Academy/Membership & Annual Meetings
Powers of attorney
A power of attorney is not an HOA proxy, and treating it like one can get a vote thrown out.
A power of attorney is a general legal document, not an HOA voting instrument. Robert's Rules bars proxy voting entirely unless a law or your bylaws specifically authorize it, and no HOA statute treats a general power of attorney as an automatic proxy. Whether one works to cast a vote depends on your state's proxy law and your governing documents.
A proxy is not a power of attorney
These two documents sound alike, and boards often use the words interchangeably, but they come from different bodies of law. A proxy is a written authorization to cast someone else's vote, created and limited by the specific statute or bylaw that allows it. A power of attorney is a broader legal instrument, governed by a state's separate power of attorney law, that can authorize someone to act for you across many kinds of decisions, not just an HOA ballot.
"Proxy voting is not permitted in ordinary deliberative assemblies unless federal, state, or other laws applicable to the society require it, or the bylaws of the organization authorize it, since proxy voting is incompatible with the essential characteristics of a deliberative assembly."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, official FAQ, Robert's Rules Association
Robert's Rules is the parliamentary authority named in most HOA bylaws, and it does not supply its own proxy procedure either. However a proxy is authorized, its scope, duration, and whether it can be revoked come entirely from that law or bylaw provision, not from parliamentary procedure. Holding a general power of attorney does not, on its own, satisfy that requirement.
Where the confusion comes from
Part of the mix-up is baked into common usage. Even guidance written for HOA boards sometimes uses "proxy" and "power of attorney" as if they were the same thing.
"The word proxy has two meanings. One meaning is the power of attorney given to another person to act in one's stead."
Source: Proxy Voting (Homeowners Association), Parli.com
Treat that overlap as a warning sign, not a rule. Most state HOA statutes regulate proxies specifically, with their own form, duration, and revocation requirements, but nothing found for this lesson treats a general power of attorney as an equivalent, ready-made substitute. Ask your board, your manager, or an attorney which document your state and your governing documents actually require before you rely on one to vote.
What entities and trusts do instead
Where a property is owned by something other than a person, the answer to "who votes" changes. In California, for example, a trust cannot itself hold title to real property, so the trustee is treated as the legal owner and the one who must exercise the vote personally.
"The law identifies the trustee of a trust as the owner, and the trustee therefore holds legal title to trust property."
Source: California HOA: Who Qualifies as an Owner Fact Sheet, MBK Chapman
A corporation or an LLC is different: because it is its own legal entity, it can appoint a representative to vote and serve on the board in its place. Virginia goes further and lets an owner designate a licensed real estate professional as an authorized representative for voting, but that designee still has to satisfy the association's declaration, bylaws, and articles of incorporation, and the state's general corporate proxy rules, on top of the licensing paperwork. Confirm which pattern applies to your property type against your own state's statute and governing documents before assuming a workaround like this is available to you.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
An owner signs a general power of attorney naming their financial advisor before an HOA meeting. Under Robert's Rules default, can the advisor vote for the owner just because they hold that document?
A condo unit in California is titled to the "Martinez Family Trust." Under a common California reading, who is the actual member entitled to vote at the annual meeting?
A member wants to send someone else to vote using a general power of attorney. What should the board tell them?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, official FAQ, Robert's Rules Association
- California HOA: Who Qualifies as an Owner Fact Sheet, MBK Chapman
- Virginia Code section 55.1-1823, Virginia General Assembly
- Proxy Voting (Homeowners Association), Parli.com
Membership & Annual Meetings
Sending someone in your place next meeting? Read Proxies to see what your state actually requires.
Whether a general power of attorney can be used to cast a vote at your HOA meeting, and what a valid proxy looks like instead, varies by state statute and by your governing documents.