Civic organizations are like any other organization with elected boards or committees, and should follow basic democratic processes to boost voter participation, increase voter confidence, and improve election accessibility. To better understand the best practices for civic organization elections, it’s important to learn about civic engagement and civic organizations.
Civic engagement refers to anyone contributing and actively working to make a difference in the lives of their communities. This often includes solving public problems and promoting an improvement in the quality of life within a community. Civic engagement can refer to both political and non-political processes to make these changes happen.
Civic organizations are organizations that seek to improve civic engagement or the lives and conditions within a community. These can include chambers of commerce, which are organizations that promote local businesses and provide opportunities for networking. Other examples include community foundations, humane societies, and nonprofit organizations like Rotary Club, American Red Cross, and United Way.
Voters will get on board for election processes that mirror ones they are already familiar with, no matter the organization. When establishing election processes for board members, leadership, or motions, following these three guidelines can improve the election:
Voters can’t vote if they don’t know when the election is being held or how to cast their ballots. ElectionBuddy offers all-in-one election services to send out automated reminders to voters, letting them know exactly when they need to submit their ballots, how they can fill their ballots out, and any other information critical to the organization’s election practices.
Voter turnout, or lack thereof, can skew the legitimacy of an election. If only a small portion of voters is represented in an election, the majority who did not‒or were not able to‒vote may become skeptical of the election processes or feel unheard.
Organizations can improve their voter turnout by providing multiple secure, user-friendly options for ballot submissions. Members from around the world can submit their ballots with 256-bit encryption, which means their votes are protected by the same security used for virtual private networks (VPNs) and government agencies.
Transparency is what keeps democratic processes strong. If voters do not understand or do not trust the election process, they are less likely to engage. A loss in engagement means members can feel unheard, upset, or even leave the organization. ElectionBuddy takes the guesswork out of elections.
ElectionBuddy’s Election Experts can guide organizations through their election processes, advising on best practices and troubleshooting along the way. Experts can help explain the election process from when voters cast their ballot to how the votes are counted and verified. This can help ensure a transparent election that leaves voters feeling confident and assured.
When establishing election processes for civic organizations, it’s important to have election support that is secure, reliable, and easy-to-use. ElectionBuddy offers a comprehensive voting platform that ensures election integrity, simple voting software, and customizable ballots.
With ElectionBuddy, organizations can seamlessly integrate existing voter lists from Gmail, Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, and other applications to make reaching out to voters easier than ever. There are numerous customization options‒from multiple languages to write-ins and comments‒to make sure every organization can have the election system they want.
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