Ballot Votes
QUESTION:
If each unit in the community is assigned a percentage vote because of the size of the unit, and a 51% “yes” vote is called for to proceed with something on the ballot, but not 100% of the units are voted, then is a “yes” decision determined by the number 51, or is it determined by 51% of the units that were voted? We recently had a 45% “yes” vote to a 42% “no” vote, and it was determined that the item needed 51% instead of 45% to make it a “yes” vote.
ANSWER:
Generally speaking, some votes require a percentage of a quorum, and other votes require a percentage of the entire membership/ownership of the Association. Thus, the answer to your specific question is to see what your documents require.
Please note that the required consent for some votes is dictated by the provisions of the Virginia Code. A vote to amend the Declaration or Bylaws of a condominium, for example, requires a 2/3 vote of the entire Association, regardless of what the governing documents say, because this 2/3 vote is required by the Virginia Condominium Act.
Aside from the votes for which the Code dictates the required threshold, all other votes and consent procedures would be dictated by your particular governing documents. An Association's Bylaws might state that certain matters get put to an owner vote requiring ___% of all owners, or might state that a passing vote must have ___% of a quorum of owners.
A quorum represents some number of owners which is less than the entire membership, and therefore a vote requiring 25% of a quorum takes less votes than one requiring 25% of the entire membership.