Voting in ZOOM

[Marsha Thole]

I just learned from ZOOM (talked to a rep), that the host will be able to see how each individual voted. So, how can a board then say that your vote is just like a ballot, when there is no privacy as to how each voted to the host (to others, yes, but the host has full view of how someone voted)? We are talking here about votes that would be by ballot, were the meeting in person. 

 

[Shmuel Gerber]

I agree that unless measures are in place to protect the secrecy of the individual votes, then the poll cannot satisfy the requirement for taking a vote by ballot.

However, Zoom does allow the creator of a poll to choose "Allow participants to answer questions anonymously", which means that anonymous responses will not contain the user's information in the polling report.

See https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/213756303-Polling-for-meetings

[Shmuel Gerber]

See also https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/216378603

[J. J.]

One think that should be noted is that the polling function does not seem to permit write-in votes. 

[Marsha Thole]

I just learned that the vote on the 16 proposed bylaw amendments is to be done all at once with NO discussion. The reason, I was told, was that people had a chance to send in their comments prior, so there will be no discussion at the HOA meeting, just an up or down vote--yes or no. Is that allowed, to not hold a discussion? 

 

[Marsha Thole]

J.J. This association does not take nominations from the floor, as the bylaws have a requirement to post the the list of candidates with their bios. 

[Weldon Merritt]

On 2/18/2022 at 7:33 PM, Marsha Thole said:

J.J. This association does not take nominations from the floor, as the bylaws have a requirement to post the the list of candidates with their bios. 

Whether floor nominations actually are prohibited would depend on the specific wording of the bylaws provision. It could be that the requirement applies only to those nominated by the Nominating Committee. For floor nominations to be prohibited, the bylaws would have to specifically say so. And even then, the assembly probably could still order that nominations be reopened at the election meeting.

Further, even if the bylaws actually do prohibit floor nominations. that does not mean that write-in votes are prohibited. A write-in is, by definition, a vote for someone who has not been nominated. For write-ins to be prohibited, the bylaws would have to specifically say so.

[J. J.]

On 2/18/2022 at 9:31 PM, Marsha Thole said:

I just learned that the vote on the 16 proposed bylaw amendments is to be done all at once with NO discussion. The reason, I was told, was that people had a chance to send in their comments prior, so there will be no discussion at the HOA meeting, just an up or down vote--yes or no. Is that allowed, to not hold a discussion? 

 

Debate can be prohibited by a 2/3 vote.   In most cases, the question could be divided to provide for a separate vote on each amendment. 

[Josh Martin]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:33 PM, Marsha Thole said:

This association does not take nominations from the floor, as the bylaws have a requirement to post the the list of candidates with their bios. 

What exactly do the bylaws say on this matter? I'm not necessarily persuaded from this paraphrase that the rule in question does, in fact, prohibit nominations from the floor (let alone prohibit write-in votes).

On 2/18/2022 at 8:31 PM, Marsha Thole said:

I just learned that the vote on the 16 proposed bylaw amendments is to be done all at once with NO discussion. The reason, I was told, was that people had a chance to send in their comments prior, so there will be no discussion at the HOA meeting, just an up or down vote--yes or no. Is that allowed, to not hold a discussion? 

It is permissible to adopt rules prohibiting debate on the bylaw amendments, but this decision can only be made by the assembly itself, at the meeting, and it would require a 2/3 vote for adoption.

Additionally, if I understand correctly that what is proposed is a single vote on all 16 amendments as a package, I would note that any member may most likely demand a separate vote on a particular amendment. (The exception would be if the amendments are closely related.)

[Gary Novosielski]

On 2/18/2022 at 9:33 PM, Marsha Thole said:

J.J. This association does not take nominations from the floor, as the bylaws have a requirement to post the the list of candidates with their bios. 

Concurring with @Josh Martin, a rule requiring posting of nominees, alone, would not be enough to prevent (re)opening nominations from the floor.

[Shmuel Gerber]

We really don't know anything about the requirements for this meeting. Do the bylaws (or applicable law) even authorize the meeting to take place by videoconference? What, if any, rules are in place for such a meeting? There could be many problems trying to use Zoom for balloting. However, anonymity of the ballots does not need to be one of them.

On 2/18/2022 at 6:58 PM, J. J. said:

One think that should be noted is that the polling function does not seem to permit write-in votes. 

It looks like it can be done using multiple questions on a poll, with the advanced polling feature that allows short answers. Here is a hastily constructed example, with two voters participating. One voter votes for Candidate A on question 1 and leaves question 2 blank. The other one votes for "Other" on question 1 and writes in Joe Shmoe for question 2.  (So, unfortunately, the vote is tied and there is no winner in this example.) When the poll opens, the voters would see something like the first image, and when the voting is done the host would see something like the second image. (Also unfortunately, the host can see the results as they come in, which means he or she can either close the polls on time or try to delay their closing, depending on the running totals.) The polling report would show something like the third image.

If all the voters correctly filled in the ballots (i.e., answered question 2 if and only if choosing "Other" for question 1), then the results should be able to be determined from the quick report, unless a write-in candidate won. If the ballots are not filled in correctly, then the full report would have to be scrutinized. In this example, you can quickly see from the second image that 2 ballots were submitted; that 1 vote (50%) was cast for Candidate A in question 1; that 1 vote (50%) was cast for Other in question 1; and that the total number of voters who chose "Other" in question 1 (1) matches the total number that answered question 2 (also 1).