Ballots

Ballots run formal electronic votes with OMC members — AGM resolutions, special-levy approvals, or any decision that needs a recorded member vote. A ballot is published to a channel, which (together with the optional area, core, type and category filters) decides who is eligible to vote — the same visibility model as posts.

This page covers how a manager builds and runs a ballot. For how members vote and how the rules work (one-unit-one-vote, joint ownership, advisory status), see the owner and resident view of ballots.

Meeting times vs voting windows

A ballot has a Meeting Start and Meeting End. These are informational — they are included in the notification email so members know when the meeting is, but they do not control voting. Each question then has its own voting open/close window, and that is what decides when a vote can be cast. New questions inherit the meeting times by default.

Many OMCs open voting on every question as soon as the ballot is created, so members can vote any time before the meeting (a digital alternative to proxy forms). Others prefer members to hear the discussion first and open each question during the meeting. Note that once a question’s voting is open it can no longer be edited — only its times can be changed.

List View

table_rows Show Columns

Column	Type	Description
Title	text	The title or question being voted on.
Details	richText	Full text and details of the ballot, including the motion and any supporting information members need to vote.
Meeting Start	dateTime	Date and time when voting opens.
Meeting End	dateTime	Date and time when voting closes.
Channel where this vote will happen	picklist	The channel where this ballot will appear. Members must have access to this channel to vote.
Area	text	Restrict this ballot to members in a specific area of the development.
Core	text	Restrict this ballot to members in a specific core or stairwell.
Type	text	Restrict this ballot to members with a specific unit type (e.g. Apartment only).
Category	text	Restrict this ballot to members with a specific unit category (e.g. 2 Bed only).

Detail View

table_rows Show Fields

Field	Type	Description
Title	text	The title or question being voted on.
Details	richText	Full text and details of the ballot, including the motion and any supporting information members need to vote.
Meeting Start	dateTime	Date and time when voting opens.
Meeting End	dateTime	Date and time when voting closes.
Channel where this vote will happen	picklist	The channel where this ballot will appear. Members must have access to this channel to vote.
Area	text	Restrict this ballot to members in a specific area of the development.
Core	text	Restrict this ballot to members in a specific core or stairwell.
Type	text	Restrict this ballot to members with a specific unit type (e.g. Apartment only).
Category	text	Restrict this ballot to members with a specific unit category (e.g. 2 Bed only).

Question controls

When you open a question with edit rights, a row of controls appears. Some only show in the right state — for example Open voting only before voting starts, and Close voting only while it is open.

Control	Action	Notes
poll	Show votes cast	Who voted, what they chose, and how many times they changed it.
start	Open voting	Starts voting now. Only shown before voting has opened.
cancel_presentation	Close voting	Ends voting now. Only shown while voting is open.
edit	Edit question	Change the question, options and details. Disabled once voting opens.
timer	Change times	Adjust the voting open/close window.
history	Show history	The change log for the question.
delete	Delete question	Removes the question, its options, attachments and votes.
drag_indicator	Reorder	Drag a closed question by its handle to change the order.

Attachments

Files can be attached to the ballot and to individual questions. Ballot attachments are always visible on the ballot page; a question’s attachments only appear when that question is expanded.

Comments

Ballots can carry comments where the channel allows it — useful in the Directors Channel for agreeing arrangements. See the comments guide for how comments, following and moderation work.

Examples

Creating a ballot

Create a ballot in a channel, set the meeting times, and write the introduction. Questions are added in the same flow — each with voting options, an optional proposer and seconder, and a voting window. New questions inherit the meeting times by default; adjust them if you need a different window per question.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Click on the new button to show options
3. 3Select [New Ballot] from the new options menu
4. 4Enter a title for the ballot
5. 5Choose a channel to define who is eligible to vote
6. 6Set the meeting start — included in the notification email
7. 7Set the meeting end
8. 8Write the introduction shown to members
9. 9Save the ballot
10. 10Click the + button to add the first question
11. 11Enter the question text
12. 12Set when voting on this question opens
13. 13Set when voting on this question closes
14. 14Add notes visible to voters
15. 15Rename the Yes option to describe the repair
16. 16Add a description for the repair option
17. 17Rename the No option to describe the replacement
18. 18Add a description for the replacement option
19. 19Remove the Abstain option — voters must choose one
20. 20Save the first question
21. 21Click the + button to add a second question
22. 22Enter the second question text
23. 23Set when voting on this question opens
24. 24Set when voting on this question closes
25. 25Add notes about the gate replacement option
26. 26Remove the Abstain option — keep simple Yes / No for this question
27. 27Save the second question

Editing a question

Edit a question’s text, options or notes at any time before voting opens. Once the first vote is cast, use Change times instead.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to edit a question
3. 3Expand the first question to reveal its controls
4. 4Open the question editor — only available before voting has been opened
5. 5Refine the question notes before voting opens
6. 6Save the updated question

Changing voting times

Adjust a question’s voting window without editing the question itself — useful when voting is already open.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to adjust voting times
3. 3Expand the first question to reveal its controls
4. 4Adjust the voting window without editing the question itself
5. 5Bring the voting start forward by a day
6. 6Save the new voting window

Opening and closing voting

Open voting on a question so contacts can vote, and close it again when the vote is complete.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to start voting
3. 3Expand the first question to reveal its controls
4. 4Open voting so contacts can cast their votes any time before the meeting
5. 5Confirm — voting is now open on this question

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to close voting
3. 3Expand the first question to reveal its controls
4. 4Close voting when the discussion is complete — the result is then final
5. 5Confirm — voting is now closed on this question

Seeing who voted

Use the Votes Cast control to see exactly who voted and what they chose.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to check votes
3. 3Expand the first question to reveal its controls
4. 4Open the votes cast list to see exactly who voted and what they chose

Deleting a question

Remove a question from the ballot. This also removes all its options, attachments and any votes already cast on it.

format_list_numberedSteps(5)

1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to delete a question
3. 3Expand the second question to reveal its controls
4. 4Delete the second question — removes the question, its options, attachments and votes
5. 5Confirm deletion of the question

Reordering questions

Drag a question by its handle to change the order questions are presented to voters. The drag handle only appears when the question is collapsed — if you have a question expanded, close it first, then grab the handle icon in the header and drag the question to its new position.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to reorder its questions
3. 3Hover over the drag handle icon in the question header — the handle only appears when the question is collapsed
4. 4Drag the question down to reorder it — drop it onto the question below to swap their positions
5. 5The new question order is saved — a confirmation appears at the top of the screen

Attaching files

Attach a file to the ballot — useful for sharing quotes or supporting documents with voters.

format_list_numberedSteps(3)

1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to attach a supporting document
3. 3Attach the repair quotation to the ballot so members can review costs before voting

Notifying contacts

Send the invitation email with a copy of the ballot to every contact eligible to vote.

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1. 1Click [Voting & Meetings] on the main menu
2. 2Open the ballot to send notifications
3. 3Send the notification email with the ballot to all contacts eligible to vote
4. 4Confirm — emails are queued for delivery