With last year's legislation in Florida making it legal for members of both Florida home owners associations and Florida condo owners associations to cast votes digitally, more people are finding this to be their preferred method of voting, for both sides.
The world is increasingly moving toward digital transactions in every aspect of life and this legislation has made it possible for Florida home and condo owners and their associations to move further into the digital age using electronic voting. Consider all the frustration that comes with getting voting done the traditional way:
As you wait for the ballots to trickle in, if they even do return, time passes that can be better spent initiating action. After the decisions are put into action, the complaints start coming in from many who don't like the final decisions, but may not even have voted.
There are several advantages to this new way of voting, however, that can all but eliminate the majority of the hassle.
Being able to vote at any hour of any day is convenient during this time of full schedules. People can vote anytime they have a quick moment. People are online the majority of the day, so it becomes easy to open up the ballot and cast a quick vote. Convenience creates willingness.
All the benefits available in digital voting translates into a higher response, which is truer reflection of what is wanted by those who are affected by the outcome. Digital is familiar, it is quick, easy and affords a measure of security that people want.
With no lines and no need to fill out a ballot, find a stamp and mail it, voting takes less than two or three minutes. This time is fairly easy for anyone to find. Time is a commodity in short supply and people want to make the best use of that time. Waiting is way at the bottom of that list.
Digital ballots do not require signing your name or even being seen, which gives voters the privacy to speak freely about their thoughts. Often people feel that being honest will carry penalties so they say what they believe others want to hear. Anonymity provides a safe environment to be totally honest.
One program is all that is needed in the way of cash outlay. No longer is there a need for printing of ballots, a cost of mail or paying to have someone do all the paperwork involved in manually preparing ballots. Consider that the program more than pays for itself after one year at the very longest.
It is easy for digital programs to record internet addresses, which allows for easy authentication and no chance of double voting. It is necessary in any voting system to provide the highest degree of authentication possible.
Manual counting can result in errors and takes time away from more important tasks. Digital voting allows for automatic counting of ballots, eliminating these problems. Nobody likes the busywork that comes with having to tally up votes. By making it automatic, someone will be more available to do more constructive tasks.
Ballots get lost or damaged. With everything being taken care of digitally, it is all kept in a safe place and there is no chance of the ballots being lost or destroyed. Security is always a concern among voters and this is one of the greatest benefits of the system.
Instead of waiting for all the votes to come in, the votes are counted as they come in, which saves time and allows action to be taken much quicker than it would be possible with traditional voting methods.
Our natural resources are dwindling quickly. Digital voting is completely green as it eliminates the need to cut down trees for paper. With so many homeowner associations of Florida taking measures to create greener environments, adding a green method of voting fits in perfectly and helps leave a still smaller carbon footprint.
People want to voice their opinions and have their voices recognized, but today's society makes it difficult to conduct many types of business in the traditional way. Time-constrained people will push aside what appears to be a less-important task in favor of one of the multitude of necessary tasks that pepper their days. In order to make it possible for more people to voice their opinions, going digital is itself a necessity. It isn't just the voters who benefit, however. Associations spend less time having to deal with complaints from people who didn't vote yet don't like the decisions. They save money, time and a great deal of paperwork. In essence, going digital offers everyone a greater sense of peace and that is something we all need in today's world.