California HOA annual meeting and board election notice: every deadline in the Davis-Stirling Act

What this guide covers

A California board asking how much notice it owes before the annual meeting and the election is really asking two questions that two different codes answer. Notice of the membership meeting comes from the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law (Corp. Code § 7511). Notice of the election — the nomination window, the ballot mailing, the count — comes from the election article of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, which applies to incorporated and unincorporated associations alike and prevails over the Corporations Code wherever the two conflict (Civ. Code § 5100(c), (e)). This guide covers common interest developments under that act. It does not cover votes cast by delegates rather than directly by members, which the election article does not reach (Civ. Code § 5100(d)), and it does not replace your bylaws, which may set longer notice periods than the floor described here (Civ. Code § 5115(d)(2)).

The short answer

• Director elections run by secret ballot under the Davis-Stirling procedure, at the expiration of each director’s term and at least once every four years (Civ. Code § 5100(a)).
• General notice of the nomination procedure and the nomination deadline goes out at least 30 days before that deadline (Civ. Code § 5115(a)).
• At least 30 days before ballots are distributed, the association gives general notice of where and when ballots are due, the meeting at which a quorum will be determined and ballots counted, and the full candidate list (Civ. Code § 5115(b)).
• Ballots and two preaddressed envelopes go to every member who votes by written ballot not less than 30 days before the voting deadline (Civ. Code § 5115(c)).
• The inspector of elections delivers the ballot and a copy of the election operating rules at least 30 days before the election, and those rules may not be amended less than 90 days before it (Civ. Code § 5105(h)(4)).
• Written notice of the members’ meeting itself goes to each member not less than 10 nor more than 90 days before the meeting — 20 days if it is mailed other than first-class, registered or certified — and it names every nominee (Corp. Code § 7511(a)).
• Results are reported to the board, recorded in the minutes of the next board meeting, and announced to members by general notice within 15 days of the election (Civ. Code § 5120(b)).

Step by step

1. Fix the calendar backward from the count

Work from the vote-counting meeting back. Ballots are counted and tabulated in public at a properly noticed open meeting of the board or the members, and any candidate or member may watch (Civ. Code § 5120(a)). For most associations that meeting is the annual meeting, so the ballot cutoff, the ballot mailing, the pre-ballot notice and the nomination notice are all set by counting back from it. A regular members’ meeting is required in every year in which directors are to be elected at that meeting (Corp. Code § 7510(b)).

2. Open nominations with 30 days’ notice

At least 30 days before the nomination deadline, give general notice of the procedure and the deadline for submitting a nomination; this rule applies to director elections and recall elections (Civ. Code § 5115(a)). The election operating rules set the qualifications and the nomination procedure, and a procedure that stops a member from nominating themself is not a reasonable one (Civ. Code § 5105(a)(3)).

The association must disqualify a nominee who is not a member at the time of nomination, or who has served the maximum number of terms the association allows (Civ. Code § 5105(b)). Other grounds — being behind on regular or special assessments, sharing a joint ownership interest with another candidate or a sitting director, less than a year of membership, or a conviction that would prevent the association from buying or keeping the insurance the act requires — are available only if they appear in the bylaws or the election rules (Civ. Code § 5105(c)). Nonpayment of fines, collection charges or late charges is never a ground for disqualification, and a member who has paid under protest or is keeping to a payment plan cannot be disqualified for assessments either (Civ. Code § 5105(d)). No one may be disqualified without first being offered internal dispute resolution (Civ. Code § 5105(e)).

The candidate registration list and the voter list must be open for members to verify their own entries at least 30 days before ballots are distributed, and reported errors go to the inspector, who corrects them within two business days (Civ. Code § 5105(a)(7)).

3. Give the pre-ballot notice 30 days before ballots go out

For a director election or a recall, the general notice sent at least 30 days before ballots are distributed states the date, time and physical address by which ballots are to be returned by mail or handed to the inspector; if electronic secret ballots are used, the date and time by which they must be transmitted and preliminary voting instructions; the date, time and location of the meeting at which a quorum will be determined and ballots counted, if the governing documents require a quorum; and the list of every candidate who will appear on the ballot (Civ. Code § 5115(b)(1)–(4)). If the governing documents require a quorum, the notice also states that the association may call a reconvened meeting at least 20 days after the scheduled election, at which the quorum falls to 20 percent of the members — unless the governing documents already set a lower quorum (Civ. Code § 5115(b)(6)). A member may request individual delivery of all of this (Civ. Code § 5115(b)(5)).

4. Mail the ballots 30 days before the voting cutoff

Ballots and two preaddressed envelopes with return instructions are mailed first-class or delivered to every member not less than 30 days before the voting deadline (Civ. Code § 5115(c)). If the association votes by electronic secret ballot, only the members who will vote by written ballot receive the paper package (Civ. Code § 5115(c)). The ballot itself carries no name, address or lot number; it goes unsigned into a sealed envelope, which goes into a second sealed envelope that the voter signs and marks with the name and separate interest that entitles them to vote, addressed to the inspector (Civ. Code § 5115(c)(1)–(2)).

The inspector delivers, or causes to be delivered, the ballot and a copy of the election operating rules to each member at least 30 days before the election; the rules may be posted to a website and referenced on the ballot with the phrase the statute prescribes in at least 12-point type, and they may not be amended less than 90 days before an election (Civ. Code § 5105(h)(4)). Except for the counting meeting, an election may be conducted entirely by mail, entirely by electronic secret ballot, or both (Civ. Code § 5115(f)).

If the association has adopted electronic secret ballots, three more clocks run. Individual notice of the electronic ballot, with instructions for reaching the voting system and casting the ballot, goes to each member 30 days before the election (Civ. Code § 5105(i)(3)). Where members may opt out of electronic voting, individual notice of their current voting method, the email on file, and the opt-out deadline goes out at least 30 days before that deadline (Civ. Code § 5105(i)(4)). A member may change voting method no later than 90 days before the election, and a member with no email on file when ballots are distributed gets a written ballot (Civ. Code § 5105(i)(1)(A), (i)(7)).

5. Notice the meeting itself under the Corporations Code

Written notice of a members’ meeting goes to each member entitled to vote not less than 10 nor more than 90 days before the meeting, and not less than 20 days if it is mailed other than by first-class, registered or certified mail (Corp. Code § 7511(a)). The notice states the place, date and time, any remote means of participation, and — for any meeting at which directors are elected — the names of all nominees at the time notice is given (Corp. Code § 7511(a)).

Where the act calls for general notice, the association may use any individual-delivery method, a billing statement or newsletter, a posting in a location designated for general notices in the annual policy statement, or its website if the annual policy statement designates it (Civ. Code § 4045(a)). Any member may ask to receive all general notices by individual delivery instead (Civ. Code § 4045(b)).

6. Handle a failed quorum

A quorum is required only if the governing documents or another law say so, and each ballot the inspector receives counts as a member present for quorum purposes (Civ. Code § 5115(d)(1)). If a director election falls short of the quorum the governing documents require, the association may adjourn to a date at least 20 days later, when the quorum becomes 20 percent of the members voting in person, by proxy or by secret ballot, unless the governing documents set a lower reconvened-meeting quorum (Civ. Code § 5115(d)(2)). General notice of the reconvened meeting goes out no less than 15 days before it, stating the date, time and location, the candidate list, and the 20 percent rule (Civ. Code § 5115(d)(3)).

7. Count, record, announce

No one — a member or a management-company employee included — may open or review a ballot before the counting meeting, though the inspector may verify the information and signature on the outer envelope beforehand, and a ballot is irrevocable once received (Civ. Code § 5120(a)). The results are promptly reported to the board, recorded in the minutes of the next board meeting, made available to members, and announced by general notice within 15 days of the election (Civ. Code § 5120(b)). Returned ballots, signed envelopes, the voter list, proxies, the candidate registration list and any electronic tally sheet are association election materials that must be kept for one year after the election, and signed envelopes may be inspected but not copied (Civ. Code § 5200(c)).

Common mistakes

• Treating the meeting notice as the election notice. The Corporations Code window is 10 to 90 days for the meeting; the Davis-Stirling rules add a nomination notice and two separate 30-day periods for the ballot, and the longer requirement governs each step (Corp. Code § 7511(a); Civ. Code § 5115(a)–(c)).
• Amending the election rules inside the window. Election operating rules may not be amended less than 90 days before an election (Civ. Code § 5105(h)(4)).
• Mailing paper ballots to everyone in an electronic election, or to no one. Only written-ballot voters get the envelopes, but a member with no email on file when ballots go out must receive a written ballot (Civ. Code § 5115(c); § 5105(i)(7)).
• Forgetting the results notice. General notice of the tabulated results is due within 15 days of the election (Civ. Code § 5120(b)).

Where software fits

Platforms that carry notices, ballots and inspector workflows are compared in our best-of roundups; this page stays with what the law says.

When to involve counsel

A member may sue for declaratory or equitable relief within one year of the inspector’s results notice, and if the member shows the election procedures or rules were not followed, the court voids the results unless the association proves the failure did not affect them (Civ. Code § 5145(a)). A prevailing member recovers attorney’s fees and costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation (Civ. Code § 5145(b)). Talk to counsel before disqualifying any candidate, before any recall vote, and the moment a member challenges a notice date in writing.

Corrections and review history

• 2026-09-09: citations checked against the sections listed below on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Not yet published.

Sources

1. California Civil Code § 5100 (Davis-Stirling Act — elections by secret ballot; when a director election is required) — accessed 2026-09-09
2. California Civil Code § 5105 (election operating rules; candidate qualifications; inspector delivery; electronic secret ballots) — accessed 2026-09-09
3. California Civil Code § 5115 (nomination notice; pre-ballot notice; ballot mailing; quorum and reconvened meetings) — accessed 2026-09-09
4. California Civil Code § 5120 (counting ballots in public; reporting results) — accessed 2026-09-09
5. California Civil Code § 5145 (civil action for election violations; penalties) — accessed 2026-09-09
6. California Civil Code § 5200 (association records, including election materials and their retention) — accessed 2026-09-09
7. California Civil Code § 4045 (general delivery / general notice methods) — accessed 2026-09-09
8. California Corporations Code § 7510 (regular meetings of members; election year) — accessed 2026-09-09
9. California Corporations Code § 7511 (notice of members' meetings — 10 to 90 days; nominee names) — accessed 2026-09-09