@HERVE said:
Is there a set procedure for poll voting at General Meetings? Is it compulsory to distribute ballot papers returned to the Chair for entitlement counting and declaration? Or is it allowed to use Show of Hands but calculate on entitlements?
There is no set procedure – every owners corp has its own way of dealing with this (or not). A sensible strata manager or secretary will register owners as they arrive at the meeting, check that they are entitled to vote (that they are not in arrears with their levies) and make a note of their unit entitlements. Some OCs provide coloured pieces of paper which act like auction paddles and avoid the confusion of, say, two people from one lot voting in a show of hands when they are only entitled to one vote.
In the case of a poll vote, a simple spreadsheet can be set up to establish who is there, who is entitled to vote and what their UEs are. It can be a laborious process in a large scheme but you really only need to count each vote if there is any doubt about the outcome (ie, there is not an overwhelming vote one way or another). However, if an owner demanded that the poll be taken properly, it would be very foolhardy not to do so properly, registering each vote, to avoid the vote being challenged later on.
All special resolution votes have to be conducted by poll vote and all matters requiring a poll vote have to be noted as such in advance on the agenda of the meeting.