electronic or online voting

[Guest Caroline]

My school board votes via BoardDocs, an online meeting management system. I am rewriting board policy to reflect voting methods. Our main voting method is via BoardDocs. Can my policy still read: votes on motions and resolutions will be by “voice” vote  or should I change it to electronic vote or online vote? or Does "voice" vote include electronic/online methods?

 

Thank you.

[Josh Martin]

My school board votes via BoardDocs, an online meeting management system. I am rewriting board policy to reflect voting methods. Our main voting method is via BoardDocs. Can my policy still read: votes on motions and resolutions will be by “voice” vote  or should I change it to electronic vote or online vote? or Does "voice" vote include electronic/online methods?

 

Neither, I think. It will be necessary to provide that the board is authorized to conduct business via this "BoardDocs," since only in-person meetings are permitted unless an organization's bylaws (or the equivalent) provide otherwise. You certainly should not stick with a voice vote. Such a term has no meaningful application if the technology does not, in fact, transmit a member's voice, and even if it does, it is often difficult to discern whether the ayes or noes are in the majority when the meeting is held by electronic means. On the other hand, simply saying that the votes will be by "electronic vote" or "online vote" is not at all helpful, as it does not describe how the vote is actually taken.

[Richard Brown]

Agreeing with Josh,  I think your bylaws should authorize voting and holding meetings electronically, including via email, message boards, chat rooms and other electronic means, with [or without] simultaneous aural communication.  However the details and rules for how to conduct those meetings and voting should be, for the most part, contained in separate rules, such as special rules of order.   If you want to allow only meetings where the participants have simultaneous aural communications, then omit the part that allows the meetings "without" simultaneous aural communications.  RONR and most parliamentarians discourage meetings without simultaneous aural communications (the ability for everybody to hear everybody else in real time).

 

RONR has a rudimentary section on electronic meetings on pages 97 - 99, but they are relatively fundamental and are essentially guidelines as to what the rules should cover.  It is very good for starters, though.

 

There are good sample bylaw provisions and rules available for conducting meetings electronically.  Hopefully, someone will provide you with a couple of links or suggestions for additional rules for electronic meetings and voting.

 

I'm curious: Is this a public school board or a private school board?   If it's a public body, does state law allow you to conduct your meetings electronically? 

[Guest Caroline]

Thank you! I like the suggestion to actually name (BoardDocs) our electronic voting method. If we do something different, we can change our policy to match. Makes it very clear.

 

This is where I'm at now:

...all votes of the Board will be by oral roll call, on BoardDocs, or other public method.

 

We are a public school district, and our statute is silent on electronic meetings specifically, although our open public meetings act defines "Meeting" means meetings at which action is taken.

 

In 2008 a bill was introduced to expand the definition to: a gathering of a majority of the members of a governing body where they convene in person, by telephone, or by any electronic means to hear, deliberate, or take action on the business or affairs of the agency or body. Electronic or telephone meetings are subject to the notice requirements of this chapter. The bill didn’t make it out of hearings and has never come back since.

 

Our statutes on elections addresses electronic voting, but nothing that expands their definition to meetings.

 

 

Again, thank you,

 

with best regards,

 

Caroline

[Bruce Lages]

In light of the information presented in your last post, I think it is critical that you check with your board or town legal council to determine whether your school board is authorized to meet via electronic means at all.

[Richard Brown]

In light of the information presented in your last post, I think it is critical that you check with your board or town legal council to determine whether your school board is authorized to meet via electronic means at all.

I agree with Bruce.  State open meetings laws usually require that meetings and voting of public bodies take place in real meetings at which the public can attend and make comments.  That's pretty much not possible with electronic  meetings, email voting, etc.

[Guest Caroline]

On it! Thank you so much for all your help!

 

 

best,

 

Caroline