Group Types and Share Classes

Every voter group in Assembley has a group type and a share classes switch, and together they are the setting that most changes how voting works. Choosing them correctly is the foundation for accurate weighting, quorum, and results. This article explains the difference.

With share classes: shareholders with weighted votes

Shareholders and Partners groups start with share classes on. Each voter holds a number of shares in a class, and each class has:

• A nominal value per share, from which Assembley derives the voter's share capital.
• A number of votes per share, from which it derives the voter's voting rights: the weight their vote carries in the tally.

This is how A/B-share structures are modelled, and it is the model for A/S and ApS companies and other share-based organisations. See Understanding Share Classes and Voting Rights.

Without share classes: one member, one vote

Board members, Members, Delegates and Committee groups start with share classes off, and every voter starts at one vote. This is the model for associations, clubs, unions, and most member organisations. A group without share classes can still give a voter more than one vote, by entering their voting rights directly. Other leaves the choice to you.

How to choose

Ask one question: does voting power depend on how much someone owns?

• Yes → a Shareholders or Partners group, with share classes. Voting is weighted by shares.
• No, everyone is equal → a one-vote type such as Members. One member, one vote.

You pick the type and the switch in the guided group-creation flow. See Creating and Managing Voter Groups.

Why it matters downstream

The switch ripples through everything:

• It decides what details each voter needs: a class and a number of shares, or voting rights and share capital entered directly.
• It decides the import columns (see Importing Voters from CSV or Excel).
• It decides what quorum measures in practice: in a one-vote group, the share of voting rights cast is the share of members who voted. See Understanding Quorum.

Mixing types

A single organisation can have groups of different types, for example a Shareholders group and a separate Delegates group, because the type lives on the group, not the organisation. Pick the type per group based on how that body actually votes.

Where to go next

See Creating and Managing Voter Groups to build a group, and Share Capital vs Voting Rights Explained for the two numbers a weighted voter carries.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and your articles of association may differ, so check the current rules or ask an adviser before you rely on it.