How to get the committee to vote on a request
Goal
This article explains how to get committee members to vote on a request by creating a Committee Hub topic. Sharing a request with the committee makes it visible to them, but if you need committee members to actually vote on a decision relating to the request, you will need to create a topic.
Before You Get Started
You will need to have the correct permissions set in order to create Committee Hub topics linked to requests. To check this, navigate to: Settings ➡️ Admins ➡️ Edit your chosen admin ➡️ Select Roles & Permissions ➡️ Scroll down to Committee Hub ➡️ Expand Topics and ensure that Topics has full access selected.
Overview
There is an important distinction between sharing a request and getting the committee to vote on it:
Sharing a request makes it visible to committee members under Committee Hub ➡️ Requests, but they cannot vote from there
Creating a Committee Hub topic allows committee members to vote on a specific question relating to the request
It is recommended to link the topic back to the request so you can easily navigate between the two in the system.
Training video
This video goes through how a to get committee members to vote on a request
Step 1 - Create the topic
There are two ways to create a topic. Both produce the same outcome.
Option 1: Create from the request Open the request from the Dashboard, go to the Related section, press the plus icon, and select New Topic.
Option 2: Create from Committee Hub Navigate to Committee Hub and click New Topic.
Step 2 - Fill out the topic details
Complete the topic with the information the committee needs to make their decision.
Title (for example: "Approval for getting quotes for request 18309")
Description
Community — select the community the request relates to
Audience — choose the full committee group, or select specific individuals
Expiry date — the date the topic closes
Auto-close on expiry toggle — if turned on, the topic closes automatically once the expiry date is reached. If left off, an admin will need to close the topic manually when ready
Attachments — drag and drop any supporting documents
Follow-up date — optional reminder date
Tags — optional, created under Settings ➡️ Tags
Step 3 - Add a vote
At the bottom of the topic, click Add Vote to enable voting.
Question — the question the committee is voting on
Options — add as many voting options as you need. The cross icon next to each option removes it
Vote close date — the date voting ends (by default matches the topic expiry date, but can be set earlier)
Allow committee members to view participants — shows committee members who else has voted and how
Allow committee members to change their vote until the close date
Anonymous voting — if enabled, the names of voters are hidden and "view participants" is disabled
You can add more than one vote to a single topic if multiple decisions need to be made.
Press Save to publish the topic.
Step 4 - Notify committee members
When the topic is saved, an email is sent to committee members automatically, provided the relevant notification settings are enabled on the committee group.
To check these settings, navigate to Committee Hub ➡️ Committee Groups ➡️ Edit the relevant group. Make sure the following are ticked:
Committee hub topic added
Committee hub daily comment summary
If you also want the community manager to receive these emails, toggle that option on as well.
The email is recorded in Communicate ➡️ Logs.
Step 5 - Link the topic to the request
If you created the topic directly from Committee Hub (rather than from the Related section of the request), link it back to the request so the two are connected.
Open the topic, click the plus icon in the Related section, search for the request ID (for example 18309), select the request, and press Submit. The topic and request are now linked and can be navigated between easily.
What committee members see
From the resident portal or app, the committee member navigates to Menu ➡️ Committee Hub ➡️ Topics and selects the topic.
They will see:
The topic title and description
Any documents uploaded
The Discussion tab, where they can post comments to other committee members and admins
The Votes tab, where they cast their vote
If multiple votes have been added to a single topic, each is kept as a separate thread. Discussion comments sit at the topic level, while each vote has its own distinct question and options.
Committee members can change their vote up until the close date (if that option was enabled) and can see who else has voted (if participant visibility was enabled).
Managing the topic as an admin
From Committee Hub, the topic's latest activity will update whenever a committee member engages — votes, comments, or otherwise.
Opening the topic gives you access to:
Discussion — where you can reply to committee comments or post your own
Votes — where you can see the current tally and who has voted for which option (provided anonymous voting is not enabled)
Voting on behalf of a committee member
If a committee member cannot vote themselves — for example, they have sent their vote via email — you can record it for them.
On the Votes tab, click the three-dot menu next to the committee member's name and select Vote on behalf. Choose the option they are voting for and leave a comment noting the reason (for example, "vote received by email"). You can also drag and drop the email as an attachment for record keeping. Press Confirm, and the vote will be recorded against that member with the comment and attachment visible in the topic.
Giving the committee visibility of the request itself
The topic covers the vote, but committee members may also want to see the underlying request details. There are two ways to give them access.
Option 1: Share the request with the committee
If the request has been shared with the committee (either via the workflow template setting or the Share button on the request), committee members can view it under Committee Hub ➡️ Requests. They can search or filter by title or request ID to find it.
Option 2: Attach a PDF export of the request to the topic
From the Dashboard, open the request, click Share, and use Generate live link to produce a PDF version. You can download the submission on its own, or the submission with the activity log included. Save the PDF, then open the topic, click the three-dot menu, choose Edit, and upload the PDF as an attachment. Save the topic.
This approach keeps everything the committee needs in one location — they go to the topic and see both the voting question and the request details.
Choosing between the two approaches
This comes down to preference:
Share the request if you want committee members to access the full, live request (including ongoing activity log updates), with the topic acting as the voting forum
Export the PDF and attach it to the topic if you prefer a single location for the committee to review, with a point-in-time snapshot of the request
Summary
To get the committee to vote on a request, create a Committee Hub topic (either from the request's Related section or directly in Committee Hub), configure the vote, and link the topic back to the request. Committee members vote from the topic in the resident portal, and admins can track results, post discussion comments, and vote on behalf of members where needed.