(a) The bylaws may allocate to each unit depicted on plats and plans that comply with subsections (a) and (b) of § 42-1902.14 a number of votes in the unit owners’ association proportionate to the liability for common expenses as established pursuant to § 42-1903.12(c).
(b) Otherwise, the bylaws shall allocate to each such unit an equal number of votes in the unit owners’ association, subject to the following exception: Each convertible space so depicted shall be allocated a number of votes in the unit owners’ association proportionate to the size of each such space, vis-à-vis the aggregate size of all units so depicted, while the remaining votes in the unit owners’ association shall be allocated equally to the other units so depicted.
(c) Since a unit owner may be more than 1 person, if only 1 of such persons is present at a meeting of the unit owners’ association, that person shall be entitled to cast the votes appertaining to that unit. But if more than 1 of such persons is present, the vote appertaining to that unit shall be cast only in accordance with their unanimous agreement unless the condominium instruments expressly provide otherwise, and such consent shall be conclusively presumed if any 1 of them purports to cast the votes appertaining to that unit without protest being made forthwith by any of the others to the person presiding over the meeting. Since a person need not be a natural person, the word “person” shall be deemed for the purposes of this subsection to include, without limitation, any natural person having authority to execute deeds on behalf of any person, excluding natural persons, which is, either alone or in conjunction with another person or persons, a unit owner.
(d) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the condominium instruments, this subsection establishes the requirements for the validity of proxies. The votes that pertain to any unit may be cast pursuant to a proxy duly executed by or on behalf of the unit owner, or, in a case where the unit owner is more than 1 person, by or on behalf of all those persons. A proxy may be revoked if a unit owner or 1 of the unit owners, in the case of a unit owned by more than 1 person, gives actual notice of revocation to the person who presides over the meeting. A proxy shall be void if the proxy is not dated, if the proxy purports to be revocable without notice, or if the signatures of any person executing the proxy has not been witnessed by a person who shall sign his or her full name and address. A proxy shall terminate automatically upon the final adjournment of the first meeting held on or after the date of the proxy, but shall remain in effect during any recess or temporary adjournment of the meeting.
(e) If 50% or more of the votes in the unit owners’ association appertain to 25% or less of the units, then in any case where a majority vote is required by the condominium instruments or by this chapter, the requirement for such a majority shall be deemed to include, in addition to the specified majority of the votes, assent by the unit owners of a like majority of the units.
(f) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, during any time that the unit owners’ association is the owner of any condominium unit, the votes in the unit owners’ association that pertain to the condominium unit shall be included in any calculation to determine the existence of a quorum at any meeting of the unit owners’ association pursuant to § 42-1903.04, but otherwise shall be deemed to be cast in proportion to the affirmative and negative votes cast by all unit owners other than the unit owners’ association at any meeting.
(g) (1) Notwithstanding any language contained in the condominium instruments, the executive board may authorize unit owners to submit votes or proxies by electronic transmission if the process used to provide notice of a vote and the means to submit votes or proxies are made in a consistent form approved by the executive board and available to all unit owners and the electronic transmission contains information that verifies that the vote or proxy is authorized by the unit owner or the unit owner’s proxy.
(2) If the condominium instruments require voting by secret ballot and the anonymity of voting by electronic transmission cannot be guaranteed, voting by electronic transmission shall be permitted if unit owners have the option of casting printed secret ballots.
(3) The inadvertent failure to submit, receive, or count votes or proxies by electronic transmission shall not invalidate any meeting or other action; provided, that the persons responsible for facilitating electronic transmission shall make good-faith efforts to submit, receive, and count the votes or proxies and resolve problems when they become known.
( Mar. 29, 1977, D.C. Law 1-89, title III, § 305, 23 DCR 9532b; Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-233, § 2(z), 38 DCR 261; Mar. 20, 1992, D.C. Law 9-82, § 2(j), 39 DCR 683; June 21, 2014, D.C. Law 20-109, § 2(h), 61 DCR 4304.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 45-1845.
1973 Ed., § 5-1245.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 42-1901.01 and § 42-1903.18.
Effect of Amendments
The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-109 added (g).