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TCN PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL FALL 2021 by Glenn Wood , CCA

“ DID THE VOTE PASS OR FAIL ?” THE QUESTION IS ASKED OFTEN AND CAN REFER TO ANYTHING FROM THE UPCOMING BUDGET , A BOARD POSITION , OR WHETHER THREE-BEAN OR FIVE-BEAN CASSEROLE WILL MAKE IT ON THE PICNIC MENU !

When you have a small number of votes to count it is easy to tabulate , but having a larger number can make the process cumbersome and prone to errors . This article will outline an easy way to track votes , quickly tell if the vote was approved , identify who has and has not voted , and provide a recap of the votes received . The results could then be entered into the church minutes to formally accept the results .

In this example , there are places to record the members ’ names that can vote , how they voted , and how the vote was received . The sheet calculates whether it passes , fails , or if there haven ’ t been enough votes cast to decide yet .

This spreadsheet uses the following functions :

• Conditional Formatting to change the color of the “ Results ” box when sufficient votes are received

■ green with white text if the vote passes

■ red with white text if the vote fails

■ white with red text if results are still pending

• = COUNT () to count the number of names in the table that are eligible to vote

• = ISEVEN () to calculate how many votes are needed to approve a simple majority

• = IFERROR () to display numbers in cells when the result of the formula returns an error

• = COUNTIF () to tabulate the votes

• = IF () to determine the results of the vote

• Data Validation to only allow certain vote results

Spreadsheet Setup

Cell Description Options & Notes A1 The name of the position / item to be voted on Any text value is allowed A2 The name of the person being voted on Any text value is allowed