HOA Voting Rules in Alabama

Alabama has no HOA-specific electronic voting statute, but the law its associations are organized under provides for it. An Alabama HOA is a nonprofit corporation, and since January 1, 2025 every existing nonprofit corporation is governed by the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law (Ala. Code §10A-3A-14.01(b)). Under §10A-3A-7.10, except as the certificate of incorporation or bylaws otherwise provide, any action that may be taken at a meeting of members may be taken without a meeting if the corporation delivers notice that includes a ballot to every member entitled to vote; the ballot must be in writing, and Ala. Code §10A-1-1.03 defines a writing to include information stored in an electronic medium. Under §10A-3A-7.09 the board may also let members take part in a meeting by remote communication, and they are deemed present and may vote if the corporation verifies that each remote participant is a member and gives them a reasonable opportunity to participate and vote substantially concurrently with the proceedings. If your bylaws require voting "in person" or "by written ballot at the meeting," amend them first. Consult your association attorney.

Start with your bylaws. If they are silent, the statute supplies a default: for a condominium created after January 1, 1991, 20% of the votes that may be cast for election of the board (Ala. Code §35-8A-309(a)); for an HOA organized as a nonprofit corporation, a majority of the votes entitled to be cast (Ala. Code §10A-3A-7.24(a)), which replaced a one-tenth default on January 1, 2025. If your community struggles to reach quorum, vote.direct's email reminders and easy online access can help boost participation without requiring homeowners to attend in person.

Yes. Challenges are typically brought as civil actions in circuit court, alleging violations of the governing documents or the Alabama Homeowners Association Act. Having a clear audit trail, timestamped ballots, verified voter identities, and tamper-evident results, significantly strengthens your position if an election is disputed.

Quorum in Alabama: Alabama sets statutory defaults that the bylaws may override. For condominiums created after January 1, 1991, Ala. Code §35-8A-309(a) makes a quorum 20% of the votes that may be cast for election of the board, present in person or by proxy, unless the bylaws provide otherwise; §35-8A-309(b) makes a board quorum 50% unless the bylaws specify a larger percentage. For an HOA organized as a nonprofit corporation, the default changed on January 1, 2025: under Ala. Code §10A-3A-7.24(a), except as provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, members representing a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter constitute a quorum. Before that date the default for an existing corporation was one-tenth of the votes. Check your bylaws first, because they control where they address quorum, and a bylaw that is silent now inherits the majority default. If a vote falls short, most bylaws allow the meeting to be adjourned and reconvened, often at a reduced threshold on the second attempt. Check your declaration for the exact procedure, because the fallback rule is usually in your governing documents rather than in statute. Online voting is the most direct fix: members vote from a phone or laptop instead of attending in person, and Vote.Direct tracks quorum progress live and reminds the members who haven't voted yet.

For condominiums created after January 1, 1991, Ala. Code §35-8A-308 requires notice not less than 10 nor more than 60 days in advance of any meeting, hand-delivered or sent prepaid by United States mail to the mailing address of each unit or to any other mailing address the unit owner designates in writing. The notice must state the time and place and the items on the agenda, including the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, any budget changes, and any proposal to remove an officer or board member. For an HOA organized as a nonprofit corporation, Ala. Code §10A-3A-7.05(a) requires notice of the place, if any, date and time of each annual, regular or special meeting no fewer than 10 nor more than 60 days before the meeting date, and notice of a special meeting must describe its purpose (§10A-3A-7.05(c)). Notice may go to the email address the corporation keeps for a member unless that member has objected in writing (§10A-3A-1.03(d)). Under the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act, the declarant must call the first board election by written notice within 120 days of the date members gain the right to elect a board (Ala. Code §35-20-9); that section still refers to the notice rule of the former nonprofit chapter, and the rule now in force is §10A-3A-7.05. Your governing documents can require more notice than the statutory floor, never less. Count the notice window backwards from your meeting date before you open voting, and keep a copy of the notice and its delivery date with the election record.

Alabama permits proxy voting but limits it. For condominiums, Ala. Code §35-8A-310(b) allows votes allocated to a unit to be cast by a proxy duly executed by the unit owner. The proxy is void if it is not dated or purports to be revocable without notice, may be revoked only by actual notice to the person presiding over the meeting, and terminates one year after its date unless it specifies a shorter term. One matter is off limits to proxies entirely: removing a board member under Ala. Code §35-8A-303(g) takes a two-thirds vote of persons present in person at a meeting at which a quorum is present in person. For an HOA organized as a nonprofit corporation, Ala. Code §10A-3A-7.22 lets a member vote in person or by proxy except as the certificate of incorporation or bylaws otherwise provide; the member appoints the proxy by a signed appointment form or an electronic transmission, and the appointment is valid for the term it states, or for 11 months if it states none. Online voting through Vote.Direct lets every owner cast their own ballot, so a proxy is never the only way for an absent member to be counted. Proxies exist mainly to solve an attendance problem. When members can cast a verified ballot online during a multi-day voting window, most communities find proxy use drops sharply, along with the disputes about whether a given proxy was valid.

Alabama statute doesn't address electronic voting either way, so authority comes from your governing documents rather than from Alabama Uniform Condominium Act (Ala. Code §35-8A-101 et seq.; applies to condominiums created after January 1, 1991). Start with your bylaws: if they don't restrict voting to "in person" or "written ballot" methods, you generally have room to adopt online voting by board resolution. If they do restrict it, you'll need a membership vote to amend them. A good amendment explicitly authorizes electronic voting, specifies security requirements, and preserves each member's right to opt out and receive a paper ballot. Have your association attorney draft the language.