Quick Answer
Ohio leaves most association election rules to the declaration and bylaws, and to the Ohio Nonprofit Corporation Law where those documents are silent. Chapter 5311 (condominiums) and Chapter 5312 (the Ohio Planned Community Law) list what the documents must cover. Chapter 1702 supplies the defaults for every planned community association, which must be organized under it, and for any condominium association incorporated as a nonprofit corporation.
| Question | Default rule | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the election rules | The declaration and bylaws must provide for electing the board, staggered terms, removing directors, and calling, noticing and conducting meetings | ORC §5311.08(B); §5312.02(B) |
| Meeting notice, nonprofit default | Written, 10 to 60 days before the meeting, unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise | §1702.18 |
| Quorum, condominium | Those present in person or by proxy when action is taken, unless the declaration or bylaws provide otherwise | §5311.08(A)(3) |
| Quorum, nonprofit default | The voting members present in person, by authorized communications equipment, by mail or, if permitted, by proxy | §1702.22(A)(1) |
| Proxies | A member who is a natural person may not vote by proxy unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise | §1702.20(D) |
| Voting by mail or online | Allowed at elections and on other matters unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise | §1702.20(B) |
| Electing directors | Only nominated candidates are eligible, and those with the most votes win | §1702.26 |
| Removing a director | By the method in the declaration, bylaws, articles or regulations | §5311.08(B)(1)(f); §5312.02(B)(5); §1702.29(B) |
| Owners behind on assessments | The board may suspend voting privileges after more than 30 days of delinquency | §5311.081(B)(18); §5312.06(D)(15) |
This is our reading of the Ohio Revised Code, offered to support your own review, and it is not legal advice. Planned community documents that predate Chapter 5312 control where they expressly conflict with it (§5312.15), and most Chapter 1702 defaults give way to the articles or regulations. Confirm with your association's attorney before you rely on any one of them.
Three Chapters, and Which One Answers a Voting Question
Condominiums, Chapter 5311. The chapter applies only to property submitted to it by a recorded declaration (§5311.02). Every condominium is administered by a unit owners association whose powers are exercised by a board the unit owners elect (§5311.08(A)(1)). The board may take the steps needed to incorporate the association as a not-for-profit corporation (§5311.08(E)). Whether Chapter 1702 applies to a condominium therefore depends on whether the association was incorporated.
Planned communities, Chapter 5312. Any planned community in Ohio is subject to the chapter (§5312.02(A)), and a condominium is not a planned community (§5312.01(M)). The owners association must be organized as a nonprofit corporation under Chapter 1702 (§5312.03(B)), and its bylaws are what Chapter 1702 calls "regulations" (§5312.01(B)). The chapter supplements the governing documents that existed when it took effect, and where one of those documents has an express requirement in specific conflict with the chapter, the document controls. Where a governing document is silent, the chapter controls (§5312.15). A provision already in a document recorded before September 10, 2010 is not invalidated by the chapter (§5312.02(C)).
Nonprofit corporations, Chapter 1702. Almost every default below begins "unless the articles or the regulations provide otherwise." Where the articles or regulations require a larger vote than the law does, they control (§1702.23).
So the order of reading is the declaration, the bylaws or regulations and the articles first, then Chapter 5311 or 5312, then Chapter 1702 for what is left.
Notice of Meetings
Neither community chapter sets a notice period. A condominium's bylaws must provide the time and place for meetings and the manner of and authority for calling, giving notice of, and conducting them (§5311.08(B)(2)). A planned community's declaration and bylaws must provide the same, and notice may be sent by email only if the association has received the owner's prior, written authorization (§5312.02(B)(8)).
For an association organized under Chapter 1702, the default applies unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise (§1702.18):
- When: not less than 10 or more than 60 days before the meeting.
- What it says: the place, if any, the time, the means, if any, by which members can attend and vote through authorized communications equipment, and for a special meeting, its purpose.
- Where it goes: mailed notice to the address on the corporation's records, and electronic notice to the address the member furnished for it.
- Adjournment: no new notice is needed if the time and place of the adjourned meeting, and how members can attend it electronically, are fixed and announced at the meeting.
Notice must be in writing, delivered personally or sent by authorized communications equipment, United States mail, express mail or courier with postage prepaid. When counting days, leave out the day notice is given and count the day of the meeting. Mailed notice is given when deposited, and electronic notice when transmitted (§1702.02).
The annual meeting. Except during declarant control, a planned community's board must call a meeting of the owners association at least once each year (§5312.04(C)). Under Chapter 1702, the annual meeting falls on the date the articles or regulations set, or by default on the first Monday of the fourth month after the fiscal year closes. If it is not held or directors are not elected at it, they may be elected at a special meeting called for that purpose (§1702.16).
Special meetings. In a planned community, the president, a majority of the board, or owners representing 50% of the voting power, or a lower share the documents set, may call one (§5312.04(C)). Chapter 1702 separately lets the lesser of 10% of the voting members or 25 of them call a meeting, unless the articles or regulations set a different number not above 50% (§1702.17(A)(3)). The two sections give members different thresholds. Ask counsel which governs before owners rely on the lower one.
Quorum: Whoever Is Present, Unless Your Documents Say Otherwise
In a condominium, unless the declaration or bylaws provide otherwise, all meetings of the unit owners association are open to the unit owners, and those present in person or by proxy when action is taken constitute a sufficient quorum (§5311.08(A)(3)). The bylaws are also supposed to state the quorum for association meetings in terms of undivided interests in the common elements (§5311.08(B)(2)), so look there for a number first.
The planned community sections we read set no quorum. Chapter 1702 does, unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise (§1702.22):
- The voting members present in person, by authorized communications equipment, by mail, or, if permitted, by proxy constitute a quorum.
- An action needs the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members present at a meeting with a quorum, except where the law or the documents require a specified larger proportion.
- A majority of the voting members present may adjourn the meeting from time to time, whether or not a quorum is present.
A thin meeting can act under these defaults, so check whether your bylaws set a number. If yours is high, see HOA quorum requirements by state and the quorum calculator.
Who has how many votes. In a condominium, unless the declaration or bylaws provide otherwise, each owner holds the share of the total voting power that equals the undivided interest in the common elements appurtenant to the unit (§5311.22(A)). Co-owners split the unit's vote by their interests, and executors, guardians, trustees in bankruptcy and similar fiduciaries may vote once they furnish satisfactory proof of their authority (§5311.22(B) to (D)). Under Chapter 1702, each member has one vote on each matter unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise (§1702.20(A)).
Proxies: Assumed for Condominiums, Off by Default for Nonprofits
Chapter 1702 starts from no proxies: unless the articles or the regulations otherwise provide, no member who is a natural person shall vote or act by proxy (§1702.20(D)).
The condominium chapter assumes proxies, since its quorum rule counts those present "in person or by proxy" (§5311.08(A)(3)), but none of the condominium sections we read says how a proxy is made, how long it lasts or how it is revoked. The planned community sections we read say nothing about proxies, so for a planned community association the Chapter 1702 default applies unless the articles or regulations allow proxies.
Before you print proxy forms, find the proxy clause in your articles or regulations. If there is none, the cleaner route is usually the one the law already provides, voting by mail or electronically. If your condominium association is incorporated and its documents are silent on proxies, ask counsel how the two chapters fit. Other states are compared in HOA proxy voting rules by state.
This one gets heated
Should community boards be required to use independent election administrators?
Voting by Mail or Online
Unless the articles or the regulations provide otherwise, voting at elections and votes on other matters may be conducted by mail or by the use of authorized communications equipment, and a member who takes part that way is present in person at the meeting (§1702.20(B), (C)). The directors may adopt procedures and guidelines to verify that a person is a voting member and to maintain a record of any vote (§1702.20(C)).
"Authorized communications equipment" is any equipment, including telephone or any electronic means, whose transmission shows that it was authorized by, and accurately reflects the intention of, the member, and which, for meetings, lets everyone participating communicate with each other at the same time (§1702.01(Q)).
The same chapter covers attending from home. Unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise, members and proxyholders who are not physically present may attend a members' meeting by authorized communications equipment that lets them take part and vote, and they are deemed present in person. A meeting may be held solely by electronic means only if the articles or regulations so provide (§1702.17(B), (C)).
Acting without a meeting. Unless the articles or regulations prohibit it, members may act in writing without a meeting if all of the members entitled to notice sign, or any smaller proportion, not less than a majority, that the articles or regulations permit. An affirmative vote sent by authorized communications equipment counts as a signed writing (§1702.25).
These are Chapter 1702 rules. An unincorporated condominium association takes its voting methods from its own declaration and bylaws, because the condominium sections we read do not address mail or electronic voting.
Electing the Board
Who may serve. Condominium owners elect the board from among the unit owners or their spouses, and an owner that is not an individual may nominate a principal, member, partner, director, officer or employee (§5311.08(A)(1)). Planned community owners elect the board from among the owners and their spouses, and a principal, member, partner, director, officer, trustee or employee of an owner that is not an individual may be elected (§5312.03(A)(1)). In both, a majority of the board may not come from the same unit or lot unless the board authorized it by resolution beforehand.
Terms. The documents must provide for the directors' terms, with not less than one-fifth to expire annually (§5311.08(B)(1)(c), §5312.02(B)(3)). Under Chapter 1702, unless the articles or regulations provide a different term, a director holds office until the next annual meeting and until a successor is elected (§1702.28(A)).
The vote. Under Chapter 1702, at a meeting where directors are elected, only persons nominated as candidates are eligible, and the candidates receiving the greatest number of votes are elected (§1702.26).
Delinquent owners. The board may suspend the voting privileges of an owner who is delinquent in paying assessments for more than thirty days (§5311.081(B)(18), §5312.06(D)(15)). In a condominium that power applies unless the declaration provides otherwise. Settle suspensions before the roster is final.
The developer handover. In a condominium, within 60 days after the developer has sold interests carrying 25% of the undivided interests in the common elements, the association meets and the owners other than the developer elect at least one-third of the board (§5311.08(C)(2)(a)). Developer control may last until 60 days after 75% is sold, and never more than five years (with expandable property) or three years (without) after the association is established. Within 60 days after it ends, the association meets and elects the whole board (§5311.08(D)(1), (3)). In a planned community, declarant control ends no later than when all lots have been transferred, and by then the owners elect the board (§5312.03(C)). More in the developer turnover election guide.
Removing Directors and Filling Vacancies
The statutes leave the removal vote to your documents. The condominium bylaws and the planned community declaration and bylaws must provide the method of removing directors (§5311.08(B)(1)(f), §5312.02(B)(5)), and under Chapter 1702 a director may be removed by any procedure the articles or regulations provide (§1702.29(B)). Read that clause before anyone circulates a petition. The state comparison is in the recall process by state.
A planned community's board may appoint people to fill vacancies for the unexpired portion of any term (§5312.04(B)). Under Chapter 1702, unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise, the remaining directors, even if fewer than a majority, may fill a vacancy for the unexpired term by a majority of their number, and a vacancy also exists when the members fail to elect the whole authorized number of directors (§1702.29(C)). The condominium sections we read do not address vacancies, so a condominium looks to its bylaws, and to §1702.29(C) if it is incorporated. See how to fill a board vacancy.
Records of the Election
A condominium association must keep minutes of the meetings of the association and the board, and records of the owners' names and addresses and their undivided interests (§5311.09(A)(1)). A planned community association keeps minutes and the owners' names and addresses (§5312.06(C)), and a nonprofit corporation keeps minutes of the proceedings of its members and directors (§1702.15).
Owners may examine and copy those records under reasonable standards the documents or board rules set. Unless the board approves, that right does not reach records more than five years old, or records about personnel matters, legal advice or pending litigation, contracts under negotiation, enforcement against owners, or information the law protects (§5311.091, §5312.07).
None of the sections we read sets a period for keeping ballots. Decide one by board resolution before the election, and keep the record of who voted and how they were verified with the minutes.
Running an Ohio Election
- 1Read the documents for quorum, notice, proxies, mail or electronic voting and removal, and for a condominium, whether the association is incorporated.
- 2Build the roster with each unit's voting power, fiduciaries' proof of authority and any suspensions.
- 3Close nominations, because only nominated candidates are eligible.
- 4Send notice 10 to 60 days ahead unless your documents set another period, with the remote attendance details if you offer them, and by email in a planned community only to owners who authorized it in writing.
- 5Collect ballots by mail or electronically under procedures the directors adopt to verify members and record votes.
- 6Hold the meeting, confirm the quorum your documents set, and adjourn by majority of those present if you must.
- 7Count and record. The candidates with the most votes win, and the minutes record the result.
On vote.direct, each owner receives an online ballot by email or text with a code of their own, owners who need paper can be sent a mailed packet with a prepaid return envelope, and votes can be weighted by each unit's percentage interest. The organizer sees quorum while voting is open, and the election ends with a result certificate and an exportable audit record. A free test election with up to 5 test voters lets the board try it first. The state summary is Ohio HOA voting rules.
FAQ
Q: Can an Ohio HOA vote online?
For an association organized under Chapter 1702, which includes every planned community association and any incorporated condominium association, yes, unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise. Voting at elections may be conducted by mail or by authorized communications equipment, and a member who votes that way is present in person (§1702.20(B), (C)). An unincorporated condominium association follows its own declaration and bylaws.
Q: What is the quorum for an Ohio HOA meeting?
Whatever your documents set. If they are silent, a condominium's quorum is those present in person or by proxy when action is taken (§5311.08(A)(3)), and a nonprofit association's is the voting members present in person, electronically, by mail or, if permitted, by proxy (§1702.22(A)(1)).
Q: Are proxies allowed in Ohio HOA elections?
Only if your documents allow them, for a member who is a natural person in an association organized under Chapter 1702 (§1702.20(D)). The condominium chapter assumes proxies but does not regulate them (§5311.08(A)(3)).
Q: How much notice does an Ohio HOA have to give for a meeting?
Under Chapter 1702, written notice not less than 10 or more than 60 days before the meeting, unless the articles or regulations provide otherwise (§1702.18). A planned community may email notice only to owners who gave prior written authorization (§5312.02(B)(8)).
Q: How do you remove an HOA board member in Ohio?
By the method in your declaration, bylaws, articles or regulations. The statutes require the documents to provide one but do not set the vote (§5311.08(B)(1)(f), §5312.02(B)(5), §1702.29(B)).
Q: Can an Ohio HOA take away a delinquent owner's vote?
The board may suspend the voting privileges of an owner more than thirty days delinquent in paying assessments (§5311.081(B)(18), §5312.06(D)(15)). In a condominium, the declaration can provide otherwise.
Sources: Ohio Revised Code §5311.02, §5311.08, §5311.081, §5311.09, §5311.091 and §5311.22 (condominium property); §5312.01, §5312.02, §5312.03, §5312.04, §5312.06, §5312.07 and §5312.15 (Ohio Planned Community Law); §1702.01, §1702.02, §1702.15 to §1702.18, §1702.20, §1702.22, §1702.23, §1702.25, §1702.26, §1702.28 and §1702.29 (Nonprofit Corporation Law). Read on November 12, 2026 in archived copies of the official codes.ohio.gov pages, captured between October 2024 and July 2026, because codes.ohio.gov did not respond that day.
Every rule on one page: Ohio 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 support@vote.direct and we will correct it. See our editorial standards for how these pages are researched and checked.
