Is Electronic Voting Legal for California HOAs?

Yes. Since January 1, 2025, California associations may conduct board elections by electronic secret ballot. This guide covers what the law allows, what the association has to do first, and what it requires of the voting system itself.

The short answer

Civil Code section 5105 — as amended by AB 2159 — lets an association adopt an election operating rule allowing elections by electronic secret ballot, conducted through its Inspector of Elections. It works notwithstanding the governing documents: no CC&R amendment is required, just an operating rule. The one carve-out: votes on regular or special assessments cannot be conducted electronically.

What the rule must include

The election rule has to do several specific things: let members switch their voting method — electronic to written or written to electronic — up to 90 days before an election; require both ballot types to carry the same list of items; keep a voting list showing who votes electronically and who votes on paper, with opt-in or opt-out procedures published in the annual statement; require an email address from every electronic voter; and — one trade-off written into the statute — prohibit nominations from the floor.

The notices

Members get individual notice of the electronic secret ballot 30 days before the election, with instructions for accessing the voting system and casting the ballot. Where members may opt out of electronic voting, the association gives individual notice at least 30 days before the opt-out deadline, stating the member’s current voting method, the email on file, and how and by when to switch. A member without an email address on file gets a written ballot.

How an electronic ballot behaves

An electronic secret ballot is effective when transmitted to the system designated by the inspector, and once cast it cannot be revoked. For quorum purposes, a member voting electronically counts as a member in attendance. And under section 5115, an election may be conducted entirely by mail, entirely electronically, or by a combination — everything except the count meeting itself.

What the law demands of the system

Section 5110 sets the technical floor. The system must authenticate each member’s identity, verify each ballot wasn’t altered in transit, transmit a receipt to every member who casts an electronic ballot, permanently separate identifying information from the ballot itself, and store ballots accessible for recount, inspection, and review. Members must also have a way to confirm, at least 30 days before the voting deadline, that their device can communicate with the voting system.

How BallotLink fits

BallotLink is built for elections under these rules: conducted by an independent Inspector of Elections, with an emailed receipt and on-screen confirmation for every submitted ballot, vote choices stored separately from voter identity, and election records retained for the one-year period the law requires.