Academy/Membership & Annual Meetings
Joint owners
One lot, two names on the deed, one vote. Here is who gets to cast it.
When a lot has more than one owner, the single vote it carries can only be cast by agreement among a majority in interest of the co-owners, unless the declaration says otherwise. One co-owner showing up alone does not automatically get to cast that vote for the others. Check your own declaration before assuming either way.
The default: majority in interest agreement
A lot owned by more than one person still gets exactly one vote. Under the model act that many states have adopted, that vote may be cast only if a majority in interest of the co-owners agree on how to cast it, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise.
"the votes allocated to that unit may be cast only in accordance with the agreement of a majority in interest of the owners, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise."
Source: Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, section 3 110, West Virginia Legislature
This is the model act's own default. Your state may enact it differently, or not at all, and your declaration can change it. Check both before relying on this rule.
When co-owners can't agree
Picture a lot owned by two siblings who split on how to vote at the annual meeting. Under the default rule, there is no tie-breaker built in: without agreement of a majority in interest, the vote simply is not cast. It does not go to whoever shows up, and it does not get split. The association is left with one vote it cannot count.
This matters most at a contested election or a close ballot measure, where a single uncast vote can be the difference. It is worth knowing this before the meeting, not during it.
What your declaration might say instead
Many boards assume their documents let whichever co-owner shows up cast the vote alone. That may well be true for your association, but it is a governing-document choice, not a verified universal default, so read your declaration's voting section to see whether it changes the majority-in-interest rule, and how.
The same question applies to married couples, business partners, and any other multi-name deed. If the declaration is silent, the model act's majority-in-interest default is the fallback, where your state has enacted it.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Two co-owners of a lot disagree on how to cast their single HOA vote, and the declaration says nothing about it. What happens under the default rule?
A married couple owns a lot together, and only one spouse shows up to vote at the annual meeting. What actually decides whether that spouse may cast the vote alone?
A lot has three co-owners who never reached agreement on a vote. One of them shows up and insists the association must accept their vote alone. Absent contrary language in the declaration, what is the association's default position?
Sources
- Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, section 3 110, West Virginia Legislature
Membership & Annual Meetings
Next, check who counts as an eligible voter on your lot before your next meeting.
Whether your declaration lets one co-owner vote alone, requires joint co-owner sign-off, or leaves the model act's majority-in-interest default in place varies by association and by state. Read your declaration's voting provisions before assuming either co-owner may act alone.