Texas Law · Elections & Governance

Texas HOA Board Elections, Recounts, and Removal: The Complete Statutory Map

Who may run, how owners vote, who counts the ballots, how a recount is demanded, and how a sitting director is removed — five questions, five different statutes. Texas scattered the answers across Chapter 209 of the Property Code and Chapter 22 of the Business Organizations Code. This is the map.

The Bottom Line

Texas regulates HOA board elections through a cluster of Property Code provisions. § 209.00591 voids dedicatory-instrument restrictions on an owner’s right to run, bars two cohabitants from serving together, disqualifies persons with certain felony or moral-turpitude convictions within 20 years, and requires that at least one-third of the board be elected by non-declarant owners within 120 days after 75 percent of lots are conveyed. § 209.00593 requires that any position whose term has expired be elected by the owners — board appointment is reserved for mid-term vacancies, and a violating appointment is void. § 209.00592 authorizes voting in person, by proxy, by absentee ballot, or by electronic ballot; as amended by Senate Bill 2629 (2025), owners must be allowed to vote by absentee ballot, proxy, or electronic ballot. § 209.00594 bars candidates and their relatives within the third degree from tabulating votes or accessing ballots, and § 209.0057 lets any owner demand a recount within 15 days, performed by a qualified neutral within 30 days of payment. Removal runs through the bylaws and Business Organizations Code § 22.211: absent a bylaw procedure, the members who elected a director may remove the director with or without cause by the vote that would elect.

Operational Context: Two Codes, One Election

Every Texas property owners’ association is simultaneously a creature of the Property Code and (almost always) a nonprofit corporation under the Business Organizations Code. Chapter 209 supplies the owner-protection layer — who must be allowed to run, vote, and demand a recount — while BOC Chapter 22 supplies the corporate machinery: terms, meetings, quorum defaults, and, critically, director removal, on which Chapter 209 is silent. Boards that read only their bylaws miss the statutory overrides; boards that read only Chapter 209 miss the mechanics that decide contested situations.

The election itself is typically held at the annual meeting, with its own notice regime under § 209.0056. The CIC-SC guides to the annual member meeting with an election and without one walk the meeting mechanics; this article covers the candidacy, ballot, recount, and removal layers around them.

Who May Run: § 209.00591

The statute starts from openness: a dedicatory-instrument provision that restricts an owner’s right to run for a board position is void. The exceptions are the statute’s own:

• Limited residency requirements. Bylaws may require one or more board members — but not all — to reside in the subdivision.
• The cohabitation bar. A person may not serve while cohabiting at the same primary residence with another board member, subject to narrow small-association and development-period exceptions.
• The conviction bar. A person convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude within the past 20 years is ineligible — and a sitting director who becomes ineligible is automatically considered removed and barred from future service.

Subsection (c) governs the developer handoff: not later than the 120th day after 75 percent of the lots that may be made subject to the declaration are conveyed to owners other than the declarant — or the 10th anniversary of the declaration’s recording if the maximum lot count is not stated — at least one-third of the board must be elected by non-declarant owners. Full candidate-side detail, including the questions the statute does not answer, is in the CIC-SC guide to candidate eligibility for Texas HOA boards.

Elected, Not Appointed: § 209.00593

Subsection (a) is the anti-entrenchment rule: notwithstanding any provision in a dedicatory instrument, any board member whose term has expired must be elected by owner members. The board may appoint a director only to fill a vacancy, and the appointee serves only the remainder of the unexpired term. An appointment in violation of the section is void. The section does not apply during the development period or to representative boards elected through owner-elected delegates.

The same section houses the candidate-solicitation machinery for associations of more than 100 lots: written notice soliciting candidates at least 10 days before ballots go out, a response window of at least 10 days, and a ballot that includes every eligible candidate who timely requests placement — treated in full in the CIC-SC walkthrough of § 209.00593 candidate solicitation.

How Owners Vote: § 209.00592

Section 209.00592 authorizes voting in person or by proxy at a meeting, by absentee ballot, or by electronic ballot, alongside any method the dedicatory instruments provide. As amended by Senate Bill 2629 (effective September 1, 2025), an owner must be allowed to vote by at least one of: absentee ballot, proxy, or electronic ballot — the amendment added the electronic option to the required set.

Three mechanical rules matter on election night:

• The statutory absentee disclosure. An absentee ballot must carry the prescribed language warning the owner that voting absentee forgoes the opportunity to vote on floor amendments, and that an owner who submits an absentee ballot and then attends may vote in person instead.
• In-person supersedes. A vote cast at the meeting by an owner supersedes any absentee or electronic ballot that owner previously submitted. Tabulation procedures must be built to catch the substitution.
• Electronic ballot, defined. A ballot given by e-mail, facsimile, or posting on an internet site, where the owner’s identity can be confirmed and the owner can receive confirmation of receipt.

Who Counts, Who Recounts: §§ 209.00594 and 209.0057

Section 209.00594 draws a bright integrity line: a person who is a candidate in the election, or otherwise the subject of the vote, or a person related to that person within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity, may not tabulate votes and may not be given access to the ballots. Only tabulators and recount performers may access cast ballots, and neither may disclose how an individual voted. In practice, this means the sitting president running for reelection does not touch a single envelope — and neither does the president’s brother-in-law.

Section 209.0057 supplies the recount. The sequence:

Removing a Director: Bylaws First, BOC Chapter 22 as Fallback

Chapter 209 protects the right to elect; it does not create a general owner recall procedure. Removal therefore runs through two layers:

• The governing documents. Under BOC § 22.211(a), a director may be removed under any procedure provided by the certificate of formation or bylaws. Most Texas association bylaws contain a removal article — typically a member vote at a meeting called for the purpose, sometimes with a supermajority threshold. Where a procedure exists, it controls.
• The statutory default. If the documents are silent, BOC § 22.211(b) permits removal with or without cause by the persons entitled to elect, designate, or appoint the director. For an owner-elected director, removal requires an affirmative vote equal to the vote necessary to elect.

The practical bottleneck is convening the vote. A board facing a recall petition rarely calls the meeting itself; the members’ lever is BOC § 22.155, under which a special meeting may be called by the president, the board, members having not less than one-tenth of the votes entitled to be cast, or others authorized by the documents. A member-called special meeting is still a member meeting: the notice, quorum, and § 209.00592 voting methods apply to the removal vote itself. And remember the automatic-removal rule of § 209.00591(b): a director’s disqualifying conviction removes the director by operation of law, no vote required.

What removal is not: a tool the board can aim at itself. Directors cannot generally remove a fellow elected director absent bylaw authority, because the default power belongs to the persons who elected them. Vacancies created by removal are filled under § 209.00593’s vacancy rule: board appointment, unexpired term only.

Why This Matters

Void is the operative word. Three separate provisions in this cluster carry self-executing nullities: candidacy restrictions are void (§ 209.00591), vote-disqualification provisions are void (§ 209.0059), and improper appointments are void (§ 209.00593(c)). A board seated through a defective process is not a board with a paperwork problem — it is a board whose authority to levy assessments, adopt rules, and sign contracts is open to challenge.

Election integrity rules are cheap; election litigation is not. Neutral tabulation, documented solicitation, and a clean recount file cost an evening of volunteer time; a contested election consumes a board year.

Removal fights are governance stress tests. Recall campaigns surface every latent defect — stale member lists, unclear bylaw thresholds, uncertain proxy rules. Associations that maintain election discipline in ordinary years are the ones whose removal votes produce a result everyone accepts.

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

Frequently Asked Questions

How are HOA board members elected in Texas?

Under § 209.00593, any board position whose term has expired must be elected by the owner members — the board cannot simply reappoint the incumbent. Elections are typically held at the annual meeting, and § 209.00592 lets owners vote in person, by proxy, by absentee ballot, or by electronic ballot. Associations with more than 100 lots must also solicit candidates in writing before ballots go out.

Can a Texas HOA board appoint directors instead of holding elections?

Only to fill a mid-term vacancy. Section 209.00593 permits the board to appoint a replacement who serves the remainder of the unexpired term, but a position whose term has expired must go to an owner vote, and an appointment made in violation of the section is void. The rule does not apply during the development period or to certain representative boards.

Who is allowed to count ballots in a Texas HOA election?

Not the candidates. Under § 209.00594, a person who is a candidate, who is otherwise the subject of the vote, or who is related to such a person within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity may not tabulate votes or be given access to the ballots. Only tabulators and recount performers may access cast ballots, and they may not disclose how any individual voted.

How does an HOA election recount work in Texas?

Any owner may demand a recount under § 209.0057 not later than the 15th day after the later of the meeting date or the announcement of results, by verified or signature-confirmation mail or in-person delivery to the managing agent. The association invoices estimated costs within 20 days; the owner must pay within 30 days or the demand is withdrawn. A qualified neutral performs the recount within 30 days of payment, and the association reimburses the owner if the result changes.

How do you remove an HOA board member in Texas?

Chapter 209 contains no general recall procedure, so removal runs through the bylaws and the Business Organizations Code. Under BOC § 22.211, a director may be removed under any procedure in the governing documents; if they are silent, the members who elected the director may remove them, with or without cause, by the same vote required to elect. Members holding at least 10 percent of eligible votes can compel a special meeting under BOC § 22.155.

Can an HOA take away an owner’s right to vote in Texas?

No. Section 209.0059 voids any dedicatory-instrument provision that would disqualify an owner from voting in a board election or on any matter concerning the owner’s rights or responsibilities. Separately, § 209.00591 voids provisions that restrict an owner’s right to run for the board, subject to narrow statutory exceptions such as the felony-conviction bar and limited residency requirements.

Related CIC-SC Resources

• Texas Candidate Solicitation Requirements Under § 209.00593
• Candidate Eligibility — Who Can Run for the HOA Board in Texas?
• The Texas Annual Member Meeting — With an Election
• Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 22

References & Sources

1. Texas Property Code §§ 209.00591 (Board Membership), 209.00592 (Voting; Quorum, as amended by S.B. 2629, 89th Leg., eff. Sept. 1, 2025), 209.00593 (Election of Board Members), 209.00594 (Tabulation of and Access to Ballots), 209.0057 (Recount of Votes), 209.0059 (Right to Vote), 209.0056 (Notice of Election).
2. Texas Business Organizations Code § 22.211 — Removal of Directors; § 22.155 — Special Meetings of Members.
3. Texas State Law Library, Property Owners’ Associations Research Guide.

Tags: Texas HOA board election rules · remove HOA board member Texas · § 209.00592 · § 209.00593 · § 209.00594 · recount § 209.0057 · § 209.00591 · BOC § 22.211 · recall special meeting · SB 2629