#58211
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    Currently the law allows any strata scheme in NSW to hold meetings online and voting can be conducted either directly, by pre-meeting votes or directly by proxy.  However, pre-meeting electronic votes are not permitted in the case of elections.

    The reason the law calls for  the blank sheet of paper is so that owners corps can’t issue default lists of their preferred candidates (although many still do) to the exclusion of those they don’t want.

    There are off-the-peg programs available (like StrataVote) that may accommodate this, but I would think a simple solution would be for the secretary to issue blank emails with just the words “Strata Scheme No. XXXX Committee Election” in the subject line and – during the Zoom meeting and not before – invite owners to fill in the names themselves and hit return.  Each email would have a time stamp and identify the owner by default which would get around multiple votes.  And the owners could return ballots as proxies on the same basis.

    There may be  a more elegant or simpler solution out there – if so, let’s hear it.  One suggestion is to delay the election until after the lockdowns are over, as the existing committee can stay in office until a new one is elected.  But I can think of a couple of strata schemes where that would not go down well at all.

    The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.