In the first “Getting Started” blog, there was a list of items that you need to collect in advance of setting up your election. The first two items from that list are:
- List of ballot positions, candidates for those positions, and the number of eligible slots per position i.e. vote for no more than two for Board Representative at Large.
- List of ballot proposals for this election
In this document, more information will be provided about the details for using these two list items to prepare your ballots. Click on Ballots & Votes from the Navigation Menu. You should see the information Overview that tells about the election items that are in place so far:
- Ballot Status: This information is entered/modified under “Settings” see below
- Ballot Statistics: This accumulates as members vote. If you cast sample votes they will appear here, BUT remember to delete sample votes before your member voting starts or sample votes will affect your results.
- Ballot Options: Settings, Slates and Results
Settings: For this window you will enter information about when your election will start and end. These both require days and times. Note: The default time is set at 11:59 PM. Both 12:01 AM and 11:59 PM are used when there can be confusion to those voting by the use of 12 midnight as a starting or ending time. We will discuss settings in a future Blog.
Slates: There are two major portions under this heading: Positions and Propositions.
Positions: From the original list of organization positions you will need to enter for each “position” the name of the ballot position, candidates’ names for this position, and the number of eligible slots per position. An example for the purpose of discussion could be:
Position Title: President
Maximum Number Selectable: 1
Allow Write-ins: Yes
Restrict to Groups: No
Once the first position is added, click the box entitled: Add Position. You will then see a window which lists the positions that you have added to your ballot so far. You have three choices for action at this point:
- click on the name of the position: President (choose 1). This will take you to another window where you can edit information about the position or you can enter candidates names and biographical information
- select the box entitled: Add Position which will take you back to the previous window and allow you to add second ballot position i.e. Vice-President, OR
- add a Proposition: For this portion you will need to add information about proposals that are to be included in your election. This could be as simple as voting for the next city where your association conference will be held, or it can be as complex as a change of bylaws.
Post submitted by Johanna
