a credential test. Anyone advertising themselves as a "certified inspector of elections" is describing a certification that does not exist. The credentials the statute does name by example are a county registrar volunteer poll worker, a California Board of Accountancy licensee, and a notary public.

No. Civil Code § 5110(b) disqualifies any person, business entity, or subdivision of a business entity currently employed or under contract to the association for any compensable services other than serving as inspector. A management company under contract to your association is disqualified, and the phrase "or subdivision of a business entity" means it cannot solve this by creating an in-house elections division. Before 1 January 2020 an association could authorise it in its election rules; SB 323 deleted that exception.

Civil Code § 5110(c) lists nine duties. The inspector determines the number of memberships entitled to vote and the voting power of each, rules on proxies, receives the ballots, ensures electronic-ballot compliance where electronic voting is used, hears and decides challenges to the right to vote, counts and tabulates the votes, decides when polls close, determines the tabulated result, and does whatever else is proper to conduct the election fairly. Under § 5110(d) the inspector's written report is prima facie evidence of the facts it states.

Budget at least 95 days, and 120 is more realistic. The statutory notice periods run one after another rather than at the same time: the nomination notice and its reminder under § 5103, the candidate registration list and voter list verification window under § 5105, and the 30-day pre-ballot general notice under § 5115 each have to land in order before ballots can go out. Results must be reported within 15 days of the election under § 5120.

They stay with the inspector. Civil Code § 5125 requires the inspector to keep custody of the sealed ballots, signed voter envelopes, voter lists, proxies and candidate registration lists until after the tabulation and until the time allowed by § 5145 for challenging the election has expired: one year. Custody then transfers to the association. Holding the ballots is part of the job, not an optional add-on service.

Under Civil Code § 5145 a member has one year from the date the inspector notifies the board and membership of the results to bring an action. If they do, the court shall void the results unless the association establishes that the noncompliance did not affect the outcome. A prevailing member gets reasonable attorney fees and costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation. The association recovers nothing unless the action was frivolous.

Civil Code § 5120 requires the ballots be counted in public at a properly noticed open meeting, and your members are entitled to witness it. We attend in person across San Diego County and Sacramento County, and we can run the count by video where your association prefers it.