California HOA Davis-Stirling Quorum & Supermajority Calculator

How this calculator works

This is a quorum-and-threshold validator for California HOA member votes. Given the total membership, the in-person attendance, the proxy count, the mail/electronic ballot count, the vote type, and any CCR-specified overrides, it returns:

1. Whether quorum has been met (total ballots compared against the effective quorum requirement under Cal. Civ. Code § 4070 or the CCR-specified override).
2. The yes votes required to pass for the vote type (51% of total membership for CCR amendments under § 4275; 67% of total for common-area transfers under § 4760; majority of quorum for special assessments over 5% under § 5605; etc.).
3. The current ballot status (PASSED, FAILED, PENDING, or NO-QUORUM) based on the supplied vote tally.

Use the calculator before convening a member meeting to confirm the procedural framework; use it during ballot counting to validate the threshold; use it after a meeting to memorialize the outcome in the secretary's minutes.

The relevant Davis-Stirling statute

California HOA voting is governed by Davis-Stirling provisions and the Corporations Code provisions that apply via Cal. Corp. Code § 7150 et seq. (Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law). The key voting thresholds:

§ 4070 — Default quorum is 50% of the membership unless the governing documents specify otherwise. Many older California CCRs specify lower quorum thresholds (10%, 20%, 25%); newer documents tend toward higher levels. Whether CCRs may specify a quorum LOWER than 50% is contested in California case law.

§ 4275 — CCR (declaration) amendment requires 51% of the TOTAL membership — a true majority of all owners, not a majority of those voting. CCRs may specify a higher threshold (commonly 67% or 75%); they cannot specify lower.

§ 4270 — Bylaws amendment per bylaws specification; absent specification, the Corporations Code default of majority of a quorum applies.

§ 4760 — Transfer of common-area property requires 67% of the TOTAL membership. This is the highest statutory supermajority in Davis-Stirling and reflects the property-rights significance of common-area transfers. CCRs may specify higher (unanimous in some).

§ 5605 — Board may not levy an emergency special assessment greater than 5% of the budgeted annual gross expense without member approval; the member approval is by majority of a quorum, not majority of total. Same threshold for capital improvements over 5%.

§ 5610 — Three exceptions bypass the 5% cap: court order, threat to health or safety, action required by law.

§ 5103 / §§ 5100-5135 — Election balloting procedures (AB 502 and successor bills); separate quorum carve-out for elections.

Key thresholds and gotchas

MAJORITY OF TOTAL vs MAJORITY OF QUORUM. The two thresholds produce different outcomes when turnout is low. Davis-Stirling uses MAJORITY OF TOTAL for CCR amendments (§ 4275) and common-area transfers (§ 4760) — the property-rights actions. Davis-Stirling uses MAJORITY OF QUORUM for special assessments (§ 5605) and regular business — the governance actions. Confusing the two is the single most common voting-threshold error in California HOA practice.

A CCR amendment can fail even with 60% of voters approving. In a 100-member association with 70 voters (60% turnout), 42 yes votes (60% of voters) is below the 51-vote total-membership threshold and the amendment fails. Boards routinely announce CCR amendments as passed based on majority-of-voters math; this is wrong.

The CCR may RAISE but not LOWER the statutory floor. A CCR specifying 40% for CCR amendments is unenforceable to the extent it falls below the § 4275 51% floor. A CCR specifying 75% is enforceable as a higher-than-statutory threshold.

Proxies count once for quorum, once for the vote tally. A valid proxy must be in writing, signed, and delivered before the meeting starts. Many bylaws specify a maximum proxy validity (commonly 90 days). Proxies marked for a specific issue vote only on that issue.

The § 5605 5% threshold uses the BUDGETED annual gross expense. Not the actual prior-year expense; not the operating expense alone. Calculate from the current-year budget delivered to members under § 5565.

Elections under §§ 5100-5135 are different. AB 502 and successor bills (most recently effective Jan 1, 2024) substantially overhauled election procedures. Elections do not require the same § 4070 quorum count as non-election member meetings; the election is valid if conducted under the inspector-of-elections procedures with proper ballot secrecy. The calculator implements the QUORUM math for non-election member meetings; for election-specific procedures, consult §§ 5100-5135.

Worked example: regular member vote

100 members. 50% quorum default (no CCR override). 25 in person, 10 by proxy, 30 by mail. Vote: regular member-meeting vote. 40 yes, 20 no.

• Total ballots: 65. Quorum: 50 (50% of 100). QUORUM MET.
• Vote type: regular. Threshold: majority of quorum. Votes required: 51% of 65 = 34 yes votes.
• 40 yes votes meets the 34-vote threshold. PASSED.

Worked example: CCR amendment — the total-membership trap

100 members. 25 in person, 10 by proxy, 30 by mail. Vote: CCR amendment. 40 yes, 20 no.

• Total ballots: 65. Quorum: 50 (50% of 100). QUORUM MET.
• Vote type: CCR amendment. Threshold: 51% of TOTAL membership = 51 yes votes required.
• 40 yes votes falls short of the 51-vote threshold. FAILED — even though 67% of voters approved.

This is the trap. The same ballot tally that passes a regular vote (40 yes is 62% of voters) FAILS a CCR amendment (40 is only 40% of total). Boards must structure CCR-amendment campaigns to target the total-membership denominator, not the voter denominator — meaning outreach to non-voters is critical.

Worked example: common-area transfer requiring 67% of total

500 members. The board wants to sell a strip of common-area land to the neighboring property for $200,000. § 4760 requires 67% of total = 335 yes votes.

• Even with 90% turnout (450 voters), the threshold is on total membership. 335 yes votes required.
• A "yes" campaign needs to reach at least 335 of the 500 members; not 335 of the 450 voters.
• Many California HOA common-area transfer votes fail at this threshold despite majority support among voters.

Worked example: special assessment over 5% — majority of quorum

100 members. Annual budget $300,000. 5% cap = $15,000. Board wants to assess $50,000 for an emergency roof repair (above the cap, but the matter is not life-safety so § 5610 does not apply).

• Member vote required under § 5605.
• 50 members attend; quorum (50%) met.
• Threshold: majority of quorum = 26 yes votes required (51% of 50).
• 30 yes, 20 no — PASSED.

The majority-of-quorum threshold is materially easier to meet than the majority-of-total threshold; this is why most California HOAs prefer the § 5605 path over a CCR amendment when both could in principle authorize the same outcome.

Worked example: no quorum at all

100 members. 20 in person, 5 by proxy. Vote: regular.

• Total ballots: 25. Quorum: 50. SHORT BY 25.
• Outcome: NO-QUORUM. The measure cannot proceed regardless of how many of the 25 attending vote yes.

The secretary should adjourn the meeting (or invoke reduced-quorum procedures if specified in the bylaws for a reconvened meeting). Some California bylaws permit a 25% or 33% quorum at the SECOND attempt; the reduced quorum is valid only if specified in the governing documents.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the QUORUM-AND-SUPERMAJORITY math. It does NOT:

• Model the §§ 5100-5135 election procedures in detail (inspector-of-elections appointment, election rules adoption, candidate qualifications, ballot secrecy, post-election challenges). The calculator is for non-election member meetings; for elections, consult the full §§ 5100-5135 procedure.
• Validate the form of proxies (signature, witness, delegation chain).
• Model cumulative voting for board elections (where applicable under § 7615 of the Corporations Code).
• Model weighted voting where votes are allocated other than one-per-unit (e.g. allocated by undivided-interest percentage or by square footage).
• Model the AB 502 / SB 323 election-rule overhaul beyond the § 5103 quorum carve-out.
• Validate compliance with the § 4920 / § 5000 notice requirements that gate the meeting — those are computed by the companion Open Meeting Act notice calculator.

For any consequential vote (CCR amendment, common-area transfer, board election with contested seats), retain California counsel with HOA-election experience to oversee the inspector-of-elections and the procedural compliance review.

Counting conventions

The calculator rounds the effective quorum vote count UP to the nearest integer. A 50% quorum on 47 members is 24 votes (rounded up from 23.5), not 23. California practice uniformly rounds up because partial votes are not possible — a half-quorum cannot exist.

The calculator counts each member EXACTLY ONCE toward quorum. A member who attends in person and also has a returned mail ballot is counted only once. The calculator assumes the input counts are mutually exclusive — the secretary should not double-count.

For supermajority calculations on TOTAL membership (CCR amendment, common-area transfer), the threshold is 51% (or 67%) of total members EXACTLY, rounded up. For 100 members at 51%, that is 51 yes votes (51.0 rounds to 51); for 99 members at 51%, that is 51 yes votes (50.49 rounds up to 51).

For supermajority calculations on MAJORITY OF QUORUM (special assessment, regular), the threshold is calculated on the greater of (a) the effective quorum vote count or (b) the actual votes counted. This is a conservative interpretation; California practice in some associations uses majority of votes actually cast at the quorum-validated meeting, which produces a lower threshold than majority of the quorum count itself.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against:

• Cal. Civ. Code § 4070 (default quorum).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 4270 (bylaws amendment).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 4275 (CCR amendment, 51% of total membership).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 4275(c) (material modification of common area).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 4760 (transfer of common-area property, 67% of total).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 5103 (election-quorum carve-out).
• Cal. Civ. Code §§ 5100-5135 (election balloting procedures).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 5605 (board emergency-special-assessment 5% cap).
• Cal. Civ. Code § 5610 (emergency-assessment exceptions).
• Cal. Corp. Code § 7150 et seq. (Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law default rules).
• Cal. Corp. Code § 7613 (proxy voting).
• Cal. Corp. Code § 7615 (cumulative voting for board elections).
• Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Assn., 21 Cal. 4th 249 (1999) (business-judgment-rule deference to board governance decisions within Davis-Stirling).
• Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assn., 8 Cal. 4th 361 (1994) (presumption of reasonableness for recorded CCRs).
• CACM Community Manager Manual (current edition) — California voting-procedure compliance reference.