7 Ways Electronic Roll Call Voting is Improving Legislative Meetings

For local leaders looking for efficiencies in their meetings, adopting electronic roll call voting is one of the best.

Here are seven ways electronic roll call voting is improving county board and city council meetings for the better:

2. Speed

When 7 to 30 board members are trying to vote, having an instant, real-time voting option with auto tally can save valuable time during your meeting. With the Member App, all members can confirm attendance for roll call simultaneously and the results are displayed instantly for everyone. There’s no need to call on each individual independently. Simply call the meeting to order, and seconds later roll call is complete.

3. Digital Motions and Seconds

Using the Discussion Manager, the Chair is able to present, manage, and advance procedural actions, including motions, seconds, amendments, and most importantly voting, with a simple click. The Discussion Manager guides the Chair through these procedures, ensuring nothing is missed and everything complies with board rules. This allows the Chair to focus their effort on guiding the tone and quality of the meeting and discussion, rather than getting lost in concerns of bothersome and tedious procedural compliance.

4. Discussion Management

Requests to speak are sent via the Discussion Manager, where they can be approved by the Chair and displayed automatically for all to see in the order the requests come in. There’s no need to interrupt discussion to acknowledge speaking requests or worry about who should speak next. This gives the Chair the ability to focus their thoughts and energy on managing the content and quality of the discussion, rather than playing referee for whose turn it is to speak.

5. Undue Influence

The Member App simplifies how members engage with procedural items with a simple click on their device as actions occur in the meeting, making it an even more powerful electronic roll call voting solution. When prompted, each member can instantly and simultaneously take necessary meeting actions without delay or undue influence, depending on the action required. It guarantees that the proper rules and procedures are followed without distracting from the discussion.

6. Remote/Virtual Meeting Capable

To top it all off, all of the OpenMeeting features can be used anywhere. The Member App runs on almost any device, wherever the board members are, allowing for in-person and remote meetings, or even a mix of both when needed. This provides total flexibility and accessibility for everyone involved.

Public Display is easy to integrate with your current video and display technology, keeping everyone in the room informed. If you are broadcasting or streaming your open meetings, the Public Display can appear full screen during voting sequences for even greater visibility and clarity around the proceedings for remote participants. The Public Display is flexible and easy to build into your current set up and powerful enough to support your future aspirations.

7. Perfect Meeting Notes

Finally and most importantly for many clerks, the Meeting Manager automatically and accurately records and time stamps all details of your meetings. From roll call to adjournment, Meeting Manager logs all meeting activity, including motions, seconds, amendments, requests to speak, and votes. Taking notes by hand are no longer necessary, providing more time to handle all the other aspects of running a successful meeting.

Meeting Manager automatically completes this tedious task and allows clerks to focus on keeping the meeting running smoothly. Plus, the meeting notes are stored in a text file that are easily accessible anytime.

The Digital Voting Solution You’ve Been Looking For

OpenMeeting Technologies is the digital board meeting solution you’ve been looking for. With one powerful platform, you’ll be able to instantly improve your meetings with better discussion management, removing undue influence, and more! Your board members, citizens, clerk, chair, and everyone else involved will thank you!