Secret Ballot Elections Under WUCIOA
As of January 1, 2026, every board election in Washington State must use secret ballots. WUCIOA requires secret ballots for board elections, board member removals, and governing document amendments.
Ballot secrecy is mandatory. Participation tracking is permitted for quorum purposes, but linking a specific voter to their ballot choices is prohibited. Incumbents and candidates are barred from ballot access - any board member running for re-election may not access, handle, or count ballots in elections where they have a personal interest.
What This Means for Your Board
Most Washington HOAs have historically run elections by show of hands, voice vote, or informal email polls. All of these are now non-compliant for the specific vote types covered by the secret ballot requirement. Boards need a system that can verify voter identity, record participation, keep ballot choices confidential, handle weighted voting, support proxy voting, accommodate write-in candidates, produce auditable results, and exclude interested parties from the counting process.
How My HOA Voice Handles This
My HOA Voice was designed with WUCIOA secret ballot requirements as a core architectural principle. Ballot secrecy is structural - the system tracks who voted but does not store any link between a voter's identity and their ballot selections. Weighted voting, proxy voting, write-in candidates, and incumbent lockout are all built in.