Recently, we had a reader ask whether a member of a homeowners association is legally permitted to review and inspect voting records relating to elections for the board of directors of the member’s HOA.

The short answer is that it depends on the nature of the records requested as well as other factors. Virginia Code Section 55-510 spells out when an owner can review certain records for a property owners’ association. If an owner (i) is in good standing with the association, and (ii) makes a records inspection request "for a proper purpose related to his membership in the association," then he is entitled to review association "books and records" that do not fall under any statutory exemptions. Section 55-510’s discussion of "books and records" needs to be read in conjunction with other provisions of the Virginia Code (and chiefly, the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act) that elaborate on what exactly constitutes "books and records" (as not every document in an association’s possession constitutes a "book and record" as the term is defined in the Virginia Code). As a result, this analysis can sometimes be rather technical, and associations should consult with their legal counsel to ensure that they don’t provide for the inspection of any records that they’re not legally required to provide.

Under this analysis, assuming that the owner is in good standing with the association, and makes the request "for a proper purpose related to his membership in the association" (and does not, for example, submit the request for the purpose of attempting to pursue litigation against the association), then it would be appropriate for an association to provide the owner with a copy of the vote tally sheet that the association used to count all of the votes. Arguably, ballots and proxies do not constitute "books and records" as defined under Virginia law, and therefore should not be produced by the association. Moreover, if an association’s governing documents require or permit voting by secret ballot, producing ballots with names on them or directed proxies would essentially defeat the goals behind such.

Keep in mind that if the association has adopted a records inspection and copying policy, it could charge the owner a monetary fee for expenses related to searching for the records and copying them.