Per-Unit Voting Explained: One Ballot Per Home, Whoever Owns It

Quick Answer

Per-unit voting gives the ballot to the property, not the person. One lot, one ballot, regardless of how many names are on the deed. Almost every set of HOA, condo and strata bylaws works this way, usually phrased as "each lot shall be entitled to one vote".

That creates three practical questions your governing documents may not answer clearly: which co-owner casts the unit's ballot, what happens when one owner holds several units, and whether quorum counts units or people.

This article is general information, not legal advice. How votes are allocated in your community is set by your governing documents and your state. Confirm your own rules, and have your attorney confirm anything the board plans to act on.

Problem One: Two Names on the Deed

A married couple owns unit 14 jointly. Your bylaws give unit 14 one vote. Both are members. Both may attend. Only one ballot exists.

Most governing documents resolve this in one of three ways, and you should know which yours uses before ballots go out:

• First to vote. Whichever co-owner casts the unit's ballot first, casts it. Simple, and it turns an internal disagreement into a race.
• Designated voter. The owners file a written designation naming who votes for the unit. Cleaner, and it needs collecting before the election.
• Divided vote is void. If co-owners cast contradictory ballots, the unit's vote is not counted at all.

Whichever applies, the roster should carry one voting contact per unit so that the ballot has an unambiguous destination.

Problem Two: One Owner, Nine Units

An investor owns nine units in a 148-unit association. Nine votes, clearly. But how?

There are two genuinely different answers, and they are not interchangeable:

Combined. The owner receives one ballot, marks it once, and their answers stand for all nine units at a weight of nine. This is right when they will vote the same way for every unit, and it is the faster experience.

Per unit. The owner casts a separate ballot for each unit, each with its own answers. This matters the moment they do not want to vote identically. An owner might want unit 4 to back the incumbent and unit 12 to back the challenger, and a combined ballot has nowhere to put that.

Per-unit ballots can be delivered two ways, and the choice is purely about the voter's experience: one link that walks them through each unit's ballot in turn, or a separate link per unit so they can do them at different times. The storage, the tally and the double-vote guard are identical either way. A unit that has already voted cannot vote again, and an owner who has completed four of nine units still has five outstanding.

Problem Three: What Quorum Is a Percentage Of

If your bylaws say quorum is 30 percent, 30 percent of what?

On a per-unit election the denominator is units, not people and not ballots. Nine units held by one owner count as nine toward quorum when nine unit ballots are cast, and as nine when one combined ballot is cast at weight nine. What you must not do is count that owner as a single member against a unit-based quorum, because the two figures answer different questions and the certificate will contradict itself.

Get this wrong in the direction of undercounting and you declare a quorum failure that did not happen. Get it wrong the other way and you certify a meeting that was never validly constituted. Both are worth an hour of care before the notice goes out.

Per-Unit and Weighted Are Not the Same Thing

They are often confused because both make one member worth more than another.

Many communities need both at once: one ballot per unit, with each unit carrying its own entitlement weight. That combination is supported and is the normal setup for a condominium with unequal interests.

Running a Per-Unit Election Online

Put the unit identifier on your roster as a field, then point the election at it. You choose whether multi-unit owners vote combined or per unit, and how per-unit ballots are delivered.

From there:

• The double-vote guard works at the unit level, so a unit cannot be voted twice even if two co-owners try.
• Participation and quorum are reported against units.
• The certificate states that the election ran one ballot per unit, so the record itself shows what was counted.
• Any counting method can run on top, including ranked choice and STV.

Elections up to 25 voters are free, and paid elections start at $4.99.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is per-unit voting?

A system where the ballot belongs to the property rather than to a person, so each lot or unit gets one vote no matter how many owners are on the deed.

Q: Who votes when two people own a unit together?

It depends on your governing documents. Common rules are first co-owner to vote, a designated voter filed in advance, or treating a divided vote as void. Check which yours uses before ballots go out.

Q: Can an owner of several units vote differently for each one?

Only in per-unit mode, where they cast a separate ballot per unit. In combined mode they cast a single ballot that stands for all of their units at the combined weight.

Q: Does quorum count people or units?

On a per-unit election, units. Counting a nine-unit owner as one member against a unit-based quorum understates participation and can produce a false quorum failure.

Q: Can per-unit voting be combined with weighted voting?

Yes, and for condominiums it usually should be: one ballot per unit, with each unit carrying its own percentage interest as its weight.

Ready to run one? Create your election, or compare every method in the voting methods series.