Condominium associations could see higher turnouts for their annual elections, now that absentee voting has been officially sanctioned. An amended Section 18(b)(9) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act went into effect on Jan. 1, 2004.
Getting started, however, is more complicated than printing up new ballots. Several legal steps must be taken well before the next election.
“If your association starts now, it could have the groundwork in effect for election meetings this fall,” said association attorney Chuck VanderVennet of Fosco VanderVennet & Fullett in Mt. Prospect.
Here’s what to do:
– Adopt a rule or amend the declaration at least 120 days before the election to permit absentee voting. If your election is Nov. 1, for example, you want your governing documents to be finalized by July 1.
Passing a rule is easier because it requires only a board vote, but future boards can just as easily change it. Amending a declaration requires unit owner approval, usually a two-thirds majority. Both measures take time to implement.
“I generally tell boards that it takes about two to three months to pass a rule or amend the declaration unless they put it on a real expedited schedule,” said VanderVennet. “I have done a declaration change regarding pets in 72 hours, and I had one association that took three or four years to get the appropriate number of unit owner approvals. As soon as somebody moved out, the tally was no good and the board had to find a replacement.”
– To adopt a rule, the board first drafts the language, preferably with the help of the association attorney. It sends a copy of the full text of the proposed rule to the unit owners along with notice of an owners meeting to discuss it. The information must be sent out no less than 10 days and no more than 30 days before that meeting.
At the owners meeting, the board invites comments. At a subsequent meeting, this one a board meeting, the board votes on the proposed rule. This meeting can take place immediately after the first meeting.
Although a fine point of law, the second meeting is necessary because “the discussion at the unit owners’ meeting really is more akin to a governmental hearing where individuals come to express their comments and views about an issue,” said VanderVennet. “The board members have no special standing or position at this meeting.”
On the other hand, voting on a rule is a matter of board business and must be done at a board meeting. Unit owners do not have the right to participate at board meetings.
The rule takes effect immediately after passage unless otherwise stated in the new rule.
– To amend a declaration, the steps are similar, but unit owners do the voting. The amendment becomes effective after it has been recorded with the county where the association is located.
A few more considerations: Associations may use proxies, in which unit owners assign their voting rights to another party, or absentee voting. Not both.
Also, owners who previously submitted absentee ballots may attend the election meeting, revoke their ballots and vote in person. Associations that use secret ballots will have to devise a way, perhaps an unmarked envelope within a marked one, to make the correct match if that happens.
Just how many associations will adopt absentee voting remains to be seen.
“As with most major changes in association procedures, the board should consider the impact the change will have and the plusses and minuses, and then proceed cautiously to make the change properly so it won’t be subject to attack or question at a later date,” said VanderVennet.
“I think there will be interest, but at this point I don’t think many associations are really very aware” that condo law now allows them to do so, said Lou Lutz, director of business development for the Wolin-Levin property management company in Chicago.
Don Kekstadt, vice president of property management for Lieberman Management Services in Buffalo Grove, doesn’t expect much response.
“We had one association that has a lot of snowbirds do it. It’s great for that reason,” he said.
Bill DeMille, president of Chicagoland Management and Realty in Chicago, made no predictions, but he’s glad the law is in place.
“Anything that is standardized, where you can point to the law and say this is how you do it is better for associations and better for management companies,” he said. “The less that is left to interpretation, the better.”
Trade show
The Association of Condominiums, Townhouses and Homeowner Associations is hosting its 2004 Winter Conference and Trade Show from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 27 at Drury Lane, 100 Drury Lane, Oak Brook Terrace. The day-long event includes educational seminars, vendor exhibits, lunch and handout materials. The cost is $50 for members and $120 for non-members. For information and registration, call 312-987-1906 or log on to www.actha.org.
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You may e-mail Pamela Dittmer McKuen at yourplace@tribune.com.
