Is secret ballot voting allowed under the act?
In addition to requiring that deliberations of a governing body be open to the public, the act also requires that the vote shall be conducted in such a manner that the public may know the vote of each person entitled to vote, including meetings conducted by teleconference. The one exception is organizational meetings of a governing body to elect members to various offices, which are exempted from the requirement that the vote of each member be made public (AS 44.62. 310(a)). Is telephone polling considered a violation of the Open Meetings Act? Whether a phone poll by a member or agent of the governing body would be considered a violation of the act, depends on the subject matter. If the matter involves an administrative or procedural issue that would not warrant public discussion, a phone poll may be conducted. If, however, the phone poll touches on an issue that should be discussed in an open meeting or can have the effect of swaying opinion on a public issue, it could be considered a
