With the live election module, you can have multiple ballots and voting rounds during your General Assembly Meeting to narrow down candidates for a position or add new business from the floor to the ballot last minute, etc. This video will show you how to create election rounds and save your results from each round. 

Live Election Module Tutorial Video 

Prior to the start of the meeting, you will need to complete the following steps:

1.  GoTo Ballot > Settings and select the tab titled ‘Live Election’. 

The following settings will be available:

• Use Ballot Code – With the live election module, there is an optional ‘Ballot Code’ that can be used. This will allow you as the voting manager to change the election and control voting without re-issuing voter credentials. You will have to inform the voters that the new ballot code is as follows – for example, by displaying it on a projection screen during the voting window or telling voters the code during the meeting.  Suggested practice: Use the Ballot Code to control access to each election round.

• Ballot Code – This will be randomized when you create a new ballot through the ‘My Elections’ section. You can also override the value here. Voters will be required to enter this value to begin voting.

• Ballot Code Input Label – This will be displayed on the election login screen above the standard voter credentials.

• Election Round Start/Stop Buttons 

• Regenerate Voter Automatic Credentials Each Election – Auto-generated passwords and verification codes are usually regenerated for each voter for a new election. However, with the Live Elections module, you may be conducting several elections in short order, therefore it is not convenient to distribute new credentials for every new ballot. Set this to ‘No’ to disable the credential regeneration; set this to ‘Yes’ for default behavior. Suggested Practice: If you will have several elections in succession for your meeting or live election, set this to ‘No’, and use the Ballot Code to control access to each election.

• Keep Voters Signed in After Voting – In normal operation, voters are signed out after they cast a ballot. However, you may wish to keep your voters signed in on a refresh screen. Note that they will be prompted for the new ballot code before they can vote if you are using ballot codes.

If you have the ballot code enabled and the live election round is resumed, the voter will be required to enter the previously used ballot code in order to access the ballot.

2. Confirm the setting selections. If any updates were made, be sure to click the blue "Save Settings" button.
3. Activate the first-round items on the ballot by navigating to Ballot > Positions to view the positions and candidates that have been entered. 
   
   • If the “Active” button is green and displays the word “Active”, that particular position is already activated and will display on the ballot.
   • Conversely, if it red and displays “Inactive”, it will not display on the ballot.  Simply clicking the button will toggle the position between active and inactive states.   For help setting up positions and candidates, please refer to the Voting Manager Users Guide.

 

During the meeting, the following activities should occur:

1. Go to the admin dashboard and locate the Live Election section in the top left. Please see the screenshot below. 
   
   1. Make note of the ballot code (if applicable)
   2. Click the "Start Live Election Round" button to begin the voting round.

2. Share the ballot code with voters (if applicable) so that they can login by entering this along with their credentials.
3. Monitor Results by going to the admin dashboard and click “View Results”.  
4. Once everyone has voted and the round has completed, click the "Stop Live Election Round" button to end the voting round. This will refresh the page for the voters and they will see the the "Waiting for Next Round" message.

5. Once the election round has been stopped, you will have the choice to:
   
   1. Resume the Current Live Election Round by clicking the "Resume Current Live Election Round" button
   2. Set up the next round by clicking the "Next Round" button.  This will take you directly to the ‘My Elections’ page, where you will be able to save your results, clone your previous voting round, and RENAME your next voting round

6. Once on the "My Elections" Page, locate the ‘Clone Election’ area on the right. You will:
   
   1. Enter your “New Election name” (ie. Live Election Round 2) and
   2. Save the previous results by entering an “Optional Snapshot Comment” (ie. Round 1)
   3. Click the “Clone Election” button. During the live election period, you are able to archive the results and clone election rounds an unlimited number of times.

 

7. To update the ballot for the next round of elections, go to Ballot > Positions and/or Ballot > Positions > Candidates to deactivate round 1 items and activate round 2 items.
8. Note: If you customized the ballot code, after cloning around, you can update to a new code in Ballot > Settings.  However, if you selected randomized ballot code, the new code will already be available on the Dashboard screen for you to share when you are ready to start the next round.
9. Complete the steps above for all live election rounds.

 

Abbreviated Notes (for reference during your meeting):

1. In admin portal goto Ballot > positions , make the positions and candidates for round 1 active (deactivate all others).
2. Press "Start Live Election Round" on dashboard
3. Tell voters to login & enter ballot code
4. Once voting completes, on the dashboard select "Stop Live Election Round"
5. Click "Next Round" to go to My Elections, use the clone election to RENAME Election and Clone election for next round
6. In admin portal goto Ballot > Positions:   Edit position, de-active old position and Update next rounds items to active  & save
7. Press "Start Live Election Round" button on dashboard
8. Tell voters to enter ballot code
9. Once voting completes, go to the dashboard and select "Stop Live Election Round". 
10. Click Next Round to goto My Elections, use the clone election to RENAME Election and Clone election for next round
11. Repeat steps 6-10 for all rounds.
12. You can export results for each individual round on the My Elections page by scrolling down to election snapshots. To export results for multiple rounds, please refer to the following help article: How do I download my Election Results Report?

 

LIVE ELECTION REPORTS

If you have utilized the Live Election module, you can download your “Live Election” Reports as follows:

1. Go to “My Elections” in the main navigation.
    

2. Scroll down until you see two tabs labeled Election Snapshots and Live Election Report Exports. See Image below.
3. On the Election Snapshots tab, select the election rounds that you would like to have included on the report by checking the checkbox next to the round name.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of all of the listed snapshots and click "Live Election Export". 

5. Select the format and report components that you would like included on the Live Election Report (These settings will apply to all election rounds selected) See image below.
6. Enter your email address in the Notification Email field
7. Click Request Report to generate the Live Election Report
   
   1. The report will be sent to you at the email address entered in #6. Click the link in the email to download the report.

2. You may also view the Live Election Export by clicking on the Live Election Report Exports tab (see image below)
   
   1. Go to the Live Election Report Exports tab to see all of the live election reports that have been requested. 
   2. If the report has been successfully generated, a "Download" button will appear. Click this button to save the file to your computer. If the download button is not present, the report is not yet ready and will show a pending status. Wait a few seconds (some larger reports take longer to generate than others) and refresh the page. When the report is ready, the download button will appear.