email voting

[grammaconnie]

Our bylaws do not allow electronic voting. However, the executive board has adopted a Standard Order of Procedure for voting by email limiting the amount of monies to be voted on.

When a motion is put to the board members asking for a vote on an issue, most of the board members send their vote only to the author of the motion. I believe this is secret voting, and that the votes of the board members should be sent to all board members. Voting at our executive board meetings are done openly, and I believe email voting should be done the same. Am I correct in this assumption?

[Tim Wynn]

Our bylaws do not allow electronic voting. However, the executive board has adopted a Standard Order of Procedure for voting by email limiting the amount of monies to be voted on.

When a motion is put to the board members asking for a vote on an issue, most of the board members send their vote only to the author of the motion. I believe this is secret voting, and that the votes of the board members should be sent to all board members. Voting at our executive board meetings are done openly, and I believe email voting should be done the same. Am I correct in this assumption?

See the bottom of page 2.

[grammaconnie]

See the bottom of page 2.

As I read the bottom of page 2 and also page 482-483, although email voting isn't mentioned, only videoconference or teleconference, all members must be on the same page,.

Our Standard of Procedure does state a discussion period is to efollow where all questions and answers will be provided to every board member and the management company by the originator via email.

However, this does not happen. Most board members send their vote, without discussion with other members, blindly to management, who will then notify all members whether motion passed or failed.

[George Mervosh]

As I read the bottom of page 2 and also page 482-483, although email voting isn't mentioned, only videoconference or teleconference, all members must be on the same page,.

Our Standard of Procedure does state a discussion period is to efollow where all questions and answers will be provided to every board member and the management company by the originator via email.

However, this does not happen. Most board members send their vote, without discussion with other members, blindly to management, who will then notify all members whether motion passed or failed.

Since your group has it's own procedures, we can't help you interpret them.

[Tim Wynn]

Our bylaws do not allow electronic voting.

'nuff said. If you want to do it, you need to amend your bylaws, first.

[Josh Martin]

Our bylaws do not allow electronic voting.

Then you can't do it.

However, the executive board has adopted a Standard Order of Procedure for voting by email limiting the amount of monies to be voted on.

I'm not entirely clear on what a "Standard Order of Procedure" is (sounds like a special rule of order), but it is not sufficient to authorize e-mail voting. Such a fundamental rule must be placed in the Bylaws to be valid.

[Gary c Tesser]

As I read the bottom of page 2 and also page 482-483, although email voting isn't mentioned, only videoconference or teleconference, all members must be on the same page,.

Our Standard of Procedure does state a discussion period is to follow where all questions and answers will be provided to every board member and the management company by the originator via e-mail.

However, this does not happen. Most board members send their vote, without discussion with other members, blindly to management, who will then notify all members whether motion passed or failed.

But busybee, when the footnote says, "to conduct the deliberative process ... by electronic mail," it means e-mail. (The Authorship Team of RONR are so old, when they wrote this, "e-" had not been invented yet.)

And p. 482 - 483 says, "simultaneous communication ... is what distinguishes it from ... electronic mail."

What Ithink has been siad here is that, if your Standard of Procedure is document that ranks lower than the bylaws, then whatever it says is not sufficient to allow voting by e-mail.

For that matter, the snipped that busybee quoted does not even presume to authorize e-mail voting: it only says it allows discussion by e-mail. Which is not harmful, but it is meaningless: the members, the management company, and anyone else is free to deal with their questions and answers by e-mail ("it's a free country," regardless of what country we think we're in), but also on the telephone, chatting at a bus stop, riding up an elevator to their tedious jobs at a law firm, over beers at McNaughty's Tavern, or however they manage it. Conversation is not voting.