Features

​We have updated the interface for the uploader to improve tracking of your progress through the upload process. Here’s an example of our new status indicator:

​Did I vote for Jamie Smith? I CAST my ballot, right? No more emails or calls regarding ballot selections and cast ballot confirmation. AssociationVoting.com has always provided a Voter Confirmation page and an easy to find PRINT button so your voters can save a copy of the voter receipt. But now we also email the Voter Cast Ballot Receipt directly to the voter’s inbox - alleviating any questions regarding selections and counting. To ensure your voters receive the Voter Cast Ballot receipt via email, simply select Voter Receipt in the election set-up process and include email addresses in the Eligible Voter credential list.

In 2012 with AssociationVoting’s support MAAR tripled the association’s voter turnout as compared to the previous 3 years! 2012 was the first year MAAR utilized online election service from AssociationVoting.  AV provided email announcement service with turnout booster for the MAAR Board of Directors election.  After each email blast MAAR voter turnout incurred a double digit uptick compared to the period prior to the email blast!

The results speak for themselves — The MAAR voter turnout increased 3 fold to 31% with AssociationVoting!

Please take a moment to look at two new demos which will give you more information about the actual look and feel of an Association Voting hosted election.  Our previous review of the Voter Experience shows a typical voting experience for two different online voting members.  This demo is located at:  https://www.associationvoting.com/election-demos.html

The first new demo shows the process steps for Site Text Configuration:  https://www.associationvoting.com/election-demos/54-demo-video-2-site-text-blocks.html

In this video, you will examine a piece of the voting manager area.  You can customize the text presented to your voters on the welcome, introduction, ballot, preview, and cast ballot page.

This demonstration is indispensable for the person in your organization who is preparing your election and customizing it for your specific candidates, proposals, voting groups, etc.

The second new demo shows the process steps for Group. District, Chapter, Region Voting with Personalization:  https://www.associationvoting.com/election-demos/55-demo-video-3-group-district-region-chapter-voting.html

In this video, the group-specific ballot personalization functionality is highlighted.  You, as voting manager and organizer, can have each member vote for exactly those candidates in his or her region while still running only one general election.

Highlights for this demo include: Enabling group functionality; defining groups; assigning members to groups; limiting specific ballot items to specific member groups; ballot personalization and voter experience.

Once you have taken a moment to consider all of these options that Association Voting can bring to your organization’s election, please request your own Free Trial.  To request a Free Trial, click here:  https://www.associationvoting.com/demorequest.html

Post submitted by Johanna

Your organization may be like others that have members who need assistance in making the transition from using a paper ballot to using online voting.  Association Voting has developed a hybrid election service to ease the transition to simple, online elections, while providing accurate results that include the data from paper ballot voters.

The Hybrid Election feature allows the manager of your election process to use the Member Personalized Printable Ballot Generator to create an individual PDF of the ballot which can be emailed or to print out a personalized ballot which can be sent by U.S. Mail (or other delivery service) to any member who needs a paper ballot.  As a part of the voting process, the individual who needed that paper ballot is blocked from also casting an online vote; this voter cannot accidentally vote twice.

Your organization can collect the paper ballots that have been cast and then mail the completed paper ballots to AV.  Association Voting will include your paper ballot counts in the election results summary report!  Check for other potential options at the time you order your election from Association Voting.

This is yet another new feature that Association Voting brings to your organization’s election and hopefully assists in making sure that all members can vote.  Please request your own Free Trial or order this service by clicking Buy Now:

Post submitted by Johanna

Your organization’s election is important.  Making sure that all members are aware of the election and that they all have a time to vote that is convenient to them are both critical to a successful election.  If voting members must attend a meeting in order to vote, or if they have to get a ballot in the mail, complete and then mail it before a deadline in order to vote – you may find that fewer votes are cast than you had hoped.

Association Voting has two elements for increasing voter turnout:

    
1. Drive member awareness of the election and
    
2. Simplify the voting process.

The following are suggestions your election committee can do and special features for these two processes that are provided by Association Voting.

DRIVE AWARENESS:

    
• Communicate the polling dates      to your membership base in advance with Association Voting’s email announcement service.
    
• Post the upcoming voting      window on your website’s home page and on your social network.  Tweet      about your upcoming election!
    
• Announce the upcoming      election at meetings and in your monthly newletter.
    
• Craft a “Welcome to      Online Voting” email with pertinent information regarding the voting      experience like expected time to complete a ballot online and basic      process highlights.
    
• Send a “Vote Now”      reminder prior to the close of the polls to those members yet to cast a      ballot via Association Voting’s email announcement service.

SIMPLIFY YOUR VOTING PROCESS:

    
• Link to your Association      Voting online      election from your website’s homepage to drive fast access to the election      service.
    
• Create a appropriate voting      window—long enough to allow everyone the opportunity to vote BUT not so      long that it de-motivates voters from voting NOW!  Some sense of      urgency can drive faster response.
    
• Utilize Association      Voting’s online      voting service to offer an easy 24x7 voting experience.  Cut the      delivery time of cast ballots to instantaneous for you and your members!
    
• Voters want a secure,      accurate and private voting experience.  Third party solutions such      as Association Voting’s online voting service provide the integrity and      simplicity your members seek in an election experience.
    
• Ensure the data voters need      to make an informed decision is available in real-time! Association      Voting offers      the option to post candidate bios with candidate photos to offer information      when it is needed during the voting process.
    
• Provide a special voting      welcome note with organization specific instructions from your association      in Association Voting’s online voting service.

If your organization’s members are aware of the election, they receive timely reminders and the election is convenient for them to complete, your election should have an increased voter turnout and a membership that has ownership of the process.

Post submitted by Johanna

If you and your organization are serious about conducting your next election on-line, your planning discussions may turn to the security of your voting process.  Your members should know that the organization’s voting member list will not be sold or shared.  You can be confident in that.

To ensure that every election is secure, we at Association Voting:

    
• Use industry-standard      128-Bit SSL encryption for all election access – both for you and      your voters.
    
• Use a number of external      security scanning and auditing services to verify      AssociationVoting.com services and software
    
• Secure your voting manager      area with a a unique username and password
    
• Enforce one      member/one vote by requiring voters to identify with a member      number or other unique identifier and ensuring only one cast ballot per      identifier
    
• Ensure voting      accuracy by enforcing limits on the number of candidate or write-in      selections per position and provide a prompt error notification that requires repair before the ballot can be cast
    
• Require voter      validation of selections as a preview step before a ballot can be      cast
    
• Maintain a detailed      audit trail of voter selections and ballots cast, available to      your voting administrator as the voting results PDF and      also enabling validation of challenged ballots or results

In addition the following security related items are important:

    
• Optional certified      election results include a signed copy of the voting results PDF,      certification letter, and electronic storage of your voting results for 12      months
    
• Optional enhanced      email announcement service provides added voter      verification and security by requiring voters to follow a      voter-specific URL or enter a unique security code

All of this is done to make sure your organization has confidence in your election on Association Voting.

Post submitted by Johanna