Category: Voting System

We are pleased to announce an enhancement to our existing Kiosk Voting feature.

Kiosk voting, for those who are unfamiliar with this type of voting, is in-person online voting where voters line up in queues typically and vote from communal devices — such as at an Annual General Meeting, or perhaps at your organization’s headquarters or branch offices, or some other designated in-person voting location. Kiosk voting often occurs alongside standard remote online voting, but it can also occur in place of any remote online voting too.

Inside of your Election Manager account, at the bottom of the Settings page, you will find a revamped Kiosk Voting Website section. Like before, you can still manage the “success text” for all kiosks.

Now instead of having a specific kiosk voting URL, to activate and launch a kiosk there is a new Activate Kiosk button. This enhancement may seem very minor at first-glance, but we’ve drastically increased the security of your kiosks through allowing total control of what devices are (and thus are not) configured for kiosk voting by election administrators.

As part of our feature enhancement, we’ve also developed and published a new Kiosk Voting Guide, available on the Help page, to better guide customers through setup and maintenance of voting kiosks. Moreover, if you have the Multiple Administrators feature activated on your account, we have also added a new permission to control access to “kiosk activation” for your users.

If you have never thought about incorporating any live in-person voting into your election management, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can help you evaluate whether incorporating kiosk voting into your electoral event is a worthwhile endeavor.

We just launched a “warning for undervotes” feature. One of Simply Voting’s core guiding principles revolves around simplicity and ease of use from the voter’s perspective. Our aim is to always ensure that our interface and how information is presented to voters is streamlined and valuable.

To this end, Simply Voting has launched a small improvement to our voter interface which will help ensure that voters execute their vote to the allowed fullest extent. When a voter interacts with a question that allows multiple optional selections, if the voter selects less than the pre-configured maximum number of options, a special note, a warning for undervotes, will appear next to the appropriate question when the voter reaches the Confirmation page.

For example, in the screenshot above (taken from our demo at demo.simplyvoting.com in case you want to see it in action), the Board of Directors question allows for voters to select up to 3 candidates. This sample voter only selected 2, and a new “note” has been added to bring this to the voter’s attention. The voter can do what they wish with this information!

This feature is particularly valuable in elections where voters may inadvertently misunderstand the number of selections allowed or forget to make their full range of choices. By gently prompting voters to review any undervotes, we aim to reduce accidental omissions and empower voters to make more informed decisions. Importantly, this warning is non-intrusive, voters are not required to make additional selections if they intentionally choose to cast fewer votes. This strikes a balance between guiding voters and respecting their autonomy.

Contact us if you need more information!

As of today we are requiring voters and election organizers to connect to Simply Voting using TLS 1.2. The TLS protocol is used by browsers to encrypt communication between the visitor and the website. Its use is indicated by a green padlock in the browser window confirming that the connection is secure. TLS 1.2 is the modern version that supports the latest cryptographic ciphers, and is much more secure than TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1 which have been proven vulnerable to hacking.

By requiring TLS 1.2, older browsers that do not support this version will not be able to access the voting website or Election Manager. Modern TLS is supported by Firefox 28+, Chrome 33+, Opera 19+, Safari 7+, iOS Safari 5.1+, Android Browser 51+ and Internet Explorer 11.

Users stuck on older operating systems such as Windows XP or Mac OS X Mountain Lion may still access Simply Voting by using an alternative browser such as Chrome or Firefox. Users of Windows 7 that for whatever reason are prevented from updating Internet Explorer or installing an alternative browser can manually enable TLS 1.2 on Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10 by checking it off in the Advanced tab in Internet Options.

After reviewing our logs we’ve determined that on average 0.2% of voters are using insecure browsers. This number will decrease over time as computers are updated, replaced, or have alternative browsers installed. Many large websites such as PayPal have already made this step, and there’s an approaching deadline of June 30, 2018 for websites to require a minimum of TLS 1.1 in order to remain PCI compliant (a security standard which Simply Voting adheres to) so many more will follow. While Simply Voting strives to make the voting system work with all browsers, we also place great importance on security. The time has come to drop support for insecure browsers, to make a safer voting system.

Simply Voting has a new feature for organizations who are interested in gaining a better idea about where in the world electors cast their votes – a Turnout by Country report!

How to Create a Turnout by Country Report? *

Glad you asked. It’s simple.

1) Log in to your Simply Voting account to open the Election Manager.
2) At the bottom of the initial page, you will see your Elections as hyperlinks. Click on the Election for which you’d like to generate the report.
3) Hover over the header highlighted in yellow and select Turnout Report from the drop-down menu.
4) Click on Download Turnout by Country CSV to easily review what countries Electors voted from.

The Turnout by Country report provides organizations with valuable insights into voter engagement on a global scale. By analyzing this data, administrators can better understand voting patterns, identify trends in participation across different regions, and tailor future outreach efforts to maximize voter involvement. This feature is especially useful for international organizations or elections with a geographically diverse electorate, helping to paint a clearer picture of global participation in the democratic process.

*For Fully Managed Elections, let your Project Manager know that you’d like a copy of these neat statistics.

Contact us if you need more information!

The voting website, where e-democracy happens, should be as convenient and intuitive as possible for the voter. Therefore we’ve made a couple of changes to offer you a better navigation:

Better Navigation

The “Vote” navigation button was renamed to the “Home” button, since the Home page might be used for purposes other than voting, for example checking a vote receipt. We also re-ordered the navigation menu to be more intuitive.

Jump to the Ballot

When a voter logs into the voting website, they are taken directly to the ballot instead of the Home page under the following circumstances:

• They are eligible to vote in a current election; and
• They haven’t already voted in it; and
• They are not eligible to vote in any other current elections

In such cases it makes sense to push the voter along the process and save them an extra click. In the rare case that the voter doesn’t want to vote, they can click on the Home navigation button or click the Cancel button at the bottom of the ballot to get to the Home page.

These updates are designed to streamline the voter experience, making the process faster and more user-friendly. By minimizing unnecessary steps and ensuring that navigation is clear and intuitive, we aim to reduce confusion and improve overall satisfaction. As always, our goal is to make e-democracy as accessible and efficient as possible for every voter.

Contact us for more information

Simply Voting now offers a Social Media Sharing feature to help you increase awareness about your voting events and boost voter participation.

Studies have shown how social pressure can encourage others to vote. That’s why we’ve created a tool that allows election organizers to quickly and easily turn voters into influential engagement evangelists.

Once the voter casts their ballot online, integrated Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ buttons appear beneath the confirmation message. This feature will encourage voters to promote the fact that they voted across those social networks. Voters can post a default message or personalize it.

All social shares include a link back to the voting website to drive voter participation. Other eligible voters connected to this person in their social network will see a relevant message in their newsfeed, keeping your election top of mind. They will be encouraged to vote thanks to positive peer pressure.

This feature not only boosts visibility but also fosters a sense of community and engagement around your election. By leveraging the power of social networks, you can inspire action turning each voter into a champion for your cause. It’s an easy, effective way to enhance turnout and ensure your voting event achieves maximum participation.

Self administered customers can begin making use of this new feature by simply checking off the Social Media Sharing checkbox on the Settings page of the Election Manager. Managed customers should contact support to get started today.

Mobile optimization is crucial in today’s digital landscape, where convenience and accessibility drive voter engagement. By delivering a seamless and consistent experience across all devices, our responsive design ensures that voters can confidently participate in elections from anywhere, at any time. This enhanced usability not only boosts voter satisfaction but also helps increase overall turnout by removing barriers for mobile users.

Users of our online voting system are accessing their ballots from smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices more than ever before. While Simply Voting always worked on a mobile device, today we launched a responsive web design for all our clients’ voting websites that is truly mobile-friendly. A responsive web designs adjusts the website according to the type of device and delivers an optimal viewing and interaction experience.

What does this mean for your election? Simply put, voters using a mobile device will not have to zoom, pan or scroll sideways because all the elements on the voting website are properly sized and placed. This makes for easy reading, easy navigation, and easy voting!

By embracing responsive design, we’ve ensured that voters can easily cast their ballots on the go, whether they’re at home, at work, or commuting. This flexibility aligns with the fast-paced, mobile-first world we live in, where user expectations demand speed, simplicity, and accessibility. Our commitment to mobile optimization means that your election website will not only look great but also function flawlessly on any device, empowering voters to participate effortlessly.

Visit our Election Website!

Today we introduced two improvements for the logging voter activity in the Election Manager:

Searchable Activity Log

The activity log is an audit trail of all significant activity related to the ballot. You can now search the activity log by Elector ID, by IP address, or by the type of activity.

Fine-Grained Logging

We now keep track of voter activity events leading up the final ballot submission. The “ballot opened” event reflects the voter accessing the ballot to start voting. The “ballot filled” event reflects the voter proceeding to the confirmation page. If a voter’s session is interrupted or if the voter changes her mind before final submission, you may find several “ballot opened” and/or “ballot filled” events leading up the “online vote” event.

These two improvements enhance the auditability of your election and also empower you to better help your voters. For example, if a voter reaches out to the election organizer needing assistance, you can now see where in voting process this particular voter “got stuck” and what steps remain to resolve the voter’s difficulty.

With the addition of the searchable activity log and fine-grained logging, Simply Voting has made it easier than ever for election organizers to track and understand voter behavior. The ability to search by Elector ID, IP address, or activity type gives you greater control over the audit trail and allows for quicker identification of any issues that may arise. These tools not only increase transparency but also provide valuable insights into the voting process, ensuring that you can assist voters efficiently. Whether it’s troubleshooting voter difficulties or confirming the integrity of your election, these updates provide the detailed information needed to support both your voters and the election’s overall security.

Contact us for more information!

At Simply Voting we’ve designed our voting system with many safeguards to ensure that the election officer cannot undermine the election’s integrity when using our Election Manager interface to self-administer their elections. Now, you can change election dates and electors in your Election Manager.

Based on feedback from our customers and on our experience running thousands of elections, we’ve determined that a few restrictions were making things difficult for the election officer without providing much benefit.

Therefore we have made the following changes to the Election Manager, effective immediately:

Election Dates

Before, you could not precisely change the start and end of the election once the ballot had been finalized. You could only “start now” or “end now”.

Now, you can change the exact start of the election (until the election has started), and you can change the exact end of the election (until the election has ended). Such changes are recorded in the Activity Log.

Managing Electors

Before, you could not make any changes to the electors once the ballot had been finalized. You could only correct bounced email addresses.

Now, you can add individual electors, delete individual electors and edit individual electors  up until the election has ended. Such changes are recorded in the Activity Log. You cannot delete any elector that already voted, and you cannot change the vote weight or segment (if applicable) of any elector that already voted.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding these changes, please contact support to discuss.

We now offer “validated write-ins”. A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person’s name. Simply Voting always supported write-ins as a feature but election organizers would have to deal with voters specifying fictional characters or many permutations of the same name like this:

• John Doe
• John C. Doe
• J. Doe
• Doe, John

In many cases the voter is only supposed to write-in a fellow member of his organization. For that scenario we now offer “validated write-ins”.  When voters begin typing inside a validated write-in, an auto-complete feature lists all matching electors by name and forces the voter to select or type a valid name.

This makes writing-in much easier for the voter and also gives the election administrator much cleaner results to work with. Each write-in candidate will be valid and properly formatted.

This new validated write-in feature streamlines the voting process by ensuring accuracy and consistency in write-in submissions. By preventing errors and fictional entries, election organizers can save time during tabulation and focus on legitimate votes. Additionally, the auto-complete functionality enhances usability for voters, making it quicker and easier to cast a write-in vote while adhering to election guidelines. This improvement reinforces the integrity of the voting process while maintaining a seamless experience for all participants.

Contact us for more information!