How to Create Secure Online Ballots

June 12, 2024

As organizations grow across cities, regions, and even internationally, remote voting becomes crucial. Whether members are on a short vacation or live across the globe, important elections don’t have to wait‒make critical decisions with online ballots.

Security is important for online ballots, and ElectionBuddy’s platform allows for secure ballots to ensure vote integrity. With an accessible ballot design, SSL encryption, and multiple options for Ballot Access, Anonymous Voting, and more, organizations of all types can enjoy secure online elections.

Creating Secure Ballots With ElectionBuddy

ElectionBuddy’s platform allows organizations to customize each step of their elections process. Experts from ElectionBuddy act as a point-person for elections, answering any questions and guiding organizations through all of their options for voting.

There are several ways ElectionBuddy guarantees voting integrity and secure ballots!

Set the Integrity Level for Ballot Access

The ElectionBuddy platform offers three different security settings to control the ballot access process. These settings can account for the integrity your election requires and can keep your organization in compliance with any bylaws or regulations that demand a certain level of security.

Integrity levels define how voters access the ballot, who is able to create access keys for ballot access, and the number of times voters may vote on a given ballot. The integrity level you choose will also include the type of voting link and type of access key.

You can access this setting on the ‘details’ page under the security setting. 

High Integrity Ballots

With High Integrity Ballots, ElectionBuddy creates a unique link for each voter, along with a random, secret access key. This allows the voters to vote only once. The access key is a randomly-generated, sixteen-character key that allows voters to access their ballots.

So, how do voters know what their links and access keys are? ElectionBuddy sends a notice–either by email, SMS, or mail–to each voter with their unique link. The link then takes them directly to their ballot.

Once the notices are sent, administrators are unable to see the access keys. If your administrator prints the ballots or surfaces the access key, ElectionBuddy makes a note of this in the admin audit report to ensure transparency.

With this type of ballot, you can enable two-factor authentication to increase security.

Medium Integrity Ballots

The next option below High Integrity Ballots is Medium Integrity Ballots. This setting allows the administrator to create the voter’s access keys and passwords. Administrators have access to all voting credentials and can even vote on behalf of absentee voters. 

ElectionBuddy recommends this setting when your vote administrator has no vested interest in the outcome of the election. This helps maintain the vote’s integrity. Otherwise, this type of ballot is similar to High Integrity Ballots in that voters still receive notices the same way. There can also be a voter sign-in page that can be shared by the vote’s administrator externally, such as social media posts or website listings.

The key takeaway here is that the vote’s administrator creates an organization and vote key.

Low Integrity Ballots

With Low Integrity Ballots, the election’s administrator creates a shared link for all of the voters. Unlike with the previous two ballot styles, no access key is required for voters, and voters are able to submit their ballots more than once. This type of ballot is typically recommended for surveys or polls, or any other scenario where the general public is allowed to participate.

Election administrators can create a general, shared access link that is unique to their vote. Then, they distribute said link themselves, either via social media, through an external email, or adding it to a website. Also, instead of creating a formal voter list, administrators simply enter how many submitted ballots they wish to receive.

ElectionBuddy: Easy and Secure Elections

There are many more ways ElectionBuddy can secure your election. From encrypting ballots to protect voter privacy to allowing anonymous votes, you can customize your election experience while guaranteeing security.

Contact us today to secure your next election!

Join 11,984+ organizations like yours that use ElectionBuddy to build more easy online elections

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