How do we host a candidate forum before our HOA board election?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 29, 2026

How an HOA board hosts a candidate forum before a contested election: who moderates, timing around ballot deadlines, format, questions and staying neutral.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

No statute in Texas, Florida or Colorado requires an HOA to hold a candidate forum, so this is the board's call. Make it only when there is a real race. Florida section 720.306(9)(a) says an election is not required unless more candidates are nominated than there are open seats, and many bylaws elsewhere work the same way. If there is a race, hold the forum after the candidate deadline closes and before most owners have mailed their ballots. Put someone in charge who is neither a candidate nor a sitting director. Give every candidate the same questions and the same minutes, spend nothing that helps one candidate more than another, and record the whole thing for owners who cannot come. Election rules vary by state and by your bylaws, so treat this as a general outline, not legal advice, and read your election procedures before you set a date.

Hand it to someone who is not running

The board should approve the forum at an open meeting, set the date and a small budget, and then step back. A forum run by an incumbent president who is also on the ballot will look like a campaign event no matter how fair it is. State law already draws this line for counting votes. Texas Property Code 209.00594(a) bars a candidate, and anyone related to a candidate within the third degree, from tabulating or seeing the ballots. Colorado C.R.S. 38-33.3-310(1)(b)(I)(C) requires ballots in a contested board race to be counted by a neutral third party or by owner volunteers who are neither board members nor candidates. Apply the same test to the forum. Good organizers include an election committee, a past president who is not running, the chair of a committee with no stake in the race, or the president of a neighboring association who agrees to moderate for one evening. The organizer writes the ground rules, picks the questions and keeps time. Directors who are running sit with the other candidates and get no extra time for a president's report.

Fit it inside the election calendar

The forum has to sit between notice deadlines your state already sets. Florida condominiums have the tightest calendar. Under section 718.112(2)(d)5.a., the association sends a first notice at least 60 days before the election, candidates give written notice of intent at least 40 days before, a candidate who wants an information sheet mailed with the ballot delivers it at least 35 days before, and the ballot goes out with a second notice 14 to 34 days before the election. Florida homeowners associations under chapter 720 follow their own governing documents, and section 720.306(9)(a) lets a member nominate themselves at the election meeting unless the process allows nominations in advance. If your bylaws still allow floor nominations, say in the forum notice that more candidates may appear later, and give each of them a few minutes at the annual meeting. In Texas, an association with more than 100 lots must send a call for candidates at least 10 days before it sends ballots, with a deadline no earlier than 10 days after that notice, under Property Code 209.00593(a-1). Section 209.0056(a) then requires notice of an election held at a meeting no later than the 10th day and no earlier than the 60th day before it. Owners who vote by mail often return the ballot within a few days of getting it, so a forum held the week of the annual meeting reaches few of them.

A sample timeline

Here is a schedule for a Florida condominium electing directors at its annual meeting, counted in days before the election. Day 60: the first notice goes out and says the association will host a forum if the race is contested. Day 40: the candidate deadline closes. Day 39: the organizer counts candidates. If there are no more candidates than open seats, there is no election and no forum. Day 38: invitations go to every candidate on the same day, by email and in writing, with the date, format and time limits. Day 36: the forum notice and a question form go to all owners. Day 28: the forum, in person with a video link. Day 26: the unedited recording goes up on the association website and out by email. Day 24: the second notice and ballot go out, inside the 14 to 34 day window. A Texas association voting by mail can use the same order with its own dates: call for candidates, close the list, hold the forum, then send ballots.

Run it the same way for every candidate

Plan on 60 to 75 minutes for three to five candidates. Before the doors open, draw lots in front of the candidates for seating and speaking order. Each candidate gets two minutes for an opening statement. The moderator then asks five to seven questions. Every candidate answers every question, one minute each, and the order rotates so no one always goes first or last. Close with one minute each. Use a timer the room can see and stop people at the bell, politely and every time. No rebuttals, unless every candidate gets one. Owners submit written questions on cards or in the video chat. The moderator screens out duplicates, questions aimed at only one candidate and personal attacks, and does not screen for viewpoint. Print that rule in the notice so nobody thinks their question vanished for political reasons. Watch one more thing if a quorum of current directors is in the room. Florida section 720.303(2)(a) says a board meeting occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business, so directors should not start discussing or deciding association matters at the forum. Keep it to candidates answering questions.

Questions that tell owners something

Ask about the job, not about neighbors. These work in most associations: 'Our reserve study says we are [X] percent funded. Would you raise dues, levy a special assessment or accept a lower funding level, and why?' 'How many hours a month can you give the board for the full term?' 'Do you or a family member do business with any vendor the association uses?' 'Which rule would you change first, and how would you get owners to agree?' 'What would you do if a neighbor asked you to go easy on their violation?' Leave out anything about a specific owner's account, violation or lawsuit. Those belong in a closed session or a hearing, not in front of a room of neighbors with a camera running.

Keep association money and media neutral

Every owner pays for the forum, including the ones backing the candidate a director dislikes. California spells the rule out. Civil Code section 5135 bars using association funds for campaign purposes in a board election, which includes prominently featuring a candidate's name or photo in association communications within 30 days of the election, apart from required items such as the ballot. Section 5105(a)(1) and (2) require equal access to association media for every candidate if any candidate gets it, and free access to common area meeting space during the campaign. We did not find a matching section in the Texas, Florida or Colorado statutes, but the same habits make an election hard to challenge anywhere. The room, the video account and the email list are used for the forum as a whole, never for one candidate. The newsletter does not endorse. If a candidate cannot attend, the moderator reads that candidate's written statement, no longer than an opening statement, and posts it with the recording. The recording goes up unedited. Florida condominiums already work this way with information sheets. The association mails them at its own cost, and under 718.112(2)(d)5.a. it is not liable for what candidates write.

Wording the board can copy

Motion: 'I move that the association hold a candidate forum for the [year] board election on [date], organized and moderated by [name], who is not a candidate or a director, with a budget of up to $[amount] for the room and video, and that the unedited recording be posted for all owners.' Invitation to candidates: 'The association will hold a candidate forum on [date] at [time] at [place] and by video at [link]. Every candidate for the [number] open seats is invited. Each candidate will give a two-minute opening statement, answer the same questions in rotating order with one minute per answer, and give a one-minute closing. Speaking order will be drawn at [time]. Please reply by [date]. If you cannot attend, you may send a written statement of up to 250 words, which the moderator will read aloud.' Moderator's opening: 'This forum is for owners to hear from every candidate. The association does not endorse anyone. Each candidate gets the same questions and the same time. I will skip repeated questions and personal remarks, and nothing else.'

Mistakes that hand a losing candidate a complaint

Scheduling the forum before the candidate deadline closes shuts out a valid late filer. Letting an incumbent on the ballot give the welcome speech turns the first five minutes into a campaign ad. Holding the forum after most ballots are back wastes everyone's evening. Inviting candidates on different days, or one by phone and another by letter, looks like favoritism even when it was an accident. So does letting a popular candidate run past the bell, or clipping a moment from the recording for the newsletter. Each of these gives an unhappy candidate something concrete to cite, and in Florida, section 720.306(9)(a) gives them 60 days after the results are announced to start a challenge. If your problem is too few candidates rather than too many, see our guide on how to recruit HOA board candidates. If the annual meeting also carries a big owner vote, our guide on holding a town hall before an owner vote covers that meeting separately.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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