Correcting Errors in an Association Voter Record

Errors in an association’s voter records need to be corrected using reputable association election tools well before an election is launched to ensure it runs smoothly and the results accurately reflect the opinions and wishes of its membership. 

While there are member responsibilities in updating voter info, it’s largely up to election administrators to sift through voter databases for inaccurate or incomplete records to ensure only eligible voters are included, and ineligible voters are removed.

The Challenge of Voter Record Maintenance

Accurate voter records build trust that an election is fair and truly represents the interests of the association’s membership. However, keeping a voting list in tiptop shape can be overwhelming.

That said, the effort is essential for:

• Communicating: With correct contact information, members will receive election-related notifications so they can make informed voting decisions.
•  Boosting participation: Correct contact information for validated members means more members can participate in elections.
• Compliance: Without clean voter rolls, it may be difficult (if not impossible) for associations to abide by the rules that govern their elections. If an election isn’t compliant, the results could be invalidated, trust in the system could evaporate, and the association could be exposed to legal or financial penalties.
• Reducing administrative burden: A well-maintained voter registration database helps streamline voter verification, reduce the chances of a dispute over eligibility, ensure one vote per member, and reinforce the legitimacy of election results.

Association Voter Record Maintenance Checklist

Five Tips for Keeping Errors Out of Voter Rolls

When running an election, the potentially time-consuming process of maintaining a clean voter database may not be at the top of anyone’s to-do list. It is, however, essential to protect the integrity of the voting. 

Any real or perceived irregularities in voting rolls can erode confidence in the fairness and accuracy of an election. Here are some tips to keep in mind for keeping voter rolls clean:

1. Standardize the format of the data. If voter information was collected from multiple sources or over an extended period, there may be inconsistencies in how it is stored. The cleaner and more organized the data, the smoother an election will go. 
2. Train election administrators in the organization’s list maintenance policies, procedures, and processes.
3. Conduct an education campaign about why members must update their voter information and how they can make changes.
4. Regularly review voter records for errors, even between elections. This can help prevent confusion during an election, disputes arising about the results, and a loss of faith in the election system.
5. Check and recheck member lists before launching an election.

ElectionBuddy Is the Answer

Associations are often reluctant to commit the time, effort, and resources required to correct errors in voter records. Yet, this is a critical step in the election process.

The answer to this dilemma lies with ElectionBuddy. Our platform can automate and greatly reduce the effort needed to maintain lists. Some of the platform’s features that help with this effort include integrating information from different sources (e.g, Gmail, Mailchimp, Excel, and member management systems), automatic notification of bounced emails, filtering voter lists to identify who has and hasn’t voted, and strongly encrypted voting keys.

Contact ElectionBuddy today to learn how we can help you run a transparent and accurate election for your organization!