(a) If only one of several owners of a unit is present at a meeting of the association, that owner is entitled to cast all the votes allocated to that unit. If more than one of the owners is present, the votes allocated to that unit may be cast only in accordance with the agreement of a majority in interest of the owners, unless the declaration or bylaws expressly provide otherwise. There is majority agreement if any one of the owners casts the votes allocated to that unit without protest being made by any of the other owners of the unit to the person presiding over the meeting before the polls are closed.

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-123

  • Association: means the unit owners' association organized under section 514B-102 or under prior condominium property regime statutes. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Common elements: means :

    (1) All portions of a condominium other than the units; and

    (2) Any other interests in real estate for the benefit of unit owners that are subject to the declaration. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3

  • Declaration: means any instrument, however denominated, that creates a condominium, including any amendments to the instrument. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Managing agent: means any person retained, as an independent contractor, for the purpose of managing the operation of the property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Person: means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or other legal entity, or any combination thereof. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Project: means a real estate condominium project; a plan or project whereby a condominium of two or more units located within the condominium property regime are created. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Resident manager: means any person retained as an employee by the association to manage, on-site, the operation of the property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Unit: means a physical or spatial portion of the condominium designated for separate ownership or occupancy, the boundaries of which are described in the declaration or pursuant to § 514B-35, with an exit to a public road or to a common element leading to a public road. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
  • Unit owner: means the person owning, or the persons owning jointly or in common, a unit and its appurtenant common interest; provided that to such extent and for such purposes as provided by recorded lease, including the exercise of voting rights, a lessee of a unit shall be deemed to be the unit owner. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 514B-3
(b) Votes allocated to a unit may be cast pursuant to a proxy duly executed by a unit owner. A unit owner may vote by mail or electronic transmission through a duly executed proxy. If a unit is owned by more than one person, each owner of the unit may vote or register protest to the casting of votes by the other owners of the unit through a duly executed proxy. In the absence of protest, any owner may cast the votes allocated to the unit by proxy. A unit owner may revoke a proxy given pursuant to this section only by actual notice of revocation to the secretary of the association or the managing agent. A proxy is void if it purports to be revocable without notice.
(c)No votes allocated to a unit owned by the association may be cast for the election or reelection of directors; provided that, notwithstanding section 514B-106(b) or any provision in an association’s declaration or bylaws to the contrary, in a mixed-use project containing units for residential and nonresidential use, where the board is comprised of directors elected by owners of residential units and directors elected by owners of nonresidential units, the association, acting by and through its board, may cast the vote or votes allocated to any nonresidential unit owned by the association in any election of one or more directors where those eligible to vote in the election are limited to owners of one or more nonresidential units, which includes the nonresidential unit owned by the association.
(d) A proxy, to be valid, shall:

(1) Be delivered to the secretary of the association or the managing agent, if any, no later than 4:30 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time on the second business day prior to the date of the meeting to which it pertains; and
(2) Contain at least the name of the association, the date of the meeting of the association, the printed names and signatures of the persons giving the proxy, the unit numbers for which the proxy is given, the names of persons to whom the proxy is given, and the date that the proxy is given.
(e) If a proxy is a standard proxy form authorized by the association, the proxy shall comply with the following additional requirements:

(1) The proxy shall contain boxes wherein the owner may indicate that the proxy is given:

(A) For quorum purposes only;
(B) To the individual whose name is printed on a line next to this box;
(C) To the board as a whole and that the vote is to be made on the basis of the preference of the majority of the directors present at the meeting; or
(D) To those directors present at the meeting with the vote to be shared with each director receiving an equal percentage ;

provided that if the proxy is returned with no box or more than one of the boxes in subparagraphs (A) through (D) checked, the proxy shall be counted for quorum purposes only; and

(2) The proxy form shall also contain a box wherein the owner may indicate that the owner wishes to obtain a copy of the annual audit report required by section 514B-150.
(f) A proxy shall only be valid for the meeting to which the proxy pertains and its adjournments, may designate any person as proxy, and may be limited as the unit owner desires and indicates; provided that no proxy shall be irrevocable unless coupled with a financial interest in the unit.
(g) A copy, facsimile telecommunication, or other reliable reproduction of a proxy may be used in lieu of the original proxy for any and all purposes for which the original proxy could be used; provided that any copy, facsimile telecommunication, or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original proxy.
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the holder of any proxy under a first mortgage of record encumbering a unit or under an agreement of sale affecting a unit.
(i) With respect to the use of association funds to distribute proxies:

(1) Any board that intends to use association funds to distribute proxies, including the standard proxy form referred to in subsection (e), shall first post notice of its intent to distribute proxies in prominent locations within the project at least twenty-one days before its distribution of proxies. If the board receives within seven days of the posted notice a request by any owner for use of association funds to solicit proxies accompanied by a statement, the board shall mail to all owners either:

(A) A proxy form containing the names of all owners who have requested the use of association funds for soliciting proxies accompanied by their statements; or
(B) A proxy form containing no names, but accompanied by a list of names of all owners who have requested the use of association funds for soliciting proxies and their statements.

The statement, which shall be limited to black text on white paper, shall not exceed one single-sided 8-1/2″ x 11″ page, indicating the owner’s qualifications to serve on the board or reasons for wanting to receive proxies; and

(2) A board or member of the board may use association funds to solicit proxies as part of the distribution of proxies. If a member of the board, as an individual, seeks to solicit proxies using association funds, the board member shall proceed as a unit owner under paragraph (1).
(j) No managing agent or resident manager, or their employees, shall solicit, for use by the managing agent or resident manager, any proxies from any unit owner of the association that retains the managing agent or employs the resident manager, nor shall the managing agent or resident manager cast any proxy vote at any association meeting except for the purpose of establishing a quorum.
(k) No board shall adopt any rule prohibiting the solicitation of proxies or distribution of materials relating to association matters on the common elements by unit owners; provided that a board may adopt rules regulating reasonable time, place, and manner of the solicitations or distributions, or both.