Cumulative or non-cumulative voting

Q. What is the difference between noncumulative voting and cumulative voting in an election for members to the board of an association?

A. Voting in a board election is by noncumulative voting unless the declaration or bylaws provide otherwise. In noncumulative voting, an owner has one vote per candidate for each of the seats on the board to be filled at the election. For example, if the election is for three board members, the owner can cast one vote for each of three different candidates.

Cumulative voting is intended to permit a minority of the owners to elect a member to the board by using the power of cumulative voting. In cumulative voting, an owner can cast a total number of votes that is equal to the number of board seats to be filled at the election. The owner can cast those votes in any manner they wish among the candidates. However, owners must use whole numbers.

For example, if there are three open seats on the board, the owner may cast all three of his votes for one candidate, or he may distribute his three votes among the candidates in any proportion he deems fit. If there are three seats to be filled, the owner could cast two votes for one candidate and one vote for a second candidate; or one vote for each of three different candidates. You can see how cumulative voting can be used to lawfully "stack" voting for a candidate or candidates.

In a condominium, each owner's vote would also be weighted by their percentage of ownership in the common elements.

Q. I live in a 500-plus unit common interest community association that is still under developer control. I understand that the Common Interest Community Association Act has been changed. Is the developer-controlled board of directors required to prepare the 2018 budget using GAAP rules?

A. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act is amended to create a new section 1-45(h)(I). This section states that an association subject to the Common Interest Community Association Act and consisting of 100 or more units shall use generally accepted accounting principles; generally referred to as "GAAP." There is an identical change to the Illinois Condominium Property Act.

The GAAP requirements would be applicable to your 500-plus unit association. I am not an accountant, and I can't speak to the specific requirements of GAAP. However, to the extent that GAAP affects budget preparation, the requirements would not seemingly be applicable to the preparation of a 2018 budget if the budget is prepared and adopted in 2017.

All associations required to use GAAP should speak with their accountant to discuss how this impacts their operations and as to what they need to do to comply. I'll be speaking with accountants over the next couple of weeks who concentrate in association accounting. I hope to pick their brains and write about how GAAP will affect associations in a future column.

Q. As a board member, I understand that homeowner associations may be required to allow an owner to install accessible ramps to their unit per the fair housing laws. However, can a homeowners association dictate the style or materials of the ramp? Can we require a folding ramp?

A. The federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to "discriminate against any person … in the provision of services or facilities within a dwelling, because of a handicap." The FHA requires the association to permit, at the expense of the disabled person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modification may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises. Whether or not an association must permit a handicapped person to install a reasonable modification, like a ramp in a common area, is typically examined on a case-by-case basis.

Note that there are federal specifications that a ramp installed by an owner would have to meet if the requested ramp is a "reasonable modification." These don't necessarily address the materials (e.g., wood or aluminum), and the board and owner can work together to come to some sort of agreement on the materials.

With respect to a "folding" accessibility ramp, I assume if a person's disability requires a wheelchair ramp, they may not be able to operate a folding ramp by themselves.

• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.