HOA Voting Rules in South Carolina

The Homeowners Association Act and the Horizontal Property Act do not mention electronic voting, but the Nonprofit Corporation Act — which governs most South Carolina associations, and which SC Code §27-30-170 says the HOA Act may not be construed to conflict with — does. SC Code §33-31-708, amended in 2006 to add electronic ballots throughout, provides that unless prohibited or limited by the articles or bylaws, any action that may be taken at an annual, regular or special members' meeting may be taken without a meeting if the corporation delivers a written or electronic ballot to every member entitled to vote. The ballot must set out each proposed action and let the member vote for or against it; approval is valid only when the number of votes cast equals or exceeds the quorum that would have been required at a meeting and the approvals meet the threshold that would have applied. The solicitation must state the responses needed to meet quorum, the percentage needed for approval, and the deadline for receipt. An unincorporated association looks to its governing documents.

South Carolina HOA elections are governed by the Homeowners Association Act (SC Code §27-30-110 et seq.) for planned communities, the Horizontal Property Act for condominiums, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act for HOAs organized as nonprofits. Your declaration and bylaws provide specific election rules.

South Carolina's resort and coastal communities (Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Kiawah Island) often have a majority of out-of-state owners. vote.direct enables verified online voting from anywhere, ensuring all eligible members can participate regardless of their primary residence.

Quorum in South Carolina: Neither the Homeowners Association Act nor the Horizontal Property Act sets a quorum. SC Code §27-31-160(b) requires only that the bylaws provide the method of calling or summoning the co-owners to assemble and that a majority of at least fifty-one percent is required to adopt decisions. Most South Carolina associations are incorporated, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act then supplies the default: under SC Code §33-31-722(a), unless that chapter, the articles or the bylaws provide for a higher or lower quorum, ten percent of the votes entitled to be cast on a matter must be represented at a members' meeting to constitute a quorum on that matter. If a quorum is present, §33-31-723(a) makes the act of the members the affirmative vote of the votes represented and voting, which must also constitute a majority of the required quorum. SC Code §27-30-170 confirms the fit: no provision of the Homeowners Association Act may be construed to conflict with the Nonprofit Corporation Act. 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.

The Homeowners Association Act sets exactly one notice rule: SC Code §27-30-140 requires at least forty-eight hours' notice to homeowners before the meeting at which the board decides to raise the annual budget, given by posting in a conspicuous place in a common area, on the association's website, by email, or by a method in the bylaws that ensures actual notice — and that section does not apply to an association incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Act. For an incorporated association, SC Code §33-31-705 governs: the corporation must give notice consistent with its bylaws in a fair and reasonable manner, and notice is deemed fair and reasonable if members are told the place, date and time of each annual, regular and special meeting no fewer than ten days — or thirty days if the notice is mailed by other than first class or registered mail — nor more than sixty days before the meeting date, with a special meeting's notice describing the matter for which it is called. The Horizontal Property Act leaves the method of calling meetings to the bylaws (§27-31-160(b)). 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.

South Carolina's HOA and condominium statutes say nothing about proxies, so for an incorporated association the rule comes from the Nonprofit Corporation Act. Under SC Code §33-31-724, unless the articles or bylaws prohibit or limit proxy voting, a member may appoint a proxy to vote or otherwise act for the member by signing an appointment form personally or by an attorney-in-fact. The appointment takes effect when received by the secretary or other officer authorized to tabulate votes, and is valid for eleven months unless a different period is expressly provided in the appointment form — but no proxy is valid for more than three years from its date of execution. A proxy is revocable by the member, and is revoked automatically by the member attending a meeting and voting in person or by signing and delivering a revocation or a later appointment form. Proxies are not barred in board elections. If the association is unincorporated, proxies are governed entirely by the declaration and bylaws. 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.

South Carolina statute doesn't address electronic voting either way, so authority comes from your governing documents rather than from South Carolina Horizontal Property Act (SC Code §27-31-10 et seq.). 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.