How to manage remote voting in an electronic meeting

The principle: a recognizable and countable vote

For the resolution to be valid, the vote cast remotely must be attributable with certainty to an identified owner and must be able to be added to the others to calculate the majority. An anonymous or untraceable vote does not allow verification that the quorums have been reached.

The chair leads the vote and checks the outcome; the secretary records who voted for, who against and who abstained, together with the corresponding thousandths (millesimi). This traceability is what makes the electronic vote equivalent to the in-person one.

Remote voting methods

The simplest and most transparent method is the roll call: the chair calls each connected owner, who declares their vote aloud. It is slow with many participants, but it leaves no doubt about how preferences are attributed.

Alternatively you can use a voting tool built into the platform, which records preferences and returns the count. In this case it is essential that each vote stays linked to the owner, so the thousandths can be verified. The method chosen must be indicated in the minutes.

• Roll call with a verbal declaration
• Integrated voting tool with automatic counting
• In both cases the vote stays attributable to the owner
• The method adopted must always be recorded in the minutes

Calculating quorums with remote participants

Quorums are calculated as in person. At the opening you check the constitutive quorum by adding up the thousandths (millesimi) of those connected and checking the number of heads as required by Article 1136 of the Civil Code for the first or second call.

For each resolution you then apply the deliberative quorum set for that type of decision. The composition of the meeting can change during the session if someone connects late or disconnects: that is why it is important to record the changes in the minutes with the time, so the count always refers to those actually present at the moment of the vote.

Proxies and voting on behalf of others

Even remotely, an owner can vote as a representative of another if they hold a written proxy, within the limits of Article 67 of the implementing provisions. The chair verifies the validity of the proxies before the votes and records this in the minutes.

It is good practice to have the proxies reach the manager before the meeting, so as to check the limits of representation and the total thousandths each proxy holder can express. When voting, the proxy holder declares both their own vote and the one on behalf of the principal.

Recording the outcome of the votes

For each item on the agenda the minutes must indicate the outcome of the vote: votes in favor, against and abstentions, with the relevant thousandths, and the conclusion on whether or not the deliberative quorum was reached.

The minutes, drafted by the secretary and signed by the chair, must be transmitted to the manager and to all owners with the same formalities as the notice. Accurate minute-taking of the votes is the best defense against any challenge to the resolutions.

Recording votes with AmministraPro

Attributing each vote to the correct owner, adding up the thousandths and checking the quorums are operations that software can speed up and make more reliable. AmministraPro helps gather and count the meeting's votes, keeping track of attendance, proxies and outcomes.

The features dedicated to meetings and voting are described on the /funzioni page, while the available plans are listed on the /prezzi page.

Frequently asked questions