Traditional Mail-In / Paper Secret Balloting
The standard double-envelope paper voting process required by Civil Code § 5115. This is the foundation of HOA election compliance. Even after Assembly Bill 2159 (effective January 1, 2025) allows electronic voting, members still retain the right to cast a physical paper secret ballot. Assessment votes must always be conducted on paper: electronic voting is not permitted for those matters.
Who this is for
Every association. Paper is the process the statute assumes, and any member may insist on it even where electronic voting has been authorised.
What's included
- Ballot and two-envelope package printed, assembled and mailed to every separate interest
- Return envelopes addressed to the inspector, never to the board or manager
- Signed outer envelopes verified against the voter list before any ballot is opened
- Ballots opened and counted in public at your meeting under § 5120
- A signed written result, prima facie evidence under § 5110(d)
- Sealed ballots held through the one-year challenge window under § 5125
Where we run this
Traditional Mail-In / Paper Secret Balloting for homeowners associations in San Diego County and Sacramento County. The count happens in public at your meeting under Civil Code § 5120, so we only take on elections where we can be in the room or on the call for it.