Advantages of Voting Online
Verifiable ballots
For the first time, voters may verify their ballot after voting, effectively playing a role in auditing an election. They do this by stepping through a verification wizard that cryptographically verifies a ballot exists; is unaltered; and is being counted. Compared to other voting methods where a voter is left hoping all goes well once they drop a ballot in the mail or walk away from the polling station this is a huge step forward. Learn more about
Ballot Verification.
Certified election results
At Skypunch Technology,
certified does not simply mean issuing an attestation that proper processes were followed. It means an election manager has completed a verification process to be certain no ballot was altered after entering the system and that all ballots are counted once and only once. Verification triggers the Skypunch certification mark to appear on the election results page as described at
Election Verification and Certification.
Immediate election results
Remove human fallibility from the tabulation process and eliminate the need for a recount as you learn election results within seconds of the close of voting. Results may optionally be published publicly so that your electorate knows the results just as quickly as you do and appreciates the transparency of receiving results from a service provider rather than the election administrators.
Copy previous elections
Organizations often vote on the same positions year after year. To expedite election setup, clients may simply copy a previous election, updating only the candidate names and dates rather than to go through the process from scratch each time as is necessary with other voting methods. Along with things like the nomination engine and candidate biography self-service, it is one of many
time-savers offered by Skypunch Technology.
Immediate and direct ballot insertion
Unlike mailing a paper ballot, which may or may not reach its destination in time, ballots submitted at Skypunch Technology go directly into the ballox box to be tabulated without being touched by humans, lost in the mail or otherwise mishandled along the way. All while empowering voters to vote at their convenience with the additional certainty of being able to
verify their ballot afterwards.
Reduced costs
Printing, mailing and tabulating paper ballots is expensive, as is accommodating in-person voting stations. Direct all, or as much as possible, of that activity to Skypunch Technology in exchange for much lower costs and enjoy the added benefit of knowing ballots are cryptographically hash chained for an auditing capability not even possible with any other method.
Email Reminders
When you know in real time who has, and has not, voted, you may drive increased voter participation by sending reminders during the course of voting to those who have not yet voted encouraging them to do so and include a link straight to the ballot.
Eliminate spoiled ballots
No hanging chad or butterfly ballot has ever caused voter confusion at Skypunch Technology. In fact, the concept of a spoiled ballot vanishes completely since compliance with voting rules may be forced. Whether requiring voters to choose at least a minimum number of choices, or not more than a maximum, voters are informed of how to ensure their ballot conforms to voting rules and a ballot may not be submitted until it does.
Ballot Shuffling
No longer is it necessary to draw names from a hat in order to determine who appears first on the ballot. Turn on ballot shuffling so that candidate names are randomly positioned on the ballot each time a different voter accesses it so all candidates get a fair chance at prime name placement. Shuffling may be turned on for some positions and turned off for others on the same ballot.
On-demand Paper Ballots
When you must accept a paper ballot, the system permits retrieving one that is voter-specific and honors all the election settings for a particular voter just as web ballots do. That might mean including some positions while suppressing others depending on the voter group and/or special interest groups to which a voter belongs.
Comprehensive Reporting
Beyond just knowing who won, you will also have informative day-by-day statistics about voter turnout and the ability to filter the results by any number of parameters including voter groups, special interest groups, or up to four voter demographic metrics for added business intelligence. All demonstrated at the
Sample Election Results page.
Archived Election Results
Election results remain in your account for up to ten years following an election so you are spared from digging through a file cabinet to find results from previous years. Your data is also safe and secure as it is both encrypted and backed up a minimum of six times across multiple locations.
Ability to correct mistakes
This means two things. First, voters may return to the ballot and change their selections before final submission of a ballot. Secondly, should an election manager realize a mistake at the last minute, making the correction is as quick and simple as going into an account and correcting it. No last-minute change orders to a vendor to go back and reprogram or redo anything.