Conducting an association election is complex, and the recent California Court of Appeal decision in Arroyo v. Pacific Ridge Neighborhood Homeowners Association reinforces that associations must prioritize fairness even if that means distributing opposing viewpoints.

In Arroyo, a recalled director, plaintiff Rachel Arroyo, challenged her removal from the board, arguing, among other things, that the defendant association failed to provide equal access to association media during the recall election as required by Civil Code section 5105.

After a recall petition to remove Ms. Arroyo was received, the board scheduled an election and invited candidate statements from individuals seeking to fill the potential vacancy. These statements were distributed with the election materials. Ms. Arroyo submitted a statement opposing the recall and requested it be included with the ballot. The Inspector of Elections denied Ms. Arroyo’s request because she was not a candidate. As a result, members received only the statement of a replacement candidate, not Ms. Arroyo’s defense.

Ms. Arroyo argued this violated the equal-access requirement under Civil Code section 5105(a)(1), which mandates that if any member is given access to association media to advocate a position related to an election, equal access must be provided to all members advocating a viewpoint.

The appellate court agreed. It held that the distributed candidate statement qualified as “association media” because it was a communication sent by the association during a campaign to influence voting. Therefore, the association was required to provide Ms. Arroyo equal opportunity to present her perspective. The court concluded that the association should have allowed Ms. Arroyo to include a statement defending herself against the recall with the election materials.

This decision offers important guidance for boards navigating election communications, particularly for those seeking to limit the association’s role in distributing member viewpoints during elections. Arroyo provides the following major takeaways that boards should carefully consider when holding elections:

1. “Association media” is interpreted broadly
Any communication an association sends to members during an election that can influence voting may trigger equal-access obligations. In Arroyo, even a candidate statement distributed with election materials qualified. Boards should take care to limit election-related communications distributed by the association to strictly informational, unless they are prepared to provide equal access to all members who wish to express their point of view.
Ultimately, associations may want to reconsider whether to include advocacy materials (like candidate statements) in official election mailings at all, or adopt clear, neutral policies that provide equal opportunity for all viewpoints if they do.

2. The impact likely extends beyond recall elections
While Arroyo involved a recall, the reasoning is based on the language of Civil Code section 5105(a)(1), which applies to all association elections. This means the same equal-access principles could apply in director elections, special assessment measures, or other membership votes. Boards should review election procedures across the board, not just recall protocols, to ensure compliance.