Many organizations have found the use of a board portal that allows remote voting to increase the participation of members who are not able to attend meetings in person. It is easier to manage and more reliable, and offers a simple way for members to cast their votes from any location. There are some important things to consider when it comes to casting votes remotely.
The most obvious point to remember is that email isn’t a secure medium for an uninvolved vote. Cybercriminals are able to hack into business and personal email accounts and alter the results. This could result in a result that is null and void. This type of manipulation would be extremely difficult to detect and prove without a highly-secure system like the board portal utilized by a number of organizations.
A vote that is sent via email may not reflect the true intention of the person casting the vote. As a member responds to a vote, they can pick from a variety of responses, ranging from simply a yes or a no to a lengthy paragraph outlining their opinion on the issue. This can cause confusion for other voters or result in a muddled vote outcome.
For these reasons, it’s vital for any organization which is contemplating email voting to have a strict procedure in place. Before any remote voting can take place it is vital that all members are trained on how to use the software that the organization is using.