Case of the Month Arroyo v. Pacific Ridge Neighborhood Homeowners Association et al.

Elections in homeowners associations should be fair and transparent, but California law requires more than just counting ballots. In this case, a homeowner and board member challenged her HOA because the association refused to include her advocacy statement in the official election materials during a recall election.

Under California law, HOA elections are governed by the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, which sets rules for how votes and election communications must be handled to ensure fairness. One key rule is that if an association provides “association media” for campaign materials, all candidates must have equal access. During a recall election, the association sent out ballot materials with candidate statements, but the director seeking to keep her seat was denied space to advocate her position outside of the candidate statement included by the association’s inspector of elections. The HOA’s election rules defined “association media” narrowly, excluding certain campaign statements, and the trial court upheld that definition.

The Court of Appeal disagreed. It held that the term “association media” as used in the Davis-Stirling Act does encompass materials distributed by the association containing candidate information during an election. Because the association controlled the distribution of those materials, the homeowner was entitled to equal access to present her perspective. The court reversed the judgment and sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether the association’s failure to provide equal access affected the election outcome.

The takeaway is that HOA election rules do not just govern how votes are tallied; they also shape how candidates can communicate with voters. Associations cannot use narrow definitions to exclude one party from materials the association itself distributes during an election.

For real estate consumers, this matters because HOA elections determine who makes decisions about money, maintenance, and community rules that affect property values and quality of life. Understanding election rights helps homeowners ensure their voices are heard and that election procedures are fair and lawful.