How it works
An ElectionKeeper election moves through five stages: build, invite, vote, close and publish. Here is what happens at each one, and what you control.
1. Build the ballot
Start from a template (student union, board, club AGM, referendum or small committee) or a blank ballot. Add positions and candidates, with photos and short statements, or let candidates submit their own for your approval. Each position has its own voting method.
Options per position include an Abstain choice, write-in candidates (single choice and multi-winner), and a random candidate order for each voter. Voter groups can restrict a position to part of your membership, such as one faculty or one region.
2. Add voters
Import your member list as a CSV file. ElectionKeeper checks it first and shows you duplicates, invalid addresses and other problems before anything is saved. You can also copy voters from a previous election.
Every voter gets a personal key that works once. On paid elections, keys are emailed in an invitation. On any plan, you can share each voter's link yourself or print key cards for in-person meetings. You see each invitation's delivery status, so you know who didn't receive one. For contested elections, you can also ask voters for a second detail, such as their member number.
3. Schedule
Choose when voting opens and closes, in your organization's time zone. Voters always see times in the election's time zone and in their own. You can limit voting to daily hours, for example 9 AM to 5 PM each day of a three-day election.
Before launch, a checklist shows the whole timeline in plain words, asks you to confirm your bylaws allow online voting, and warns you about anything unusual. You also choose the security level: Standard, or Strict, where only your team holds the key that opens the results. On paid elections, up to two reminders go to people who haven't voted yet, and you can extend voting if you need to.
4. Voting
Voters open their link on any phone or computer. No account and no app. After the key check, they see only the positions they're eligible for, in their chosen language. A review screen lists every choice, and any skipped position, before they submit. Their browser then locks the ballot so nobody can open it until voting closes.
Each voter gets a ballot code. After voting closes, they can find it in the published list of counted ballots. While voting is open, you see turnout, never anyone's choices.
5. Results
Ballots stay locked until voting closes. Then you unlock the results (in Strict, with your results key), review them privately, merge any write-in spellings, and publish when you're ready. Nothing is published automatically. Published results get a public page, and you can download an official report, co-signed by your observers if you invited any.
Every version of the results is digitally signed when it's produced. Anyone can check the published results and ballot record haven't been changed since. Read more on the security page.
Voting methods
Each position uses one of four methods. You can mix them on one ballot.
| Method | The voter | Who wins |
|---|---|---|
| Single choice | Picks one candidate | The candidate with the most votes (plurality) |
| Multi-winner | Picks up to the number of seats (or a lower limit you set) | The candidates with the most votes fill the seats (block voting) |
| Ranked choice | Ranks candidates in order of preference; ranking only some is fine | Instant runoff for one seat: the last-placed candidate is eliminated each round and their votes move to the next choice, until someone has a majority of the ballots still counting |
| Referendum | Votes Yes or No | Passes if the Yes share of Yes and No votes meets the rule you choose: a simple majority (over 50%), two-thirds or three-quarters. Abstentions are reported but don't count either way. |
Ties are broken by a random seed that's committed to when the election launches and revealed when it closes, so nobody can steer the outcome. In ranked choice, an elimination tie first looks back at earlier rounds. Multi-seat ranked choice (single transferable vote) isn't available yet.
Ready to try it? Create a free account: elections of up to 25 voters are free.