Florida Law · Elections & Governance · Updated for HB 913 (2025)

Florida Condominium Board Election Process Under § 718.112(2)(d)

The most procedurally detailed board-election statute in U.S. community-association law. Every notice, every form, every deadline is statutorily defined — and every defect is a viable challenge.

By the CIC-SC Editorial Team Updated May 10, 2026 Reading time: ~11 minutes Audience: Florida Condominium Boards, Election Committees, Managers

The Bottom Line

Florida Statutes § 718.112(2)(d) sets the procedural framework for every Florida condominium-association board election. The framework runs on a fixed timeline anchored against the election date: candidates submit names no less than 40 days before the election; candidate information sheets no less than 35 days before; the second notice (with ballot package) goes to owners between 14 and 34 days before. Directors are elected by written ballot or voting machine; proxies cannot be used in board elections. New directors must complete a written certification and a four-hour DBPR-approved education curriculum within 90 days of election, with one hour of continuing education annually. The DBPR Ombudsman may appoint an election monitor in certain circumstances. HB 913 (2025) refined the framework but did not alter its core architecture. Procedural defects routinely invalidate elections — this is one of the most contested statutory regimes in Florida community-association practice.

Operational Context: Why Florida’s Condo Election Statute Is So Detailed

Florida has the largest concentration of condominium units in the country, the longest history of condominium-specific litigation, and the most active state regulator (the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes). Decades of election disputes — over ballot tampering, candidate exclusion, proxy abuse, and incumbent self-protection — produced a legislative response that left less and less to association discretion. The result is a statute that reads more like an administrative procedure regulation than a community-association governance provision: precise deadlines, prescribed form, mandatory content, and prescribed remedies for violation.

For boards, the operational consequence is that the election cycle must be calendared and executed almost mechanically. There is little room for judgment and almost no room for improvisation. The boards that comply do so by running the same workflow every year; the boards that fail are typically running the election as a bespoke project each time.

From the Fundamentals of Association Management: The Florida condo election statute is one of the few governance frameworks in U.S. community-association law where compliance is genuinely calendar-driven. The board does not have to figure out what to do; it has to do what the statute says, when the statute says, in the form the statute prescribes. The boards that thrive treat § 718.112(2)(d) as a checklist, not a strategy.

The Core Timeline

The statute anchors against the election date and works backward through a defined sequence:

Days Before Election	Event	What Must Happen
~60+ days	First notice of election	Association notifies unit owners that an election will be held and invites candidates. Notice is mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted.
No less than 40 days	Candidate name-submission deadline	Eligible candidates must submit their names in writing to the association by this point.
No less than 35 days	Candidate information sheet deadline	Candidates may submit a candidate information sheet (one page, 8½″ × 11″) for inclusion in the ballot package.
Between 14 and 34 days	Second notice + ballot package	The second notice of election, ballot, voting envelopes, and candidate information sheets are mailed or delivered to all unit owners.
Day of election	Election held	Written ballots opened and counted at the annual meeting. Proxies cannot be used in board elections.
Within 90 days after election	Director certification & education	Each new director must certify in writing that they have read the governing documents and must complete the DBPR-approved 4-hour education curriculum.
Annually thereafter	Continuing education	Each director must complete at least one hour of DBPR-approved continuing education each year.

The statute’s minimum windows are floors, not ceilings. Best practice is to add safety margins — especially for the first notice and ballot dissemination — so that minor delays in printing or mail processing do not produce a procedural defect.

The First Notice of Election

The first notice is the trigger that opens the candidacy window. It must be transmitted to unit owners at the timing specified in the bylaws (typically 60 days or more before the election) and must include the date of the election, an invitation to submit names as candidates, the deadline for name submission (which cannot be less than 40 days before the election), and the deadline for candidate information sheets (no less than 35 days before).

Delivery may be by mail, by hand, or by electronic transmission. Electronic transmission requires owner consent to receive notices electronically. The association should maintain a current record of owners who have consented to electronic notice and a fallback mail process for owners who have not.

Candidate Information Sheets

Candidates may submit a one-page candidate information sheet of up to 8½″ × 11″ no later than 35 days before the election. The association is required to include the information sheet in the second notice (ballot package) without modification or editorial intervention. The board may neither edit the candidate’s sheet, refuse to include it, nor selectively include some candidates’ sheets but not others.

This is a meaningful procedural protection. It prevents incumbent boards from filtering candidate communications and ensures that owners receive each candidate’s self-prepared statement directly. Any deviation — rejection of a candidate’s sheet for content, edits, or formatting — can produce a successful election challenge.

The Second Notice and Ballot Package

The second notice of election must be mailed or delivered to all unit owners between 14 and 34 days before the election. The notice must include:

The date, time, and place of the election (and of the annual meeting at which it will be held).
A written ballot listing all eligible candidates in alphabetical order.
A voting envelope (typically the inner envelope) and a return envelope (typically the outer envelope), with appropriate identification for verification.
All timely submitted candidate information sheets.
Any other materials required by the bylaws.

The 14-to-34-day window gives owners adequate time to review the ballot package and return their ballots before the election, while keeping the process tight enough that the package’s contents remain current to the election. Sending the package outside this window is a per-se procedural defect.

The Written-Ballot, No-Proxy Rule

Directors of Florida condominium associations are elected by written ballot or voting machine. Proxies cannot be used in board elections. This is one of the most distinctive features of Florida condominium election law — and one of the most frequently misunderstood.

Owners who cannot attend the annual meeting may vote by absentee ballot. The ballot is delivered with the second notice; the owner completes it and returns it in the prescribed envelopes for tabulation at the election. The written-ballot framework provides procedural integrity (each voter is identified through the outer envelope while the ballot itself remains secret in the inner envelope), eliminates the risk of board-controlled proxy aggregation, and ensures that every owner has a direct opportunity to vote.

Proxies may still be used for member votes on other matters — budget objections, amendments, certain other association decisions — where the bylaws and statute permit. The proxy prohibition is specific to board elections.

Quorum and Tabulation

The quorum for the election is set by the bylaws and the statute. Florida condominium law generally requires participation by at least 20% of voting interests for a valid election. Ballots are tabulated at the annual meeting; the candidates receiving the highest vote totals are elected to the open seats.

Tabulation must be open to observation by unit owners. Best practice is to engage an independent tabulator (often the manager or an outside service) and to invite owner observers to be present. A clean tabulation record is the single best defense to post-election challenges.

Director Certification and Education

Within 90 days of being elected or appointed, a director must:

Certify in writing that they have read the association’s declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies; that they will work to uphold those documents to the best of their ability; and that they will faithfully discharge their fiduciary responsibility to the unit owners; and
Complete an educational curriculum of at least four hours administered by a DBPR-approved provider, covering at least seven enumerated topics including governance, financial literacy, records, elections, and meetings.

After the initial four-hour curriculum, each director must complete at least one hour of DBPR-approved continuing education annually. Directors elected or appointed before July 1, 2024 were required to comply with these education and certification requirements by June 30, 2025.

Failure to certify or complete the education within the required period can result in suspension from the board. Boards should treat this as a tracked compliance obligation, not an honor system.

Election Monitoring

The DBPR Ombudsman may appoint an election monitor to oversee a condominium-association election in certain circumstances. The monitor is a neutral representative whose duties may include observing ballot collection, supervising vote counting, verifying compliance with statutory procedures, and reporting findings to the Ombudsman and the association.

Election monitoring is typically triggered by owner request or DBPR initiation when there is reason to believe an election may be procedurally contested. The presence of a monitor is not a finding of misconduct — it is a structural protection that reinforces procedural integrity. Boards expecting a contested election can request monitoring proactively as a way of reducing the post-election dispute risk.

What HB 913 (2025) Changed

HB 913, signed June 23, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, refined the election framework in several ways:

Strengthened electronic-voting infrastructure under § 718.128 and clarified consent requirements.
Expanded online-record posting and electronic-delivery options for election-related notices (consistent with the broader transparency reforms in the statute).
Reaffirmed the director certification and continuing-education framework with operational clarifications.
Coordinated election timing with the new SIRS and milestone-inspection compliance regime.

HB 913 did not alter the 40/35/14-34 day timeline, the written-ballot/no-proxy rule, or the candidate-information-sheet protections. Boards operating under pre-2025 election procedures will largely still find them compliant; new electronic-voting and online-disclosure features are largely opt-in enhancements.

Why This Matters

Election challenges are common and procedurally specific. Florida has more reported condominium election decisions than any other state. The fact patterns are typically narrow (a late ballot, an omitted candidate information sheet, an early or late second notice) and the statute is precise. Compliance is verifiable; non-compliance is litigable.

DBPR enforcement is active. Complaints to DBPR about election procedure are routinely investigated. A DBPR finding of procedural defect can result in invalidation of the election and an order to re-run it — with attendant cost and disruption.

The proxy prohibition is non-negotiable. Boards (and managers) occasionally try to administer board elections using proxy mechanics drawn from other member votes. This is a per-se violation. Owner voting in board elections must use the written-ballot framework.

Director education suspension is real. A director who has not completed the certification and four-hour curriculum within 90 days can be suspended. The board that has a suspended director making decisions is creating procedural exposure for every action of that director’s remaining term.

Best-Practice Guidance

1. Build a fixed annual election calendar.

The bylaws set the annual meeting date. Working backward, the calendar should identify the first-notice transmission date, the candidate name-submission deadline, the candidate-information-sheet deadline, the second-notice window opening and closing dates, and the election day. Use the same calendar every year.

2. Template every notice.

First notice, candidate-information-sheet instructions, second notice, ballot, return envelope — each should be standardized. Have counsel review the templates once; use them indefinitely.

3. Maintain a current electronic-notice consent list.

Owners who have consented to electronic notice receive notices electronically; others receive them by mail. The board should not assume consent — it should document it.

4. Receive candidate information sheets without editing.

Whatever the candidate submits, within the 8½″ × 11″ specification and the 35-day deadline, goes into the ballot package. Edits, formatting changes, or content rejections create election challenges.

5. Engage an independent tabulator.

The manager, an outside election-services vendor, or a designated election committee should tabulate. Avoid having the incumbent board count its own re-election votes.

6. Track director certification and education in the records.

Maintain a director-compliance log: certification date, four-hour curriculum completion date and provider, annual CE completion dates and providers. This is the file DBPR will request if there is ever a compliance question.

7. Use the DBPR Ombudsman’s resources proactively.

The Ombudsman’s office publishes election brochures, FAQs, and educational materials. Boards anticipating a contested election can request election monitoring before the dispute arises — a less expensive posture than defending after.

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Sending the second notice too early or too late. The 14–34 day window is precise. A second notice 13 days before the election or 35 days before is non-compliant.

Pitfall 2: Editing or rejecting a candidate information sheet. The board has no statutory authority to alter what a candidate timely submits. Any edit is a procedural defect.

Pitfall 3: Using proxies in the board election. Per-se violation. The result is an invalid election regardless of the underlying merits.

Pitfall 4: Failing the 90-day certification or four-hour education deadline. Director can be suspended; every decision of the suspended director’s remaining term is procedurally exposed.

Pitfall 5: Omitting an eligible candidate from the ballot. Every eligible candidate who timely submitted a name must appear on the ballot in alphabetical order. Exclusion requires a documented eligibility determination.

Pitfall 6: Tabulating without owner observation. Owners are entitled to observe. Tabulation behind closed doors invites a challenge regardless of the result.

Pitfall 7: Mixing board-election ballots with other member-vote ballots. The two are governed by different procedural rules. Mixing them creates ambiguity that can be exploited in a challenge.

Actionable Takeaways

Build a fixed annual election calendar anchored to the annual meeting date.
Template every notice and form; have counsel review once for ongoing use.
Maintain a current electronic-notice consent list and a fallback mail process for non-consenting owners.
Calendar the candidate name-submission deadline (40 days), candidate-information-sheet deadline (35 days), and second-notice window (14–34 days).
Include every eligible candidate’s information sheet in the ballot package without editing.
Engage an independent tabulator and invite owner observers to the tabulation.
Track each director’s certification date, four-hour curriculum completion, and annual CE completion in the records.
For contested elections, consider proactively requesting DBPR election monitoring.
For electronic voting, ensure consent and security protocols under § 718.128 are satisfied.
Retain the entire election file in the association’s records for the statutory retention period.

Related CIC-SC Resources

Candidate Eligibility — Who Can Run for the HOA Board?
Florida Chapter 718 — Condominium Act Overview for Board Members
Electronic Voting in HOA Elections — Rules and Requirements
Inspector of Elections — Role, Selection, and Responsibilities
How to Handle a Contested Election
Florida HOA and Condo Dispute Resolution — DBPR and Arbitration
Florida DBPR Complaints — What Boards Need to Know
Florida Director Conflict of Interest — §§ 718.3027 and 720.3033 Explained

Run a Florida condo election that nobody can overturn.
The CIC-SC Florida Insights series provides § 718.112(2)(d) election calendars, notice templates, candidate-information-sheet instructions, and director-compliance trackers tied to current statute. Become a CIC-SC member to access the full library.

References & Sources

Common Interest Community Standards Council, Fundamentals of Association Management — chapter on Florida Condominium Elections and Procedure.
Florida Statutes § 718.112(2)(d) — Condominium board elections; candidate procedures; ballots; written-ballot/no-proxy rule; director certification and education.
Florida Statutes § 718.112(2) — broader bylaws and board-meeting framework.
Florida Statutes § 718.128 — Electronic voting.
Florida Statutes § 718.501 — Powers and duties of DBPR Division.
Florida Statutes § 718.5012 — Office of the Condominium Ombudsman.
Florida HB 913 (2025) — Refinements to election procedures, electronic delivery, and director education; effective July 1, 2025.
Florida DBPR, Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes — Election Brochure for Condominium Associations.
Florida DBPR Office of the Condominium Ombudsman — published election-monitor guidance.
Florida Administrative Code Chapter 61B — DBPR rules implementing Chapter 718, including election procedure refinements.

Tags: § 718.112(2)(d) · Florida condo election · written ballot · no proxy · candidate information sheet · second notice · 40-35-14-34 timeline · director certification · DBPR · election monitor · electronic voting

CICSC publishes this article for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, accounting, engineering, insurance, or financial advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Statutory references and operational frameworks are intended to support informed governance, not to substitute for advice from qualified legal counsel and other professional advisors familiar with your jurisdiction and your association's facts. CICSC, its authors, and its members assume no liability for actions taken in reliance on this content.