Offering online voting in multiple languages can be a straightforward part of an organization’s election process. Simply Voting supports voter interface translations in 17 languages, while administrators provide translations for the content that is specific to their own elections.
The main goal is consistency. Voters should be able to navigate the online voting process in an available language and, when translated election content is provided, receive the same essential information regardless of the language they choose.
Decide Which Languages Your Organization Wants to Offer
An organization’s approach to multilingual elections may come from bylaws, policies, legislation, established procedures, or simply the languages it normally uses to communicate with members or voters.
This is generally an organization-wide decision about how elections are conducted. In Simply Voting’s online voting system, administrators enable the languages they want available for their account and choose an account-wide default language. Once enabled, those languages remain available for future elections unless the organization updates its language settings.
The default language is the language voters see first when they access the online voting website and appears at the top of the language picker. Voters can switch to another enabled language if they prefer.
If an organization already maintains language preference information in its membership or voter database, it can also use that information for targeted communications. For example, voters identified with a particular language preference can receive an email directing them initially to the corresponding language version of the online voting website, while still retaining the option to switch to another available language.
Let the Online Voting System Handle the Interface
Once a language is enabled, Simply Voting handles the standard voter interface automatically. Navigation, buttons, field labels, standard instructions, confirmation messages, and error messages are translated and maintained by Simply Voting.
The online voting system also handles language-specific display requirements, including right-to-left presentation where appropriate. Administrators do not need to manage those interface details themselves.
This allows administrators to focus on the content that is specific to their organization and each election.
Add Translations as You Set Up Each Election
As administrators set up an online election, they can add translations for the content specific to that election.
This can include election titles and descriptions, question titles and descriptions, option or candidate titles, custom instructions, candidate biographies or statements, and other supporting text.
The language versions are attached to the same underlying election, question, or option record.
For example, a question can have an English title and description, a French title and description, and additional translated versions while remaining a single question in the online voting system. Its voting rules, ordering, abstention settings, and other configuration remain consistent across languages.
If your organization has staff who are comfortable translating election content, use them. If not, consider professional translation for content where precise wording is particularly important. Translation tools can be useful for simpler content, but should be used with care for election-specific wording, candidate information, and anything where a mistranslation could change the meaning. For fully managed elections, Simply Voting can also arrange professional human translation of customer-supplied content for an additional fee.
Decide How Far Multilingual Content Should Extend
The ballot itself may be only one part of the information voters receive as part of the online voting process.
Organizations may also provide custom email messages, candidate information, explanations of bylaws or proposals, agreement summaries, or other supporting material. Some of this information may appear directly in the online voting system, while other material may be hosted on the organization’s own website or provided through links to PDFs, videos, or other external resources.
Not every piece of supporting material needs to be available in every enabled language. An organization may provide its main election content in several languages while making some supporting material available in only one or two.
An organization also does not have to translate every piece of election-specific content simply because a language is enabled. It may choose to make the online voting interface available in additional languages while leaving some or all of its own ballot content in a single language. In that case, voters would still see Simply Voting’s professionally maintained translations for navigation, standard instructions, buttons, error messages, and other system text, alongside election-specific content that remains in the organization’s primary language. This can provide a partial multilingual experience when full translation is not practical.
Email communications can follow the same approach. Simply Voting’s standard system-generated email content is automatically available in the languages enabled for the account, while administrators can provide translated versions of any custom wording they add.
Proof Each Language Before Finalizing the Election
As part of the normal proofing process, administrators should review each enabled language before they approve the election and finalize it for online voting.
That includes checking election and question titles, option or candidate information, descriptions, custom instructions, email content, and links to external documents or webpages.
This is also a good time to catch any missing translations, awkward formatting, or broken links.
If candidate information, special voting instructions, or explanatory material is being provided in several languages, administrators should make sure voters are receiving the same essential information in each version.
Because Simply Voting maintains the multilingual voter interface, administrators can focus their proofing on the organization’s own content and how it appears within the completed election.
A Simple Approach to Multilingual Online Voting
Multilingual online voting can remain a straightforward part of the election process. Simply Voting handles the standard interface and underlying election structure, while administrators focus on the election-specific content and translations they provide.
Planning an online election for voters in more than one language? Contact us to learn how Simply Voting can help you offer online voting in multiple languages.
