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ore than 70 million Americans live in a community governed by a Homeowners Association (HOA) or a condominium board, and their votes on the local
level are just as important. Who sits on your local HOA board, arguably has a more direct impact on your everyday life as the last elected senator or congressional representative. We want to put the best qualified candidates forward, and more importantly, we want to create an atmosphere where the best qualified candidates are willing to come forward and serve their communities.
Given our propensity to work from almost anywhere today, isn’t it reasonable that if we can call, text, email, and surf the web on a smartphone, shouldn’t we also be able to use that same phone to vote? Why do I have to be home on a specific day in order for my voice to be heard? Why do I have to go to a specific place in order for my voice to be heard? Why do I have to follow rules, some of which were established back in the 1800s, in order for my voice to be heard?
The good news is, now you don’t; and the trend is sweeping across our great country. Illinois is actually leading part of this revolution. Just so everyone is up to speed, below is the specific legislative act that changes the way you may cast your community association ballots in the future.
— HB 5322 —
ELECTRONIC VOTING, NOTICE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY, SIGNED INTO LAW.
CAI Illinois is pleased to announce that HB 5322, the Electronic Voting Bill introduced by CAI, was signed into law on August 25, 2014 as Public Act 98-1042. This act amends both the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the Common Interest Community
Association Act. The new act permits boards to adopt rules and regulations concerning the use of acceptable, verifiable means of technology, including electronic means for unit owner notice, voting, signatures,
consents and approvals. The change in law establishes that electronic votes are valid and may be used for the purpose of establishing meeting quorums. The act also provides that a verifiable electronic signature satisfies any requirements for signatures on documents.
This is game changing legislation, to say the least. The future has arrived. Better yet, if you choose not to vote electronically you will always have the choice to use a paper ballot. You’re not being forced to vote online, but rather you’re being offered the opportunity to vote online, if you so choose. Your vote is equally as important whether you vote online or in person. This law only adds to the voting process and it certainly doesn’t take anything away from the voter.
“Why is this law so important?” you might be asking yourself. It’s important because our lifestyles are changing and we’re adjusting to the future. Anyone born in the late 1980s, or later, doesn’t know a world without a computer, a cell phone, or the internet. Long gone are the telephone party lines and dial-up modems. Today, we live in a world of wirelessly charged cell phones, smart homes, and refrigerators that keep inventory. Therefore, it only seems reasonable that we would adopt online voting.
You have heard the arguments that online voting is not safe, it’s ripe for corruption, and a whole host of other complaints. So let’s take a look at some facts. For starters, our own Windy City has a history of unsafe and scandalous elections. While the exact origin of the phrase “Vote Early and Vote Often” is unclear, numerous accounts say it came from Al Capone in 1915, and was possibly repeated by Mayor Richard Daley in the 1950s. Then, the great state of Florida had the hanging chad problem in the second Bush election. Who had ever heard of a hanging chad before that election? In the city of Philadelphia, there’s a history of using “Walking Around Money” (WAM) on Election Day to help influence people before they go into the polls. What if you didn’t have to go to the polls? What if your votes were tracked by confirming your internet address? Suppose we didn’t have any more hanging chads?
With online voting, you won’t need to worry about any of those things when you have your next annual community election. How about achieving quorum three times easier? No secret ballots because, given permission, the board can watch online in real time and track results. You will be able to vote from anywhere, on any supported device. As with paper ballot voting, you will have to register so that information can be properly collected, and verified.
If management companies want to provide this technology to your communities, what are some of the things you should look for? You’ll want to choose a business partner that automatically provides both paper ballots and the means to enable electronic voting along with a proper registration process for association members. Come Election Day, you will also want to be able to monitor the electronic votes so you can keep tabs on the poll numbers. The selected vendor should have an online platform for ballot creation and mailing. It’s advisable that boards allow their management companies, accountants or attorneys, who possess the expertise to run these elections, the full ability to do so. These professionals know how to objectively tabulate and certify an election.
You know, looking back even just five years, who would have imagined that we’d be talking about online voting today? Your boards and residents have waited a long time for this technology and it looks like 2016 is the year that will be remembered as the birth-year of community association online voting. To coin that 1960s phrase,
“You’ve come a long way baby!” | 9
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