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TonyN2 (Illinois)
Posts: 62
Posted:
What’s your favorite way to get electronic votes from board members or owners?
SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964
Posted:
This is still evolving, so it's not so much about what's the favorite as it is finding a program that's easy to use, has safeguards that ensure only one vote is fast let household (if your documents call for that) and the records can be audited in some way to ensure someone doesn't try to manipulate the program.

Now if you're talking about something you can use to take homeowner polls, there are several programs out there and some are free. Google "online survey orograms" or something like that and see what comes up. For a fee, you may be able to set up online voting for board elections. Just make sure you have an alternative method to vote, as some may not be able or want to vote this way.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061
Posted:
Same as proxies:

Reminders, entrance signs, door to door in person talks, etc.
MarkR21 (North Carolina)
Posts: 710
Posted:
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous
TonyN2 (Illinois)
Posts: 62
Posted:
Thank you, this is an actual helpful answer. Why do other people like to talk in circles so much? Lol. My state allows electronic voting for everything and so I just want some service recommendations people like.
SteveH35 (Washington)
Posts: 339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous

Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.

We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.
SteveH35 (Washington)
Posts: 339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:27 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.

Michael, I'm not surprised that you, in particular, would DIY voting. It's a terrible practice for a Board member to be charged as a voting officiant, especially in a community your size.
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:31 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:27 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.

Michael, I'm not surprised that you, in particular, would DIY voting. It's a terrible practice for a Board member to be charged as a voting officiant, especially in a community your size.

Not sure why. We had 2 people running for 2 open positions and my own position was not one of them. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion who would win seats in the election. Next year my own position will be one of the positions being voted on. I am not sure how we will run the election then. Ideally someone else would be the officiant but that requires a volunteer, or we hire it out to someone else, but then we have to spend money. Who knows.

If next year's election is also non-competitive (we will have 3 board positions up for election and I would be surprised if we get more than 3 candidates) it doesn't seem purposeful to spend money on a third party administrator to run the election.
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:54 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:31 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:27 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.

Michael, I'm not surprised that you, in particular, would DIY voting. It's a terrible practice for a Board member to be charged as a voting officiant, especially in a community your size.


Not sure why. We had 2 people running for 2 open positions and my own position was not one of them. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion who would win seats in the election. Next year my own position will be one of the positions being voted on. I am not sure how we will run the election then. Ideally someone else would be the officiant but that requires a volunteer, or we hire it out to someone else, but then we have to spend money. Who knows.

If next year's election is also non-competitive (we will have 3 board positions up for election and I would be surprised if we get more than 3 candidates) it doesn't seem purposeful to spend money on a third party administrator to run the election.

You really can't see the potential for abuse here?
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnT38 on 06/14/2022 8:59 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:54 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:31 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:27 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.

Michael, I'm not surprised that you, in particular, would DIY voting. It's a terrible practice for a Board member to be charged as a voting officiant, especially in a community your size.


Not sure why. We had 2 people running for 2 open positions and my own position was not one of them. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion who would win seats in the election. Next year my own position will be one of the positions being voted on. I am not sure how we will run the election then. Ideally someone else would be the officiant but that requires a volunteer, or we hire it out to someone else, but then we have to spend money. Who knows.

If next year's election is also non-competitive (we will have 3 board positions up for election and I would be surprised if we get more than 3 candidates) it doesn't seem purposeful to spend money on a third party administrator to run the election.


You really can't see the potential for abuse here?

No, for two reasons:

1. It's mighty hard to create election fraud in an uncontested election. Two candidates, two positions. Doesn't really matter how many votes they get, the two candidates win by default.

2. We have records of the vote, and anyone claiming election fraud can ask for a copy and go verify the votes with the individual homeowner.

A contested election might be a different story.
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 9:10 AM
Posted By JohnT38 on 06/14/2022 8:59 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:54 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:31 AM
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 8:27 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


We do DIY electronic voting at our annual meeting. I use my Office 365 account to generate a survey (free) and then homeowners vote by filling in the survey. Easy peasy.

Michael, I'm not surprised that you, in particular, would DIY voting. It's a terrible practice for a Board member to be charged as a voting officiant, especially in a community your size.


Not sure why. We had 2 people running for 2 open positions and my own position was not one of them. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion who would win seats in the election. Next year my own position will be one of the positions being voted on. I am not sure how we will run the election then. Ideally someone else would be the officiant but that requires a volunteer, or we hire it out to someone else, but then we have to spend money. Who knows.

If next year's election is also non-competitive (we will have 3 board positions up for election and I would be surprised if we get more than 3 candidates) it doesn't seem purposeful to spend money on a third party administrator to run the election.


You really can't see the potential for abuse here?


No, for two reasons:

1. It's mighty hard to create election fraud in an uncontested election. Two candidates, two positions. Doesn't really matter how many votes they get, the two candidates win by default.

2. We have records of the vote, and anyone claiming election fraud can ask for a copy and go verify the votes with the individual homeowner.

A contested election might be a different story.

So in other words as the all powerful CEO you can just wing it as you see fit instead from one election to the next?
MarkR21 (North Carolina)
Posts: 710
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.

I use election buddy too
Looked at Hoavote which is the next cheapest at around $600 and getquorum.com which was 1200 and really didn’t see anything to justify the higher cost but maybe I’m missing something ??
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnT38 on 06/14/2022 9:19 AM

So in other words as the all powerful CEO you can just wing it as you see fit instead from one election to the next?

A decision like how to handle elections is a Board decision, not a day-to-day operation decision. So, the whole Board reviews the proposal on how we do elections and whether we should do them the same way in future elections.

Actually, we let the community weigh in as well via social media comments and surveys. Our feedback from our homeowners last year was positive, so likely the Board will choose the same system again next year. The Board knows that whomever objects will get put in charge of figuring out a better system. Since none seem to want to take on volunteer tasks, likely no one will object.

I'm definitely not all powerful. The CEO tasks that I do are menial and administrative in nature. The President role I do is big and important, but really means I put a ton of work in so others don't have to.

Despite the ribbing that I get here, I think you would find me humble, kind, and thoughtful in real life.
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 9:42 AM
Posted By JohnT38 on 06/14/2022 9:19 AM

So in other words as the all powerful CEO you can just wing it as you see fit instead from one election to the next?


A decision like how to handle elections is a Board decision, not a day-to-day operation decision. So, the whole Board reviews the proposal on how we do elections and whether we should do them the same way in future elections.

Actually, we let the community weigh in as well via social media comments and surveys. Our feedback from our homeowners last year was positive, so likely the Board will choose the same system again next year. The Board knows that whomever objects will get put in charge of figuring out a better system. Since none seem to want to take on volunteer tasks, likely no one will object.

I'm definitely not all powerful. The CEO tasks that I do are menial and administrative in nature. The President role I do is big and important, but really means I put a ton of work in so others don't have to.

Despite the ribbing that I get here, I think you would find me humble, kind, and thoughtful in real life.

In your honor:

It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.

Muhammad Ali

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
Say, Michael, in CA, now, directors can be elected by acclamation when there are the same # or fewer candidates as there are openings. Can you do that in WA?
SteveH35 (Washington)
Posts: 339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 9:37 AM
Posted By SteveH35 on 06/14/2022 8:22 AM
Posted By MarkR21 on 06/14/2022 3:34 AM
Electionbuddy.com is $20. The rest are hundreds per vote. I have no idea why companies think people should pay hundreds of dollars to conduct it out it’s ridiculous


Sharing vendor names is supposedly inappropriate on this forum, but apparently the moderators don't really care about enforcing the supposed "rules"...

DIY electronic balloting is not an appropriate solution for a majority of organizations. Spending $750 for our annual meeting at an organization with a $1.5MM annual budget and 186 units is peanuts and we do it gladly. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Stop the race to zero mentality.


I use election buddy too
Looked at Hoavote which is the next cheapest at around $600 and getquorum.com which was 1200 and really didn’t see anything to justify the higher cost but maybe I’m missing something ??

Mark,

A Board should not be in charge of an election, especially since Board members might be running for office. If you live in a 5 person CIC, that's one thing. If you live in a 25 member to 25,000 member CIC, think again. DIY voting systems are fraught with the potential for additional human error and interference. Allowing an independent third party (NOT your management company) administer the vote is the best way to ensure there's no funny business. Some CICs' governing documents actually require an independent election manager and there's a formalized process to identify candidates, disseminate information, etc.

Since mentioning company names in this thread has already occurred twice, I'll pile on: VoteHOANow is probably your best choice in terms of value for execution.

Regards,
Steve
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
In Washington, votes are not secret. Who votes for whom is open to inspection by any homeowner.

In states like this, I really don't see how one can argue election fraud happened. You can go ask any homeowner if they voted per the record. That can confirm the accuracy of the vote.

In any event, I think even a simple excel spreadsheet talling votes is a more accurate method that counting raised hands at a meeting, even though Washington law clearly allows for a show of hands as a way to vote.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
As our Bylaws allow nominations from the floor, thus we have no ides who is running up until actual voting time. How would an electronic voting system handle this?

An aside, we have gone back to face to face meetings.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnC46 on 06/14/2022 1:13 PM
As our Bylaws allow nominations from the floor, thus we have no ides who is running up until actual voting time. How would an electronic voting system handle this?

An aside, we have gone back to face to face meetings.


For our electronic vote, I put a write in option. This is a reasonable equivalent to floor nominations. We heavily solicited names ahead of time. Our by-laws also allow nominations from the floor, so I asked for any floor nominations during the meeting. No one raised there hand. No one wrote anyone in on the ballots.

Again, we have a fairly apathetic homeowner group. If we had a lively and argumentative group like some, we would need a more robust system.

The main advantage for electronic votes is because they count toward quorum. People would rather spend 30 seconds voting electronically than filling out a proxy or attending a meeting, so we met quorum in advance of the meeting for the first time ever.
SteveH35 (Washington)
Posts: 339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnC46 on 06/14/2022 1:13 PM
As our Bylaws allow nominations from the floor, thus we have no ides who is running up until actual voting time. How would an electronic voting system handle this?

An aside, we have gone back to face to face meetings.


Any reasonable electronic balloting system allows for additional names to be written in. Electronic balloting can be disseminated in advance of a meeting and is typically completed up to the meeting time, or even during the meeting, all depending on when you're interested in seeing results (and/or paying extra for immediate turnaround). Paper ballots are entered into the electronic system by an administrator.

DIY systems like MS Forms have no way to automatically authenticate votes and ensure the party who says they voted actually did so. Forms has no way to send private, password-protected invitations to survey respondents. Anyone with the link can respond to your survey. Anyone homeowner with the link can forward it to someone else.
BillD16 (Texas)
Posts: 973
Posted:
Michael, *I* completely trust in your honest administration of the system. But all it takes is for one person to lose and go nonlinear and begin shouting “it was rigged!” and it all goes to hell.

I’m not trying to give you grief. It’s just that it gives me the galloping heebie-jeebies when I think of anyone exposing themselves to that degree of risk.

BillD

HOA Board ex-President
Austin, Texas USA

“You can’t put too much water in a nuclear reactor”
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By BillD16 on 06/14/2022 7:18 PM
Michael, *I* completely trust in your honest administration of the system. But all it takes is for one person to lose and go nonlinear and begin shouting “it was rigged!” and it all goes to hell.

I’m not trying to give you grief. It’s just that it gives me the galloping heebie-jeebies when I think of anyone exposing themselves to that degree of risk.

BillD

Like I have said ad naseum, the fact that we have the same number of candidates and open positions really takes the risk out of it. It's hard to argue an election was rigged when there are two candidates and two open positions, and both candidates are seated.

If we had contested elections, and potentially hotly contested elections, we would likely choose something that was run by a third party.

But, since our elections have not been contested in many years, our homeowners prefer that we go DIY with a low cost system rather than paying for a higher cost system.

[In response to the comment about how we ensure only people who are supposed to vote, we provide each homeowner with a unique number only known to them and the Board/property manager. This ensures 1 vote per property and validates that no homeowners voted on behalf of their neighbors, etc.
SteveH35 (Washington)
Posts: 339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelT21 on 06/14/2022 9:07 PM
Posted By BillD16 on 06/14/2022 7:18 PM
Michael, *I* completely trust in your honest administration of the system. But all it takes is for one person to lose and go nonlinear and begin shouting “it was rigged!” and it all goes to hell.

I’m not trying to give you grief. It’s just that it gives me the galloping heebie-jeebies when I think of anyone exposing themselves to that degree of risk.

BillD


Like I have said ad naseum, the fact that we have the same number of candidates and open positions really takes the risk out of it. It's hard to argue an election was rigged when there are two candidates and two open positions, and both candidates are seated.

If we had contested elections, and potentially hotly contested elections, we would likely choose something that was run by a third party.

But, since our elections have not been contested in many years, our homeowners prefer that we go DIY with a low cost system rather than paying for a higher cost system.

[In response to the comment about how we ensure only people who are supposed to vote, we provide each homeowner with a unique number only known to them and the Board/property manager. This ensures 1 vote per property and validates that no homeowners voted on behalf of their neighbors, etc.

"Our elections aren't contested..."

Cookie Monster in the Cookie Jar
TonyN2 (Illinois)
Posts: 62
Posted:
I’m fluent with tech and DIY is a piece of cake for me. But there is no denying that the illinois condo act says electronic voting needs to be done and recorded in a specific way. Also, no denying that controlling the voting system, ALWAYS will allow for the chance of rigging the vote or something else. I thoroughly tested electionbuddy and I’m totally pleased. No real reason to DIY here.
MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 501
Posted:
It's $300 if you need to do printed and/or mailed ballots. Unless you have e-mail address for 100% of your community and 100% of those are comfortable with electronic voting, you have to use printed and mailed ballots.

I like our DIY system for free personally...but that's just me.

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