SMS Terms & Consent Policy

1. Overview

VoteAlly, operated by NekoTech Ventures Inc., is a secure online voting platform used by homeowner associations (HOAs), condominium associations, cooperatives, nonprofits, unions, and membership organizations to conduct elections, AGM votes, and board decisions.

SMS messaging on VoteAlly is used exclusively to deliver ballot invitations and voting reminders to organization members who are eligible to vote in a specific voting session. Messages are transactional and directly related to the recipient's membership and voting rights within their organization.

VoteAlly does not send marketing messages, promotional content, or advertising via SMS.

2. Consent Model

VoteAlly operates as a platform provider on behalf of membership organizations. SMS recipients are existing members of these organizations with an established membership or business relationship.

How consent is established

Consent to receive SMS voting notifications is established through the following chain:

1. Existing membership relationship: Recipients are registered members, unit owners, or eligible voters of the sending organization. Their phone numbers are collected as part of the membership enrollment, property registration, or voter eligibility process managed by the organization.
2. Organization attestation: Before any SMS can be sent, the organization administrator must explicitly confirm: “I confirm that all recipients have consented to receive SMS messages from [Organization Name], and that this message complies with applicable messaging laws (TCPA, CASL).”
3. Purpose limitation: SMS messages are sent only for the specific, time-limited purpose of facilitating a vote that the recipient is entitled to participate in.

Why this model works

Organizations such as HOAs, condo associations, and nonprofits have a legal and fiduciary obligation to notify members of votes and elections. SMS notifications serve as a direct extension of this obligation. Members have provided their contact information to the organization as part of their membership, and voting notifications are a legitimate, expected communication within that relationship.

3. Organization Responsibilities

Organizations using VoteAlly's SMS feature are responsible for:

• Ensuring they have the legal right to contact members via SMS, consistent with their bylaws, membership agreements, or applicable governing documents
• Uploading only phone numbers of members who are eligible to vote in the specific session
• Complying with all applicable laws including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the United States and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
• Honoring opt-out requests from members who no longer wish to receive SMS
• Confirming consent via VoteAlly's mandatory attestation checkbox before each SMS send

VoteAlly provides tools and guardrails to support compliance, but the organization retains responsibility for the lawfulness of their communications. See our Terms of Service for full details.

4. Message Types

VoteAlly sends only two types of SMS messages, both transactional:

Ballot invitation

Sent when a voting session opens. Contains the organization name, a secure link to the organization's voting page, and, where applicable, the recipient's access code.

Example message format: “Greenfield HOA: Your ballot is ready. Open: https://app.voteally.com/greenfield-hoa/vote Code: ABC-123”

Voting reminder

Sent to eligible voters who have not yet cast their ballot before the voting session closes. Contains a secure link to the voting page and, where applicable, the recipient's access code.

Example message format: “Greenfield HOA: Voting closes soon. Open: https://app.voteally.com/greenfield-hoa/vote Code: ABC-123”

The exact link format may vary by release (for example, a link may include an organization-scoped path or an encoded access-code fragment). VoteAlly does not send credentials in a URL query string.

5. Message Frequency

SMS frequency is minimal and directly tied to voting activity:

• Invitations: One message per voting session when the session opens
• Reminders: At most one reminder per voting session before the session closes
• Typical total: 1 to 2 messages per voting session. Most organizations conduct votes infrequently (monthly, quarterly, or annually).

Message and data rates may apply. Check with your wireless carrier for details.

6. Opt-Out Instructions

Recipients can opt out of SMS messages at any time by replying with any of the following keywords:

• STOP
• STOPALL
• UNSUBSCRIBE
• CANCEL
• END
• QUIT

Once opted out, the recipient will not receive any further SMS messages from VoteAlly. Their opt-out status is recorded immediately and respected across all future voting sessions.

To resume receiving SMS notifications, recipients can reply START, UNSTOP, or YES.

Opting out of SMS does not affect the recipient's ability to vote. Voters can always access their ballot via email invitation or by visiting their organization's voting page directly.

7. Data Handling

Phone numbers are stored securely in VoteAlly's database and are used solely for delivering voting-related SMS messages. Phone numbers are:

• Never shared with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes
• Never used for any purpose other than voting session notifications
• Subject to our data retention and PII purge policies as described in our Privacy Policy
• Transmitted to Twilio (our SMS delivery provider) solely for message delivery. See our Subprocessors page for details.

8. Carrier Disclosure

SMS messages are delivered via Twilio using a verified toll-free number. Message and data rates may apply depending on your wireless carrier and plan. VoteAlly is not responsible for carrier fees.

For help with SMS delivery, reply HELP to any VoteAlly message, or contact us at the address below.

9. Contact

For questions about SMS messaging on VoteAlly:

NekoTech Ventures Inc. (DBA VoteAlly)
7070E Farrell Rd SE, #811
Calgary, AB T2H 0T2
Canada

Email: [email protected]
Privacy: [email protected]