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I wondered what Robert's Rules has to say about meeting and voting by email. I found this link (http://ualr.edu/jdberleant/papers/email-meetings.html#ref1), which aligns with my previous experience on boards and committees, but the rulesonline.com site doesn't seem to have any mention of email. In my particular situation, I attended our homeowners association board meeting to ask for clarification on one of their covenants. They talked like they would handle it via email to expedite matters, which I thought would mean a formal discussion in the minutes and a vote via email. Instead, they discussed it informally and I just got a reply from the president with what I assume was the consensus (no vote was made). The president is telling me now that there's no voting via email. I also don't know if they will show me the email thread, so at this point the process has not been transparent or open. I asked to see their emails on the topic but so far I've not been given them. I thought if you had a email discussion with a quorum of members, then it was to be available to review. Jeremy

My golf association is revising our bylaws and the subject of electronic voting came up. The discussion centered around utilizing some kind of technology platform designed for this process only in the annual election of officers. Currently, our nominations committee comes up with a slate (1 candidate per position), then we can take nominations from the floor at our September meeting. Then we have the election at the October meeting. We currently allow absentee voting for the election of officers only. The idea around electronic voting is that we could announce the slate and take nominations from the floor at the September meeting, and then announce a time window for members to cast electronic ballots from wherever they may be. Then simply announce the results at the October meeting or even by posting if we choose to do away with the October meeting altogether. Are there any reasons this would be a good idea? a bad idea?