Nevada has one of the densest concentrations of community associations in the country. The Las Vegas and Henderson metro areas alone contain thousands of associations governing a large share of the state's housing. Nevada also has one of the most prescriptive election statutes anywhere. NRS Chapter 116, the Nevada Common-Interest Ownership Act, tells boards exactly how ballots must be distributed, why proxies cannot decide a board seat, and why a Nevada board election does not need a quorum to be valid.
This guide walks through every major election requirement under NRS Chapter 116, with the statutory citations, what the law actually requires, and the specific places Nevada boards most often go wrong.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. HOA election requirements vary by governing documents and local regulations. Consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your community.
The Nevada Statutory Framework
Nevada governs HOAs and condominiums under a single unified statute rather than separate tracks. That makes Nevada simpler than Arizona or California in one respect: the same chapter controls almost everything.
| Source | Citation | What It Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada Common-Interest Ownership Act | NRS Chapter 116 | Elections, ballots, meetings, quorum, removal, records |
| Election of executive board | NRS 116.31034 | Secret ballot, proxy prohibition, counting, no-quorum rule |
| Removal of board members | NRS 116.31036 | Recall petitions and removal thresholds |
| Electronic voting authority | Nevada AB 309 (2019) | Voting and meeting participation by electronic means |
| Oversight and disputes | NRS 116.600 to 116.795 | Commission, Ombudsman, and pre-litigation mediation |
NRS Chapter 116 generally overrides conflicting provisions in CC&Rs and bylaws. When the governing documents contradict the statute, the statute controls.
Notice Requirements
NRS 116.3108 and NRS 116.31068 govern notice for meetings of the units' owners. Notice of an annual or special meeting must be:
- Hand delivered, sent by mail, or sent by electronic means to each unit's owner who has consented to electronic delivery
- Provided not less than 15 days and not more than 60 days before the meeting
- Accompanied by an agenda that identifies each item to be considered, including the election of board members
For board meetings, NRS 116.31083 sets a separate schedule, but the annual meeting where directors are elected falls under the 15 to 60 day window. The agenda requirement is strict in Nevada. An election that was not clearly listed on the noticed agenda is vulnerable to challenge.
Candidate Eligibility, Nominations, and Disclosures
Nevada does not impose detailed candidate qualifications at the statute level. The CC&Rs and bylaws control whether a candidate must be an owner in good standing. NRS 116.31034, however, adds a requirement that catches many boards by surprise: every candidate for the executive board must make a written disclosure. The candidate must disclose, to the extent applicable, any financial, business, professional, or personal relationship with a vendor or with the community manager that could create a conflict of interest, and whether the candidate is delinquent in paying assessments.
The association must distribute these disclosures with the secret ballot. Skipping the disclosure step, or filtering candidates off the ballot for reasons not grounded in the governing documents, are two of the most common Nevada election errors.
The Secret Ballot Mandate
This is the rule that defines Nevada elections. Under NRS 116.31034, the executive board must be elected by secret written ballot. The process is specific:
- The association prepares a secret ballot listing every nominated candidate
- The ballot is mailed to every unit's owner, along with the candidate disclosures and a return envelope
- The owner marks the ballot, seals it in an inner envelope, and signs an outer envelope used to verify identity without revealing the vote
- Ballots are opened and counted in a meeting open to the owners, and any owner may observe the count
The double envelope design separates voter identity from ballot content. Nevada law treats ballot secrecy as mandatory, not optional, for board elections. For a deeper look at how secret ballot mechanics differ across states, see HOA secret ballot requirements by state.
The Proxy Ban for Board Elections
Nevada permits proxies for general association business and for establishing a quorum at a meeting. It does not permit proxies to elect or remove members of the executive board. Because NRS 116.31034 requires a mailed secret ballot for board elections, a proxy cannot stand in for that ballot.
This produces a Nevada-specific trap. A board can have a valid quorum at the annual meeting on the strength of proxies, then discover that those proxies cannot be used to fill the board seats. The only votes that count for the board are the secret ballots returned by the owners themselves.
For context on how proxy abuse drives election disputes, see How proxy voting fraud undermines HOA elections.
No Quorum Required to Elect the Board
Nevada removes the single biggest obstacle most associations face. Under NRS 116.31034, no quorum is required to elect the members of the executive board. Whatever secret ballots are validly returned are counted, and candidates are seated by plurality unless the governing documents require otherwise.
This does not eliminate quorum entirely. Other business at the annual meeting, such as adopting the budget or amending the documents, still depends on the quorum rules in NRS 116.3109, which set quorum at the percentage in the bylaws or, by default, the owners present in person or by proxy who are entitled to cast 20 percent of the votes. But the board itself gets seated regardless of turnout. For quorum strategy on everything else, see How to reach quorum: proven strategies.
Electronic Voting
Nevada authorized voting by electronic means through AB 309 in 2019, which amended NRS Chapter 116 to let associations conduct votes and allow owners to participate in meetings electronically. Electronic voting in Nevada must still honor the substance of NRS 116.31034. A compliant electronic election:
- 1Authenticates each owner against the membership roll
- 2Preserves ballot secrecy by keeping the voter's identity out of everything the association sees, the digital counterpart of the double envelope
- 3Prevents an owner from voting twice
- 4Distributes candidate disclosures with the ballot
- 5Produces an auditable record sufficient to defend the election if it is challenged before the Commission or a court
A platform like vote.direct can support roster checks, one accepted ballot per credential, tabulation, and exportable platform records. It does not automatically complete candidate disclosure, every statutory notice, an inspector’s duties, or a lawful paper alternative. Ballot secrecy is a per-election choice: Anonymous mode withholds the voter-to-ballot link from the association but keeps it in restricted storage, while Sealed ballot mode stores the ballot with no link to the voter at all, so associations whose rules demand permanent separation can choose Sealed ballots and confirm the rest of the procedure with counsel. For the full multi-state picture, see Electronic voting for HOAs by state.
This one gets heated
Should community boards be required to use independent election administrators?
Open Meetings and Records
NRS 116.31083 and NRS 116.31085 make board meetings open to owners, with executive session limited to narrow topics such as legal advice, pending litigation, personnel matters, and individual delinquent accounts. Election results are not an executive session item. The count happens in the open and any owner may watch.
NRS 116.31175 and NRS 116.31177 govern records. Owners may inspect association books and records, including ballots, envelopes, and the membership roll used for the election. Nevada requires the association to maintain election materials and make them available for inspection. Retaining ballots, envelopes, the voter roll, and the tally for at least the period the statute allows for a challenge is best practice.
Removal of Board Members
NRS 116.31036 governs removal. Owners may remove a member of the executive board, with or without cause, by calling a removal vote. The association must conduct the removal using the same secret ballot machinery as an election. A board member is removed when the votes cast in favor of removal meet the threshold set in the statute and governing documents, which in practice requires both a meaningful share of the total membership and a majority of the votes actually cast against the member.
Because removal uses the secret ballot process and proxies cannot decide it, a Nevada recall is effectively a full mailed election compressed into a short window. Boards that try to run a recall on a show of hands at a meeting are not following NRS 116.31036.
Dispute Resolution: The Nevada Ombudsman
Nevada is unusual in having a dedicated state apparatus for association disputes. The Office of the Ombudsman for Owners in Common-Interest Communities and the Commission for Common-Interest Communities and Condominium Hotels (NRS 116.600 through 116.795) oversee compliance. Many election disputes must go through NRS 38.310 alternative dispute resolution, typically mediation or arbitration, before a lawsuit can proceed. The practical effect is that a poorly documented Nevada election does not just risk a lawsuit, it risks a state regulatory complaint. A clean audit trail is the difference between a complaint that gets dismissed and one that escalates.
Common Compliance Failures
The five most common ways Nevada HOA boards run into election trouble:
- 1Using proxies to fill board seats. Proxies can build a quorum for general business but cannot elect or remove directors. Counting them for the board invalidates the result.
- 2Skipping candidate disclosures. NRS 116.31034 requires disclosure statements to be distributed with the ballot. An election run without them is challengeable.
- 3Not mailing a secret ballot to every owner. Board elections must use a mailed secret ballot. Electing the board by voice vote or floor vote at the meeting violates the statute.
- 4Treating the agenda loosely. NRS 116.3108 requires the election to appear on the noticed agenda. A vague or missing agenda item is a defect.
- 5Assuming a quorum failure stops the election. It does not. The board is elected from validly returned secret ballots regardless of quorum. Delaying the election for turnout reasons creates its own problems.
FAQ
Q: Does a Nevada HOA need a quorum to elect its board?
No. NRS 116.31034 provides that no quorum is required to elect the members of the executive board. The candidates are seated based on the validly returned secret ballots. Quorum still matters for other annual meeting business such as budgets and document amendments.
Q: Can a Nevada HOA accept proxies for the board election?
No. Proxies may be used for general business and to establish a quorum, but the executive board must be elected by mailed secret ballot under NRS 116.31034. A proxy cannot substitute for that ballot.
Q: Can a Nevada HOA use electronic voting?
Yes. Nevada AB 309 (2019) amended NRS Chapter 116 to authorize voting and meeting participation by electronic means. The electronic system must still preserve ballot secrecy, authenticate voters, distribute candidate disclosures, and produce an auditable record.
Q: What are the candidate disclosure requirements in Nevada?
Under NRS 116.31034, each board candidate must disclose applicable conflicts of interest, including financial or personal relationships with vendors or the community manager, and any assessment delinquency. The association distributes these disclosures with the secret ballot.
Q: How do Nevada owners remove a board member?
NRS 116.31036 lets owners remove a board member with or without cause through a removal vote conducted with the same secret ballot process used for elections. Removal requires meeting the statutory and governing document thresholds, and proxies cannot decide it.
Q: How long should a Nevada HOA keep election records?
NRS 116.31175 gives owners the right to inspect association records, including election materials. Best practice is to retain ballots, envelopes, the voter roll, and the tally at least through the period in which the election could be challenged before the Commission or a court.
The Bottom Line
Nevada's election statute is strict but internally consistent. The secret ballot mandate, the proxy ban, and the no-quorum rule all point in the same direction: a Nevada board election lives or dies on whether every owner received a proper secret ballot and whether those ballots were counted in the open with a clean record. Boards that still run elections by proxy and floor vote, the way they might in a state without a secret ballot mandate, are the ones whose elections get challenged before the Ombudsman.
Electronic voting fits Nevada well because it reproduces the double envelope, distributes disclosures automatically, and generates the audit trail that a Commission complaint will demand.
Sources:
- 1NRS Chapter 116: Nevada Common-Interest Ownership Act
- 2NRS 116.31034: Election of executive board, secret ballot, proxy prohibition, no quorum rule
- 3NRS 116.31036: Removal of members of the executive board
- 4NRS 116.3108: Meetings of units' owners and agenda requirements
- 5NRS 116.31068: Notice to units' owners
- 6NRS 116.31083 and 116.31085: Open board meetings and executive session limits
- 7NRS 116.3109: Quorum for meetings of units' owners
- 8NRS 116.31175 and 116.31177: Association records and owner inspection rights
- 9NRS 116.600 through 116.795: Commission and Ombudsman for common-interest communities
- 10NRS 38.310: Alternative dispute resolution prerequisite to litigation
- 11Nevada AB 309 (2019): Electronic voting and electronic meeting participation
Every rule on one page: Nevada HOA voting rules, with quorum, notice, proxy and electronic voting at a glance.
This article is general information, not legal advice. We recommend you do your own research and confirm anything you plan to act on. Where this article states law, the section is cited so you can read the primary source yourself rather than take our word for it — that is what the citations are for. Election requirements also turn on your own governing documents, which we have not seen, and statutes are amended. For advice about your community, consult a qualified attorney licensed in your state.
We work hard to verify every citation against the primary source, but laws change and errors happen. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it. See our editorial standards for how these pages are researched and checked.
