Short answer
A poll vote is a way of voting where each lot’s vote is weighted by its unit entitlement, rather than one equal vote per lot. Anyone entitled to vote on the motion can demand a poll, and once demanded the result is decided by the value of the votes, not a show of hands.
How a poll vote works
Normally each lot has one equal vote — a show of hands, counted per lot. When a poll is demanded, the count changes: votes are weighted by unit entitlement, so a lot with a larger entitlement carries proportionally more weight. If one lot’s entitlement is double another’s, its vote counts double.
When and how a poll is demanded
Any person present and entitled to vote on the motion can demand a poll. It can be called for immediately before or after a show-of-hands vote, but not once the result has already been formally declared. The person who demanded it can also withdraw the demand. Polls are typically used where the size of owners’ financial stakes should decide the outcome — often on money matters.
Why it can change the result
Because a poll swaps equal votes for entitlement-weighted votes, it can flip a result that would have gone the other way on a show of hands. That’s the point: on decisions where what each owner contributes should carry weight, a poll makes the outcome reflect those stakes rather than a simple head-count.
Running a poll correctly — without a manager
Switching a vote to unit entitlements mid-meeting, and tallying it accurately, is fiddly to do by hand. Straita holds each lot’s unit entitlement and can count a poll on the correct weighting, then record both the demand and the result — so a self-managed committee can handle a poll properly and defend the outcome.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — voting at meetings and poll votes counted by unit entitlement (Schedule 1).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — voting at strata meetings.