While we generally trust in the integrity of owners, managers, and board members counting votes by owners at HOA board elections, that trust must have limits in the form of good controls. Investigations into condominium election fraud in Florida highlight the problem.  In one case, 115% of the owners voted in the annual election! In another, multiple people have confirmed that ballots submitted on their behalf were entirely fraudulent and do not contain their signature. The goal of this fraud is different in different community associations. Sometimes it is a misguided but innocent effort on the part of board members to keep election costs down. Other times it is an effort by entrenched board members to remain in power.  Even worse, sometimes it is part of a concerted effort to rob the assocaition of funds starting with the people on the board remaining in control and sometimes with the collusion of the manager. Hundreds of other complaints of election fraud were submitted in Florida in the last few years.

It would be delusional to think this type of association electrion fraud never occurs in Utah, even if it is rare. Morris Sperry can help implement processes on behalf of associations and owners to minimize this risk when owners are concerned about election fraud or to proactively prevent any concerns. We have successfully participated in several hotly contested elections and implemented mutually agreeable procedures for collecting and counting ballots. These procedures gave everyone confidence in the results. Morris Sperry has the experience to advise associations and owners about elections, voting, counting procedures, and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the voting process.