Election challenges

Two different kinds of challenge

Not every complaint about an election needs a lawyer. There are two separate tracks, and they answer different problems.

The first is procedural: a member thinks the count itself was wrong. Under Robert's Rules, this is fixed with a recount, decided by the assembly right there at the meeting or shortly after. The second is legal: a member thinks the process itself, notice, eligibility, secrecy, was violated in a way that changes the outcome. That question usually runs through your governing documents first, then your state's election statute, not through parliamentary procedure. Whether your state even has a specific HOA election statute, and what remedy it offers, varies. Check your state's statute and your own bylaws before assuming either path applies to you.

A recount closes once the winner takes office

A recount is a motion, not a demand. Any member can raise it, but the assembly decides it by vote.

"The motion to have a vote for a particular office recounted needs a second, is not debatable, and takes a majority vote to adopt."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order, Chapter 12 (elections), Westside Toastmasters

That window does not stay open forever. Once the newly elected director has been seated, Robert's Rules treats the moment for a recount as passed.

"After the person elected to office assumes the position, it is too late to nullify an illegal election."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order, Chapter 12 (elections), Westside Toastmasters

If a member has doubts about the count, that is the reason to raise them at the meeting, not weeks later.

When it goes beyond a recount

Once the recount window has closed, or the complaint is about the process rather than the arithmetic, the question moves to your governing documents and your state's statute. Some states give members a specific right to sue over an election run improperly, with their own filing deadline and their own penalty. California, for example, gives members a lawsuit right that must be filed within one year of the results being announced (or when the problem was discovered, whichever is later), and puts the burden on the association to show the violation did not change the outcome.

"within one year of the date that the inspector or inspectors of elections notifies the board and membership of the election results or the cause of action accrues, whichever is later"

Source: California Civil Code §5145, California Legislature

That one year figure and the penalty attached to it are California's own rule, not a national standard. Most states are silent, or set a different deadline entirely. Before assuming any timeline, look for an internal appeal process in your own governing documents first, then check what your state actually provides.