Citizens in Massachusetts have used public Town Meetings to govern their affairs for more than 350 years. While the practice keeps residents closely involved in the decision making process, meetings can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating, especially when there are dozens of articles presented as part of the Warrant.
Option Technologies now offers advanced electronic voting solutions for both open and representative Town Meeting formats. Participant votes are tabulated in real time and the recorded results are immediately available for reporting by the Moderator and Town Clerk.
Brookline is the the latest Massachusetts town to adopt the technology. Earlier this month, representatives attending their fall meeting used OTI’s Council Voting Module to vote on articles, amendments and procedural motions. The system equips 254 precinct representatives to vote yes or no using OptionFinder G2 keypad hardware. The G2 platform was selected based on hardware radio range and performance, durability and large elastomeric buttons that are easy to see and use.
The OptionPower Council Voting Module uses a roster to track and display the name and precinct of each voting representative. It shows individual voting results on screen along with an easy to read color coded indicator for "yes", "no" and "abstain". The format of the display is customized to meet the display needs of each Town and the number of representatives voting.
When voting on a motion is closed, the system immediately tabulates and displays the totals for yes or no (and abstain if desired) for each issue as well as whether the vote passed or failed based on the required threshold established for the motion. For example, the pass/fail indicator can be set to indicate "PASS" for motions that require fifty percent of the participants to vote "yes". For most Towns, votes concerning financial authorization require approval by two thirds of the voters for passage. The system flexibly allows the system operator to set the appropriate threshold required for each motion.
The Council Voting Module now includes a new detailed report specifically designed for voting by Town Meeting representatives. It includes a list that shows the names and precincts of the representatives, the title of each article or motion and the vote cast by each individual. The report also includes overall tabulations and pass/fail results.
The OptionPower Council Voting Module is a great tool for the Town Clerk to use in maintaining and posting the public record of voting results from a representative Town Meeting after each meeting session.
