New Jersey rewrote association election law in 2017 after decades of complaints that boards ran communities like private clubs. The Radburn amendments to PREDFDA declare flatly that all owners must be members of the association with the right to nominate candidates, run for the board, and freely elect it, and that nobody may sit on an executive board without being elected through a process consistent with the statute (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.1). Those are not aspirations; they are the premise for enforceable rules that reach condominium, homeowner, and cooperative associations alike.
The operative floors live in N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2. Elections must be held at the intervals the governing documents set, or every two years if they set none. In communities of 50 or more units: written election notice must go out 14 to 60 days before the vote, candidates must be able to nominate themselves in writing during a window of at least 14 days, board terms are capped at four years (re-election allowed), each unit gets its vote, and, critically, an association may not use proxies in a board election without also making absentee ballots available. Smaller communities must still run elections with genuine nomination access, voting access, and honest ballot counting.
Open meetings back it all up
Between elections, N.J.S.A. 45:22A-46 keeps the board visible: every meeting of the executive board at which binding votes are taken must be open to attendance by all association members, with adequate notice, and with minutes made available before the next open meeting. Closed sessions are limited to genuine confidentiality territory, individual privacy, pending or anticipated litigation, contract negotiations, attorney-client matters, and personnel issues. A board that makes its real decisions in 'workshops' and rubber-stamps them in public is working against the grain of the statute, and the minutes trail is where that pattern becomes provable.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.1
The Radburn declaration: owners are members with the right to nominate, run, and freely elect the board, and nobody serves on an executive board without a statute-consistent election.
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2
Election floors: 14-60 days' written notice, an open nomination window of at least 14 days, four-year maximum terms, one vote per unit, and no proxies without absentee ballots (for 50+ unit communities).
N.J.S.A. 45:22A-46
Board meetings with binding votes must be open to members with adequate notice; minutes must be available before the next open meeting; closed sessions are limited to narrow topics.
Step by step
How to challenge a defective board election in New Jersey
Steps to test a New Jersey association election against the Radburn floors and build a challenge if it fails.
- 01
Reconstruct the timeline
Collect the election notice, the nomination announcement, and the ballot materials with their dates. Compare against the floors: notice 14 to 60 days ahead, a nomination window of at least 14 days open to any qualified member.
- 02
Check the ballot mechanics
If proxies were used, absentee ballots must also have been available. Verify each unit got its vote and that no nominated candidate was kept off the ballot.
- 03
Demand the election records
Request the minutes, the candidate list, and the vote tally in writing (see the records guide). The Radburn-era rules assume election records exist and can be examined; an association that cannot produce them has its own problem.
- 04
Object in writing while it's fresh
Send the board a specific, dated objection identifying each departure from 45:22A-45.2. A contemporaneous written objection is worth far more later than a grievance recalled months after the fact.
- 05
Escalate to DCA or court
The Department of Community Affairs administers PREDFDA and takes election complaints; a defective election can also be challenged judicially. Bring the documented timeline, not just the conclusion.
Straight answers
Common questions
How much notice does my association have to give before a board election?
For communities of 50 or more units, written notice must go out no less than 14 and no more than 60 days before the election, and candidates must have a nomination window of at least 14 days. Smaller communities still owe members a genuinely accessible, non-fraudulent process.
Can the board run the election on proxies alone?
No. Under N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2, an association may not use proxies for a board election without also making absentee ballots available. Proxy-only elections concentrate power in whoever collects the proxies, which is exactly what the statute was written to stop.
Do I have a right to run for my association's board?
Yes. The Radburn amendments declare every owner's right to nominate candidates, run, and freely elect the board, and require an open nomination process. Eligibility rules must come from the governing documents and be applied evenhandedly, not invented to exclude critics.
Are board meetings open to owners in New Jersey?
Every executive board meeting where binding votes are taken must be open to all members, with adequate notice and minutes available before the next open meeting. Closed sessions are limited to narrow subjects like litigation, contracts, privacy, and personnel.