Simple technology solutions for one of your most dreaded tasks —board elections.

By Carolyn Schwaar

The presidential election of 2000 turned the spotlight on the nation’s voting systems. Electronic alternatives to physically going to the local polling place were employed in a national election for the first time. Internet voting made headlines in Arizona, where voter participation in the Democratic primary rose 600 percent. Such success made Florida’s hand-counting of paper ballots seem hopelessly outdated in today’s electronic society.

Though online voting may not yet be widespread in the national political arena, the private sector is already reaping the everyday benefits of Internet-based elections. Enticed by the promise of fast, low-cost elections with greater member participation and a lower risk of human error, REALTOR ® associations are beginning to explore the potential of online voting.

Annual leadership elections are a costly, complicated, and time-consuming hassle for many associations. With the Internet, mailing costs disappear and no staff time is wasted counting ballots. The convenience of being able to vote online at work or at home, day or night, could dramatically increase member participation.

Before you consider electronic voting

The first step for any REALTOR ® association considering online voting is to have its association attorney check state laws to make sure the election results will be valid. Most state nonprofit corporation statutes require boards of directors and executive committees to act through meetings in person or by teleconference only. While boards and executive committees may take polls by e-mail, for example, the outcomes of such polls could not be considered votes unless they were ratified at a subsequent board or executive committee meeting. However, these rules generally do not apply to association members. That is, members can vote online, even if in many cases the board cannot.

The next step is to check the association’s bylaws. Do they call for votes to be cast in person and at the association office? If so, this provision will need to be changed and adopted before any members can cast votes online.

Elaine Hangis, executive vice president of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS ®, Kentucky, explains that bylaws that already allow for voting by mail have, in some cases, been interpreted to include e-mail. “Where the word ‘mail’ is mentioned, the directors said that e-mail was no different than snail mail,” she says.

Picking a method

After looking into a variety of online voting options, Hangis found most online services and proprietary software to be too expensive and complicated. “ So we contracted with a local company to develop a ballot page online and tally results page. Our cost is just the one-time development fee,” she says.

Choosing the right online voting application depends on what the association wants it to do. The number of startup “election management” companies offering online services and proprietary software has soared in the last few years as corporations, associations, and even local governments look to implement online voting. As with any service or application, there are high-end, full-service models and stripped-down basic versions. Some are even free.

Larger associations may choose to outsource to election management companies, which, for a fee, will manage the entire election, from data management to tabulation. Election companies take care of list management, custom e-ballot creation and tabulation, and reporting, among other services. For groups facing potentially contentious elections, outsourcing also ensures that member votes are collected and counted fairly, without the risk or appearance of tampering or inappropriate intervention by staff.

Other online services offer a voting platform—essentially a Web site where members log in, enter a password, and cast a vote. Associations often pay a per election fee for such services.

Though the most sophisticated online election services and election management software offer a laundry list of special reports, polling and marketing features, and other bells and whistles, most associations need only a minimum level of technology to start online voting.

The Greater Ogden Area Association of REALTORS ® in Utah instituted an online voting procedure that was a simple program extension of their regional MLS, says Curt Singleton, executive vice president.

“It took the MLS techies about a month to create a pop-up screen asking members to ‘vote now’ when they logged on to the MLS,” says Singleton.

The process goes like this: Candidate photos, bios, and a brief statement are posted on the association’s Web site. The simple electronic ballot is placed on the regional Internet-based MLS, with direct links to the Web site candidate page. Voting is open for two weeks.

When members log on to the MLS with their ID and password, a pop up screen appears asking if they want to vote. Selecting “yes” takes members to the ballot page, with a link to the candidate information. Members then choose a candidate and submit their vote. A “thank you” note appears, and the system automatically transfers members into the MLS. Once a member has decided on a candidate, total voting time is less than 10 seconds, says Singleton, and the pop-up screen does not appear again for that member during the election period.

Answering “no” to the “vote now” question puts members directly into the MLS. However, until they vote, they have to answer the pop-up screen before they can access the system each time they log on during the election period.

The resulting database from the program includes the voting member’s license number, name, candidate selection, and the date and time that the ballot was cast. Singleton downloads the data himself into a spreadsheet file that calculates the voting data.

A drawback of this system is that not every member logs on to the MLS in the two-week period. Often, a personal assistant may be logging on instead of the member. But Singleton says his 48 percent participation rate—up from 17 percent in paper elections—is a more accurate reflection of the membership since it captures those full time real estate professionals who log on the MLS every day. Paper ballots are still available at the association office.

Other REALTOR ® associations report varying levels of success with their online voting.

“We’ve found it marginally effective in increasing voter turnout, since members must have Internet access to participate. And as you know, that’s a whole other story,” says Vernon Jones, chief executive officer of the Service One Association of REALTORS ®, New Jersey. The association has been conducting online voting for three years with an application on their Web site. “Online balloting runs for a week, and on the final day, those members who choose not to vote online can appear in person at the association office to vote,” Jones says. “We print a full membership roster and make a notation on it as online ballots are received. Then, when members appear in person to vote on the final day, we require them to sign in.” While this system still requires staff labor, mailing costs have been eliminated, he says.

E-vote is the future

Proponents say the Internet has tremendous potential to increase members’ interest and participation in association business as well as grassroots legislative initiatives.

Yet despite many associations’ technical sophistication, budget, and desire, online voting isn’t for every member. Most associations may always be required to offer alternate ways of allowing members to vote.

Here’s a sample selection of contract election services and election management software.

The companies listed below are application service providers that enable organizations to conduct elections online, either at customizable Web sites or through customized voting software.

eBallot.net

election.com

iBallot.com

Pollit.com

These popular free Web poll applications are an easy way to add customized interactive polls to association Web sites:

www.careerexchange.com/cexpolls.

www.123voting.com

www.mypoll.net

www.votations.com


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Reprinting: REALTOR® associations and others are welcome to reprint articles (unedited) from RAE at no charge with publisher permission. Contact: Carolyn Schwaar, 312-329-8874 or send an e-mail with the name of your association, publication, and the article you'd like to reprint to: cschwaar@realtors.org