HOA Ballot Template: A Free Board Election Ballot, With the Absentee, Secret Ballot and Proxy Versions

Quick Answer

A usable HOA ballot names the association and the election, says how many seats are open and how many candidates a voter may mark, gives each candidate a box, and states the return deadline and address. The voter's name and signature go wherever your state requires them, and on a secret ballot that means the envelope, never the ballot. Copy the template below, then add what your kind of ballot needs.

This is our reading of these statutes, offered to support your own review, and it is not legal advice. Your governing documents often add requirements. Confirm with your association's attorney before ballots go out.

The Template: A Board Election Ballot

Copy this, replace every bracket, and delete any line your rules do not allow. It is laid out for a paper ballot returned by mail or at the meeting. The notice that goes out first is in our election notice template.

[ASSOCIATION NAME, exactly as it appears in your articles or declaration]

OFFICIAL BALLOT: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Election: [Annual meeting / special election] of [date]. Results will be announced [at the meeting / by (date)].

Seats open: [Three] seats on the Board of Directors, each for a term of [two] years beginning [date].

How to vote: Mark the box beside each candidate you choose, in ink. Vote for no more than [three]. [Your rule, for example: A ballot marked for more candidates than there are seats will not be counted in this election.] If you make a mistake, ask [name or title] for a replacement ballot.

Return deadline: This ballot must be received by [time] on [date] to be counted.

Return address: Mail this ballot in the envelope provided to [name or title, street address], or hand it to [name or title] at [place] before the deadline.

Ballot number: [A control number, if you number ballots. Leave it off a secret ballot unless no record ties the number to a voter.]

Voter line: [Only where your rules require a signed ballot: printed name, unit or lot number, signature and date. On a secret ballot, move this line to the outer envelope.]

Notes on the Template

• Seats, and "vote for no more than". Print both, or a member who sees four names and three seats will mark four.
• Candidate order. Alphabetical or a drawing: a method you can explain, used every year.
• A deadline for receipt. A ballot is in hand by then or it is not, and nobody has to judge a postmark.
• The number and the voter line. Either can expose how someone voted. The next sections say where they belong.

Where the Signature and Unit Number Go, or Must Not

A signed ballot is not secret: anyone who handles it sees how that owner voted. A secret ballot still needs the voter's identity somewhere, so eligibility can be checked; that is the outer envelope's job. In Texas, electronic votes cast under §209.00592 count as written and signed (§209.0058(b)), and an uncontested race needs no signed ballots (§209.0058(c)).

Variant 1: A Ballot That Acts Without a Meeting

An incorporated association may be able to decide a matter by ballot with no meeting, under its state's nonprofit corporation act. Under South Carolina's, unless the articles or bylaws prohibit or limit it, any action that could be taken at a members' meeting may be taken by delivering a written or electronic ballot to every member entitled to vote on it (S.C. Code §33-31-708(a)). Then:

• The ballot sets forth each proposed action with an opportunity to vote for or against it (§33-31-708(b)).
• The solicitation states the number of responses needed to meet quorum, the percentage of approvals needed for each matter other than the election of directors, and the time by which a ballot must be received to be counted (§33-31-708(d)).
• The result is valid only if the votes cast equal or exceed the quorum a meeting would have needed, and the approvals equal or exceed what a meeting with the same number of votes cast would have required (§33-31-708(c)).
• A cast ballot cannot be revoked unless the articles or bylaws say otherwise (§33-31-708(e)).

Lines to add to the ballot or its cover letter:

Quorum: This vote is valid only if at least [number] ballots are received by the deadline.

Approval: [Proposal] is approved if [percentage] of the votes cast are in favor. [Not required in South Carolina for an election of directors.]

Deadline: Ballots must be received by [time] on [date] to be counted. A ballot cannot be withdrawn once cast [unless your articles or bylaws allow it].

The "for or against" wording in §33-31-708(b) fits a list of candidates awkwardly. Director elections are exempt from stating an approval percentage, but not from that wording. Ask your attorney how your candidate ballot should meet it. Elsewhere, read your own state's section first. More in our [South Carolina HOA guide](/blog/south-carolina-hoa-laws-voting-rules-2026).

Variant 2: California's Secret Ballot in Two Envelopes

California requires a secret ballot for elections regarding assessments legally requiring a vote, the election and removal of directors, amendments to the governing documents, and grants of exclusive use of common area (Cal. Civ. Code §5100(a)(1)). Section 5115(c) sets the paper procedure:

• The ballot and two preaddressed envelopes, with instructions, go to every member by first-class mail or delivery at least 30 days before the voting deadline. Where the association conducts the election by electronic secret ballot under §5105, only members who will vote on paper get them.
• The ballot may not identify the voter by name, address, or lot, parcel or unit number, and the voter does not sign it.
• The ballot goes into a sealed envelope, inside a second sealed envelope. In the second envelope's upper left-hand corner the voter signs, writes their name, and gives the address or separate interest identifier that entitles them to vote.
• The second envelope is addressed to the inspector or inspectors of elections, and may be mailed or hand delivered to a location the inspector specifies. The member may request a receipt.

Inner envelope: BALLOT. Place your marked ballot in this envelope and seal it. Do not write your name or unit number on this envelope or on the ballot.

Outer envelope, upper left-hand corner: Signature ______________ Printed name ______________ [Address / separate interest identifier] ______________

Outer envelope, addressed to: Inspector of Elections, [ASSOCIATION NAME], [the address the inspector specified]

For a director or recall election, print the deadline and physical address the general notice gave at least 30 days before ballots went out (§5115(b)(1)). Other states' secrecy rules are in HOA secret ballot requirements by state.

Variant 3: Arizona's Absentee Ballot

Arizona has parallel sections in its Planned Community Act (§33-1812) and Condominium Act (§33-1250). Whatever the community's documents say, once declarant control ends no vote may be cast by proxy, and the association must provide for voting in person and by absentee ballot, and may add delivery such as email and fax (A.R.S. §33-1812(A); §33-1250(C)). When absentee ballots are used:

• 1The ballot sets forth each proposed action.

• 2It gives an opportunity to vote for or against each one.

• 3It is valid for one specified election or meeting only, and expires automatically when that is completed.

• 4It states the time and date by which it must be delivered to the board to be counted, at least seven days after the board delivers the unvoted ballot.

• 5It does not authorize another person to cast votes for the member.

• 6The completed ballot carries the voter's name, address and signature, unless the documents permit secret ballots, when only the envelope does. The condominium section allows an actual or electronic signature.

• 7Ballots, envelopes and related materials, including sign-in sheets, are kept and open to member inspection for at least one year after the election.

These votes count toward quorum (§33-1812(B); §33-1250(D)). Arizona permits a secret ballot where the documents allow one; it does not require one. Add:

Valid for: This ballot is valid only for the [election / meeting] of [date] and expires automatically when it is completed.

Return: Deliver this ballot to the board of directors at [address or email] by [time] on [date]. [At least seven days after delivery.] This ballot does not authorize any other person to vote on your behalf.

More in our Arizona HOA election guide.

Variant 4: The Texas Absentee Ballot

Unless a dedicatory instrument provides otherwise, a Texas property owners' association need not offer more than one voting method, but an owner must be allowed one of three: absentee ballot, proxy or electronic ballot (Tex. Prop. Code §209.00592(a-1), as amended by S.B. 2629, effective September 1, 2025). An absentee ballot solicitation must include (§209.00592(c)):

• 1An absentee ballot that contains each proposed action and provides an opportunity to vote for or against each one.

• 2Instructions for delivering the completed ballot, including the delivery location.

• 3This paragraph, exactly as the statute words it, on the ballot or the letter that goes with it:

"By casting your vote via absentee ballot you will forgo the opportunity to consider and vote on any action from the floor on these proposals, if a meeting is held. This means that if there are amendments to these proposals your votes will not be counted on the final vote on these measures. If you desire to retain this ability, please attend any meeting in person. You may submit an absentee ballot and later choose to attend any meeting in person, in which case any in-person vote will prevail."

That paragraph tracks §209.00592(b): an absentee or electronic ballot counts toward quorum only for items on it, is not counted if the owner attends a meeting to vote in person, and is not counted on the final vote of a motion amended at the meeting. A floor nomination in a board election is not an amendment (§209.00592(b-1)). An electronic ballot is one given by email, fax or posting on a website, for which the owner's identity can be confirmed and the owner can receive a receipt (§209.00592(d)). More in our Texas HOA election guide.

The Proxy Form, Only Where Proxies Are Allowed

Check that a proxy is allowed for this vote before you print a form.

• Arizona: not after declarant control, under either act (A.R.S. §33-1812(A); §33-1250(C)).
• Under Robert's Rules: not unless a law that applies to the organization requires proxies or the bylaws authorize them (RONR (12th ed.) 45:70-71, as cited in the official FAQ at robertsrules.com).
• South Carolina nonprofit corporations: allowed unless the articles or bylaws prohibit or limit them. The member signs an appointment form, valid for eleven months unless it states otherwise, never more than three years, and revoked if the member attends a meeting and votes in person (S.C. Code §33-31-724).

[ASSOCIATION NAME]: APPOINTMENT OF PROXY

Member: I, [printed name], owner of [unit or lot], appoint [proxyholder's printed name] to vote for me at the [annual / special] meeting of members on [date] [and any adjournment of it].

Instructions: [Directed proxy: each question and how to vote on it. General proxy: "The proxyholder may vote as the proxyholder decides."]

Expires: [Date, or "at the end of the meeting named above"]. Signed: ______________________ Date: ______________

Deliver to: [Secretary or other officer authorized to count votes], [address], before [time] on [date].

State rules are in HOA proxy voting rules by state, and general and directed proxies in proxy voting explained.

What Makes a Ballot Invalid

Most ballot disputes are about whether one ballot should have counted. The statutes above settle some cases:

• Late. Arizona and South Carolina require the ballot or solicitation to state when it must arrive to be counted (A.R.S. §33-1812(A)(4); S.C. Code §33-31-708(d)(3)).
• Meant for another vote. An Arizona absentee ballot expires when its one election or meeting is completed (§33-1812(A)(3)).
• Missing required details. The Arizona name, address and signature (§33-1812(A)(6)), or the Texas signature where §209.0058(a) requires one.
• Overtaken. In Texas, by the owner voting in person, or by an amendment at the meeting (§209.00592(b)(2), (3)).

The statutes are silent on the everyday cases, so settle them in your election rules before ballots go out: too many candidates marked, a mark that could be read two ways, a write-in for someone ineligible, a missing envelope or signature, and an original that returns after a replacement. A rule written in advance is easy to explain. One invented at the counting table starts a dispute. The count itself is in how to count HOA ballots.

Numbering and Tracking Ballots

A number shows that every ballot printed is accounted for. It must never show how a particular owner voted.

• 1Number for control, not identity. On a secret ballot, number the outer envelopes instead, or keep no record of which ballot number went to which owner.

• 2Keep one log. For each owner: the number sent, the dates sent and returned, the address used, and whether it was accepted or set aside, and why.

• 3Void what you replace. Log every replacement and void the original number, so only one can count.

• 4Reconcile before you count. Ballots printed equal ballots mailed, spoiled and unused.

• 5Keep everything. Arizona requires ballots, envelopes and related materials to be kept and made available for member inspection for at least one year (A.R.S. §33-1812(A)(7)). Elsewhere, destroy nothing while a challenge is possible.

On vote.direct, your board can print numbered paper ballots and scan them in as they come back.

FAQ

Q: Is there a free HOA ballot template I can copy?

Yes. Copy the board election ballot above, replace every bracket, delete what your bylaws do not allow, and add what your state requires.

Q: Does an HOA ballot have to be signed?

It depends on the state. A California secret ballot must not be signed or identify the voter (Cal. Civ. Code §5115(c)). An Arizona absentee ballot carries the voter's name, address and signature unless the documents permit secret ballots (A.R.S. §33-1812(A)(6)). A Texas board election vote must be written and signed unless the race is uncontested or the association has adopted secret ballot rules (Tex. Prop. Code §209.0058).

Q: Can an HOA absentee ballot double as a proxy?

No. A ballot records your own vote, and a proxy appoints someone else to cast it. In Arizona an absentee ballot may not authorize another person to vote for the member, and proxies are barred after declarant control (A.R.S. §33-1812(A)).

Q: How far ahead do HOA ballots have to go out?

Your statute and bylaws decide. California mails or delivers ballots at least 30 days before the voting deadline (Cal. Civ. Code §5115(c)). An Arizona ballot's return deadline must be at least seven days after the board delivers it (A.R.S. §33-1812(A)(4)). Notice is a separate rule; see the election notice template.

Q: What is the difference between an absentee ballot and a mail ballot?

An absentee ballot is generally cast instead of attending the meeting. A mail ballot election sends every member a ballot and uses the meeting to count. More in mail ballot vs absentee ballot.

The Bottom Line

Every line on a ballot settles an argument before it starts: how many to mark, by when, where it goes, and whose name goes where. Start from the template, add what your state requires, and write down your counting rules before the first envelope goes out.

The same ballot can go out online, each owner sent a link and a code of their own by email or text, or on paper as a mailed packet. Each $6.00 packet includes domestic US mail, up to 4 pages, and a return envelope with prepaid postage: the packet goes out, and it comes back in an envelope that already has the postage paid on it, so the member never buys a stamp. There is no separate postage line on your invoice. A 150-voter online election is $19.99, and one of up to 25 voters is free with email delivery. To hand the work over, a managed HOA election starts at $199 for a digital election of up to 100 voters.

Sources: South Carolina Code §33-31-708; §33-31-724. California Civil Code §5100(a)(1); §5115(b)(1), (c). Arizona Revised Statutes §33-1812(A), (B); §33-1250(C), (D). Texas Property Code §209.0058(a) to (d); §209.00592(a-1), (b), (b-1), (c), (d), as amended by S.B. 2629 (2025). Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th ed.) 45:70-71, as cited in the official Frequently Asked Questions at robertsrules.com. Read on November 12, 2026.