Florida HOA voting rules live in Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, which sets who can cast a ballot, how meetings must be noticed and run, what majorities are needed, and how elections can be challenged. The default quorum for a membership meeting is 30 percent of total voting interests, and amendments to the governing documents generally need approval from two-thirds of all voting interests.1Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments Miss one procedural step and an election or amendment can be undone.
Who Gets to Vote
Each parcel gets one vote unless the governing documents say something different. The vote belongs to the parcel, not to any individual owner, so co-owners of a property must designate one person in writing to cast the ballot. That designation goes to the association before the meeting and stays in place until the co-owners change it.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
You also have to be current on your account. If you owe any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association and you’re more than 90 days past due, the association can suspend your voting rights without a hearing. Pay in full and the suspension ends.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.305 – Obligations of Members; Remedies at Law or in Equity; Levy of Fines and Suspension of Use Rights
A suspension does more than silence one ballot. The association subtracts suspended voting interests from the total when calculating quorum and any approval threshold. In a community with several delinquent owners, that shrinking denominator makes it easier for the remaining voters to reach quorum and pass measures.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.305 – Obligations of Members; Remedies at Law or in Equity; Levy of Fines and Suspension of Use Rights
Quorum and Meeting Notice
No business happens at a membership meeting without a quorum. The statutory default is 30 percent of total voting interests, and the bylaws may set it lower. Once quorum is met, decisions pass by a majority of the voting interests present in person or by proxy, unless Chapter 720 or the governing documents require a higher number.
Notice of any membership meeting must reach every parcel owner at least 14 days in advance, sent by mail, personal delivery, or electronic transmission. A special meeting notice has to describe the purpose. If a meeting is adjourned and reconvened, the new date, time, and place must be announced before the adjournment, and any business that could have been handled at the original meeting can be taken up at the rescheduled session.1Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
How Ballots Are Cast
Votes are cast in person or by proxy. When the governing documents allow absent members to vote by secret ballot in a director election, the statute requires a dual-envelope system. You put an unmarked ballot into an inner envelope with no identifying information, then seal that inside an outer envelope carrying your name, parcel number, and signature. The association verifies eligibility, checks that no duplicate has arrived for the parcel, separates the envelopes, and mixes the inner one in with the ballots cast in person. Ballots that arrive after voting closes don’t count, and if two ballots come in for the same parcel, both are discarded.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
Counting is open. Members present can watch the tally and verify the results, and any parcel owner may record the meeting by audio or video.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
Proxy Voting
If you can’t attend in person, you can vote by proxy unless the governing documents restrict it. A valid proxy has to be dated, state the date, time, and place of the meeting, and carry the signature of the parcel owner. It works only for that specific meeting (including any adjournment) and expires 90 days after the meeting date. You can revoke it at any time.
A general proxy gives the holder broad discretion on matters that come up. A limited proxy spells out the specific issues and how the vote should be cast. For board elections, only limited proxies are allowed; general proxies cannot be used.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
Electronic Voting
An association can run elections and other membership votes online, but only after the board passes a resolution authorizing it (with 14 days’ written notice before the meeting where it’s considered) and each participating member consents in writing or electronically. The platform must authenticate each voter’s identity, let members confirm their device works at least 14 days before the deadline, validate ballots so they can’t be altered in transit, send each voter a confirmation receipt, permanently separate identifying information from the ballot when secret ballots are required, and store ballots so they remain available for recount and inspection. Members must also have a way to opt back out after consenting.5Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.317 – Electronic Voting
Electing Directors
Any member can run for the board, and a member can nominate themselves at the election meeting itself. If the process allows advance nominations, the association is not required to accept nominations from the floor. When the number of qualified candidates is equal to or fewer than the number of vacancies, no formal election is held and those candidates simply take their seats. Unless the governing documents say otherwise, directors win by plurality: the top vote-getters take the open seats even without a majority.1Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
Two categories of people can’t serve. An owner who owes any monetary obligation to the association on the last day for nominations is kept off the ballot, and a sitting director who falls more than 90 days behind is treated as having abandoned the seat. A person convicted of a felony in Florida, in federal court, or in any jurisdiction where the offense would be a Florida felony cannot serve unless their civil rights have been restored for at least five years.
Recalling a Director
A majority of the total voting interests can remove any board member, with or without cause. There are two paths.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.303 – Association Powers and Duties
The first is a written recall. Members circulate a written agreement or written ballots, then serve the signed documents on the association by certified mail or personal service. The board has five full business days to hold a meeting and either certify the recall (removing the director immediately) or dispute it. A recalled director must turn over all association records and property within five business days. A signed recall ballot stays valid for 120 days, and if a first attempt is found defective, the still-valid ballots can be reused in one subsequent effort within that window.
The second path, if the governing documents allow it, is a recall vote at a special meeting. Ten percent of voting interests can call the meeting, with notice following the usual special-meeting rules. If the board refuses to certify a recall under either path, the dispute goes to binding arbitration through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or to court.
Amending the Governing Documents
Changing the declaration, bylaws, or other governing documents takes a vote of two-thirds of all voting interests unless the documents themselves set a different number. That two-thirds is measured against every voting interest in the association, not just those who show up, which is why amendments are much harder to pass than routine business.1Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments Members get at least 14 days’ notice describing the proposed changes, and discussion has to be allowed at the meeting before the vote.
One boundary to know: the declaration may separately require mortgagee approval for amendments that touch assessment allocation, insurance proceeds, maintenance responsibilities, or enforcement. A membership vote alone won’t finalize those changes. Read the amendment provisions in your declaration before you start gathering votes so you know every approval you need.
Challenging an Election and Getting the Records
You have 60 days after the results are announced to challenge an election. That deadline is hard, and missing it forfeits the right to contest. Election disputes skip the presuit mediation process used for other HOA disagreements and go straight to binding arbitration through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or to court. The prevailing party recovers reasonable costs and attorney fees, which discourages weak challenges but also puts an association that ran a sloppy election on the hook for the challenger’s legal bill.7Florida Legislature. Florida Code 720.311 – Dispute Resolution
Before you can prove anything went wrong, you need the paperwork. The association has to keep every ballot, sign-in sheet, proxy, and related record for at least a year after the vote, and the broader official records must stay in Florida for seven years. Any parcel owner can request inspection in writing. The association must make records available within 10 business days at a location within 45 miles of the community or within the county, or electronically, and you can photograph or scan them yourself at no charge. Send the request by certified mail: if the association ignores it, a rebuttable presumption of willful noncompliance kicks in along with minimum damages of $50 per calendar day starting on the 11th business day.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.303 – Association Powers and Duties That is the sharpest enforcement tool an ordinary homeowner has when a board goes quiet on election records.