The culture of your HOA depends on your particular community, but all HOAs are generally required to hold elections for leadership positions. In some communities these may be relatively well contested seats, and in others it may seem like the same people will be in office for the rest of their lives.
If you happen to live in a condominium complex where the outcome of the election is already “well-known,” your HOA may decide to skip the election entirely in the name of convenience and time. However, according to HOA Leader, it is highly likely you will need to hold an election anyway.
Why do we need an election?
It is important to examine the bylaws of your HOA to ensure that there is no clause written into them mandating an election. However, it would not be unusual if your HOA does not directly address this particular situation.
The main reason why continuing to hold elections important even if the election is supposedly uncontested is to prevent challenges to the election. Going through the appropriate motions ensures that the election is lawful and persons can not challege the results in the future.
Is the election really uncontested?
There is also the very real possibility of a member nominating themselves or somebody else from the floor at the last moment. Just because nobody is making it clear that they want to run for the HOA board does not mean that somebody will not have the desire at the last minute. Removing elections makes this not possible and could provide grounds for members to challenge the election as illegitimate.
Essentially, while removing elections may streamline a seemingly-superfluous process, it can cause bigger problems in the future.