CharlesG5 (Florida)
Posts: 60
Posts: 60
Posted:
I live in Florida in a HOA community. The Elections Committee wants to go to electronic voting. Can you give the pros and cons on electoric voting?
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electronic voting
Started by CharlesG5 • 11 replies • 610 views
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GeorgeS21 (Florida)
Posts: 3,808
Posts: 3,808
Posted:
So, typed online search in "Florida HOA electronic voting." Came up with a few hundred citations - here's one:
http://www.campbellpropertymanagement.com/blog/2020/05/14/electronic-voting-in-community-associations/
http://www.campbellpropertymanagement.com/blog/2020/05/14/electronic-voting-in-community-associations/
AugustinD
Posts: 5,144
Posts: 5,144
Posted:
Pros:
The cost of the company that oversees the electronic voting may be about the same as the cost of your manager overseeing much of the election.
If a reputable company is retained to run the electronic voting, then authenticating ballots is much easier. Your HOA/Condo may avoid much of the cost of having to hire an independent CPA or similar to authenticate the election.
Quorum is usually much more likely to be achieved with electronic voting.
With the pandemic, electronic voting helps ensure people actually vote and so helps a board comply with its duties under the covenants.
Cons:
-- A few folks still do not use the internet. They should be given the option to vote by mail. Hence all owners still have to be sent a hard copy of voting materials and be allowed to submit this the old-fashioned way. A reputable company overseeing the electronic voting can probably help.
-- Possibly the cost. But in my experience, electronic voting is well worth it.
The cost of the company that oversees the electronic voting may be about the same as the cost of your manager overseeing much of the election.
If a reputable company is retained to run the electronic voting, then authenticating ballots is much easier. Your HOA/Condo may avoid much of the cost of having to hire an independent CPA or similar to authenticate the election.
Quorum is usually much more likely to be achieved with electronic voting.
With the pandemic, electronic voting helps ensure people actually vote and so helps a board comply with its duties under the covenants.
Cons:
-- A few folks still do not use the internet. They should be given the option to vote by mail. Hence all owners still have to be sent a hard copy of voting materials and be allowed to submit this the old-fashioned way. A reputable company overseeing the electronic voting can probably help.
-- Possibly the cost. But in my experience, electronic voting is well worth it.
GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276
Posts: 4,276
Posted:
It's true in Florida that if you have electronic voting then the option of voting the old-fashioned way (with paper) must still be provided.
The board must pass a resolution before conducting each e-vote. Authorization to do that must be in your governing documents. I think this coming year it will become very popular due to COVID-19.
The board must pass a resolution before conducting each e-vote. Authorization to do that must be in your governing documents. I think this coming year it will become very popular due to COVID-19.
MarshallT (New York)
Posts: 414
Posts: 414
Posted:
Hi,
Pros - owners are more willing to participate, and the HOA is more likely to reach quorum. It also has to potential to save the association money in the long run. Less printing = less printing expenses.
Cons - Setup may not be as smooth as you want it to be. Getting used to a new system will take a bit of time. And, there are people who will still want to vote in person. As such, you will still have to make sure in-person voting is available.
Pros - owners are more willing to participate, and the HOA is more likely to reach quorum. It also has to potential to save the association money in the long run. Less printing = less printing expenses.
Cons - Setup may not be as smooth as you want it to be. Getting used to a new system will take a bit of time. And, there are people who will still want to vote in person. As such, you will still have to make sure in-person voting is available.
BH5 (Virginia)
Posts: 84
Posts: 84
Posted:
We had a very good experience in our VA HOA. Over 77% participation and only 40-50 paper ballots out of nearly 500 votes. We evaluated several election companies and their expertise makes the whole process very smooth. We sent paper ballots to everyone and also a ballot ink to those who had registered their email with us. People could also vote by going directly to a web site. Even the majority of those without an email address on file with us voted using the online link. The election company also served as the Inspector of Election. Next year, we will probably send paper only on request to save money. Our State approved online voting without bylaw changes due to the COVID emergency. That helped a lot since we didn't have to get people who go door to door to collect proxies on board with the change to online voting. We also had no ballots that had to be voided due to mistakes since the online system prevents the vote from being cast if someone tried to overvote or vote cumulatively, for example.
Our entire HOA was very happy with the new process. The proxy collectors probably did some "campaigning" in another way.
Our entire HOA was very happy with the new process. The proxy collectors probably did some "campaigning" in another way.
AugustinD
Posts: 5,144
Posts: 5,144
Posted:
I wish there were a "like" button, especially for posts like BH5's. I think the sort of pithy information that posts like his/hers provide help people the most.
GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276
Posts: 4,276
Posted:
BH5's post is worth of a "like", I agree. Florida, unfortunately, requires a change to the Bylaws before e-voting can take place. BH5, was it very expensive? From what I saw in my research last year, the basic cost didn't seem excessive. Something like $2 per eligible voter per vote. Maybe a bit more for extra services.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
We are still holding out to have an in-person Annual Meeting. We will observe social distancing and masks mandatory. We did notify our owners we have delayed the Annual Meeting and not one owner has questioned us about it. As we are in SC, an outside meeting in Dec would not be out of the question.
BH5 (Virginia)
Posts: 84
Posts: 84
Posted:
The cost was around $3,200. But we ended up sending a lot of paper out because we still have to notify people by snail mail and we had new voting rules that needed explained. And we sent the candidates bios in paper, too. We also sent post card reminders after 8 days which cost a few hundred dollars. We had so few people voting by paper I think we can start moving away from paper entirely. Next year we may be able to go with "paper ballots upon request" and focus on email for communication with the majority of members. There are several ways to reduce paper and save money. Having a good list of member's email is important for reducing paper. Even those without email mostly went to the the URL and voted online instead of sending back a paper ballot.
GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276
Posts: 4,276
Posted:
Thanks for clarifying.
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