How do we write an HOA proxy form and check the proxies that come back?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 9, 2026

How an HOA board writes a proxy form, sets return rules, checks each proxy at sign-in, and handles revocations and disputes in Texas, Florida and Colorado.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Write a one-page form that names the lot, the owner, the person who will act for them, the exact meeting, and how the owner wants the vote cast. Build it from your bylaws first and your state statute second, and have your attorney read it once. Before you mail it, decide how you will treat the problem cases: a missing date, a blank holder line, two proxies from one lot, an owner who shows up anyway. On meeting night, someone who is not on the ballot checks every proxy against the lot list and logs the reason for each rejection. If a count is challenged, the board needs to show it applied the same rule to everyone. Rules vary by state and by governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice. For how proxies differ from ballots, see our guide on HOA proxies and absentee ballots.

Confirm proxies are allowed for this vote

Read the voting article of the bylaws and the declaration first. Look for a ban, a limit on who can hold a proxy, a cap on how many one person can hold, and a filing deadline. In Texas, Business Organizations Code section 22.160(b) allows a written proxy unless the certificate of formation or bylaws say otherwise, and Property Code section 209.00592(a-1) requires the association to offer one of three methods: absentee ballot, proxy or electronic ballot. Florida section 720.306(8) gives members the right to vote in person or by proxy unless the statute or governing documents provide otherwise. Elections need a second look. Colorado section 38-33.3-310(1)(b) requires a secret ballot for contested board seats, so plan to hand the holder one ballot for each valid proxy. Texas section 209.0058 requires a vote in a board election to be in writing and signed by the member unless the association has adopted secret ballot rules, so ask your attorney how a proxy vote gets recorded in a contested race.

What the form needs to say

Print these items, in this order. The association's name and the type of meeting. The date, time and place of that meeting, which Florida section 720.306(8)(a) requires for a valid proxy. The lot number, street address and owner's printed name. A line for the holder's name. Each agenda item with boxes for for, against and abstain. A sentence on what the holder may do on anything not listed. A sentence limiting the proxy to this meeting and any lawful adjournment. A revocation sentence. The date, the signature, and a line for anyone signing for an LLC, a trust or an estate, with room for co-owners. Delivery instructions and a phone number. Make the date line hard to miss, because a Colorado proxy is void without a date and a Florida proxy is invalid. Never print the word irrevocable. Colorado voids a proxy that claims to be revocable without notice, Florida makes every proxy revocable at any time, and Texas caps an irrevocable proxy at 11 months. If you want a Florida holder to be able to send a substitute, the form has to say so expressly.

Wording you can start from

Adapt this with your attorney: 'I own Lot ____ at ____________. I appoint ____________ to represent me and cast my vote at the annual meeting of the ____________ Homeowners Association on February 18, 2027, at 7 p.m. at ____________, and at any lawful adjournment of that meeting. My proxy holder must vote as I have marked below. On any matter not listed, my proxy holder [may / may not] vote. If I leave the holder line blank, this proxy counts toward quorum only and casts no vote. I may revoke this proxy by giving written notice to the person presiding before the vote is taken. Dated ________. Signed ____________. Printed name ____________.' Some forms hand a blank proxy to the board president, which invites the charge that the board voted its neighbors' proxies to re-elect itself. Counting a blank form toward quorum only gets you the meeting without that fight. Our guide on running an annual meeting when you expect to miss quorum covers the calls and reminders that bring the forms back.

Set the return rules before you mail

Send the form with the meeting notice to every owner, not just likely supporters. Ask for returns two days before the meeting so you have time to count, but check your bylaws before treating that date as a cutoff. If they set no deadline, a proxy handed in at the door before the vote is still a proxy. Decide now whether you accept an emailed scan or a phone photo. Colorado section 7-127-203 accepts a complete copy, including one sent electronically, in place of the original unless the association's documents say otherwise. The Texas and Florida sections cited here do not address scans, so get your attorney's answer and print it on the form. Then apply three rules evenly. Accept an owner's own homemade proxy if it meets the legal requirements. Let candidates collect proxies on the same terms as directors. And ask counsel before announcing a cap on proxies per holder that your bylaws do not contain, because a cap can throw out votes owners validly gave.

Check every proxy against the lot list

Assign the checking before the meeting. In Texas, section 209.00594 bars a candidate, the subject of a vote, or a close relative of either from tabulating or seeing the ballots. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-310(1)(b) has ballots counted by a neutral third party or by volunteer owners who are not board members or candidates in a contested race. Those rules speak to ballots, but use the same people for proxies. Test each proxy in order. Is the signer the owner of record, or someone with authority to sign? Is it dated? Does it name this meeting? Is it still in date? Can the lot vote? Florida section 720.305(4) lets an association suspend voting rights for a monetary obligation more than 90 days delinquent, so check whether the board actually took that step. Colorado section 38-33.3-310(4) bars votes allocated to a unit the association owns. Has the lot already been counted through an owner in the room, a ballot or another proxy? Write 'accepted' or 'rejected' on the list with a reason and initials. Never fill in a missing date or lot number for an owner. Call them and have them fix it.

Handle revocations and conflicts by rule

The common conflict is an owner who signed a proxy and then walks in. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-310(2)(b) says a proxy is revoked only by actual notice to the person presiding, so being in the room is not enough. Have the sign-in table ask each arriving owner whether they gave a proxy and want it back, send those names to the chair, and have the chair ask once more before the first vote. Two signed proxies from one lot are harder, and the statutes cited here do not settle it. One workable rule lets the later date control and has someone call the owner if the dates match. Get your attorney's view and write the rule down in advance. Florida is harsher on duplicate ballots: under section 720.306(8)(b), if more than one ballot is submitted for a lot, that lot's ballots are disqualified. When a signature looks wrong, Colorado section 38-33.3-310(2)(c) lets the association reject a proxy on a good-faith, reasonable doubt about the signature or the signer's authority, and (2)(d) protects a good-faith decision from damages. Disliking the holder is not reasonable doubt.

A sample timeline and motion

At 45 days out, read the documents, draft the form and send it to your attorney. Then the board adopts it at a meeting: 'I move to approve the attached proxy form and meeting procedures for the February 18, 2027 annual meeting, and to appoint [names] to check proxies and report the count.' Mail the form with the notice, inside your state's notice window. Seven days out, call anyone whose returned form has a defect, because a proxy fixed this week is one you will not have to reject later. On the night, the checkers report before business starts, and the chair reads the result aloud: 'We have 31 of 80 lots represented, 14 in person and 17 by proxy. Two proxies were rejected, one undated and one signed by someone who is not the owner of record.' Put the same count in the minutes. If the meeting adjourns, check the term before reusing proxies. A Florida proxy covers a lawful adjournment but expires 90 days after the date of the original meeting. Texas and Colorado proxies last 11 months unless the form says otherwise.

Keep the file and avoid the common mistakes

Keep the proxies, the marked lot list and the sign-in sheets together. Florida section 720.303(4)(a)12 requires ballots, sign-in sheets and voting proxies to be kept at least one year after the election, vote or meeting, and Colorado section 38-33.3-317(1)(n) sets the same period for ballots, proxies and other voting records. Texas owners can demand a recount within 15 days after the later of the meeting or the announcement of results under section 209.0057, and Florida section 720.306(9)(a) gives 60 days to challenge an election, so a year is a sensible floor everywhere. The mistakes are predictable. Reusing last year's form with the old date on it. Describing the vote in a slanted way when soliciting, since Colorado section 38-33.3-310(2)(a) says a proxy obtained through fraud or misrepresentation is not valid. Letting a candidate sit at the check-in table. Rejecting proxies without writing down why.

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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