Emails

[Guest Tammy]

Are emails considered legal forms of communication?

[Rob Elsman]

As to the "legal" aspect of your question, I suggest you ask an attorney.

RONR does permit electronic communications if the recipient has agreed to receive them. So, for example, the secretary might send the call of a meeting by email, if the recipient had agreed to receive communications by email and had provided the secretary with an email address.

[Transpower]

RONR (11th ed.), p. 89, ll. 16-22:  "When notice is required to be sent, unless a different standard is specified that requirement is met if written notice is sent to each member either: a)  by postal mail to the member's last known address; or b) by a form of electronic communication, such as e-mail or fax, by which the member has agreed to receive notice."

Edited October 17, 2019 at 11:26 AM by Transpower
grammar

[Gary Novosielski]

Qu'est que ç'est "fax"?

[Richard Brown]

Email notifications can also be authorized in the bylaws or by a special rule of order if the bylaws (and state law) are silent or don’t require a specific method of notification. 

Edited October 17, 2019 at 10:34 AM by Richard Brown
Added provision about state law.

[Gary Novosielski]

Are you sure a Special Rule of Order would do it?  

[Rob Elsman]

If RONR is the society's parliamentary authority, the requirement for notice of meetings is met by electronic forms of communication, as long as the recipient has agreed to receive such forms. See RONR (11th ed.), p. 89.

Edited October 17, 2019 at 06:56 PM by reelsman

[Richard Brown]

6 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

Are you sure a Special Rule of Order would do it?  

I don’t see why not. The provisions in RONR are rules of order which can be superseded by special rules of order unless RONR provides otherwise. A special rule of order that all notices can be sent via email would seem to do just that if the bylaws are silent as to the manner of sending notices. 

It would then be incumbent upon the members to provide an email address in order to actually receive the notices, but that would also be the case if the provision was contained in the bylaws.  It is also the case that in order to receive notices via U.S. mail the members must provide the organization with a valid postal mail address.