Guest Tom Posted September 24, 2012 at 04:07 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 at 04:07 PM I will be chairing a specially called Board meeting of an entity to elect a new president. Not all Board members will be able to attend in person. Our by-laws provide for conference call special meetings but do not specify anything regarding voting at a telephonic meeting. The by-laws do not address the situation about which I am inquiring. It is possible that a person on the telephone will request a secret ballot. How does the chair handle such a request? Can telephone participants email their ballot to the Secretary of the Board who would normally count any secret ballots. Does Robert's Rules provide guidance? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted September 24, 2012 at 05:56 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 at 05:56 PM I understand that, on a conference call, one can vote via the touchtone system which is "secret" to the extent that only the chairman (or manager of the call) knows who is voting and what for.Unfortunately, I don't know any of the "how to" details.Using e-mail to vote introduces as many problems as it eliminates.RONR has no guidance on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted September 24, 2012 at 06:26 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 at 06:26 PM Since this is a "special meeting", with the purpose of electing a president, a reasonable person could assume (this not being an Annual meeting at which elections typically take place) that this apparent vacancy in the president's office is mid-term. Correct? If so, per RONR the vice president immediately assumes the throne in such a case, unless the bylaws specifically provide for an alternate means of filling a presidential vacancy. So, all other questions and problems aside, am I in the ball park? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Posted September 25, 2012 at 01:55 AM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 01:55 AM The special meeting of the Board is being called to elect a president of the school, not the chair of the board. The newly elected president will succeed the retiring president at the end of the year. No need for a vice president to act as president. If during the special meeting someone attending requests a secret ballot, how can telephone attendees vote?Why not by email to the secretary of the board who acts as ballot counter?ThanksTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Raines Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:22 AM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:22 AM I suppose you can all agree to take the vote by e-mail, but it will not be a secret ballot. "Secret" means "anonymous"—there is no record of the voter's identity. That's not possible if members are using their regular e-mail accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted September 25, 2012 at 10:55 AM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 10:55 AM And, continuing J Raines thought, if they don't use their personal accounts the tellers will have no idea if the votes cast came from the members, or were multiple votes cast by the same member (good old ballot stuffing).It is not a pretty picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted September 25, 2012 at 01:48 PM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 01:48 PM 'If electronic meetings are to be authorized, it is advisable to adopt additional rules pertaining to their conduct (see Additional Rules for the Conduct of Electronic Meetings, below). RONR (11th ed.) p. 97 ll. 31-34The referenced section 'below' on pp. 98-99 gives some suggestions of what those additional rules should cover, including 'methods for taking and verifying votes.' However, perhaps to the original poster's chagrin, RONR does not actually provided those necessary additional rules -- that is up to the organization.I suppose the people participating in the meeting could perhaps design their voting method on the spot (by means of adopting a motion regarding the method of voting), should a request for vote by secret ballot come up. Perhaps members who anticipate such a request should do some research ahead of time, so that they can make useful suggestions during debate on the voting method. In fact, Guest_Tom seems to be doing such research by posting on this forum; it's just that RONR does not provide the answers he seeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:02 PM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:02 PM I suppose you can all agree to take the vote by e-mail, but it will not be a secret ballot. "Secret" means "anonymous"—there is no record of the voter's identity. That's not possible if members are using their regular e-mail accounts.It would take some pre-arranging and member agreement I suspect, but could the email votes be sent to a non-affiliated, trustworthy 3rd party who would count the votes without divulging names? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:23 PM Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 at 02:23 PM "Spoofing" of a voter's name is still a possibility, so authentication -- the technical word for "is this voter who he says he is?" -- remains a problem.There are web based electronic voting services that appear to do things right; they do charge for their services, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthib Posted September 27, 2012 at 07:17 PM Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 at 07:17 PM Since the bylaw only provides for a telephonic special meeting, I can not see how allowing voting by e-mail is allowed.One easy solution. Have everyone use a recorded Yea or Nea voice or use the T-Pain App to disguise their voice.That way everyone could vote by phone, but no one would know who voted what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted September 27, 2012 at 07:50 PM Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 at 07:50 PM One easy solution. Have everyone use a recorded Yea or Nea voice or use the T-Pain App to disguise their voice.Yes, that certainly sounds like an "easy" solution. Now if I can only remember where I put my T-Pain App.And what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthib Posted September 27, 2012 at 09:00 PM Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 at 09:00 PM T-Pain App. Autotune.Makes your voice sound funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted September 27, 2012 at 09:01 PM Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 at 09:01 PM Makes your voice sound funny.My voice already sounds funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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