Online Voting : 10 reasons to implement Nowadays

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Over the last two and a half years, companies across the globe have had to face innovative ways to operate and use the newest technology. Due to this continuous and accelerated globalization, old-school hand-marked and paper-based voting at the ballot box remain by the voting majority and have seen a drastic change.

Electronic Voting, or E-voting, is a computer-mediated system usually carried out through a voting app that allows voters to fill out and share a secret, secured ballot. Whether you are a company, association, nonprofit, or public institution, and regardless of your industry, the way you hold meetings has most likely seen great change. From governance meetings migrating to online-only or hybrid events to e-voting advancing to proxy, real-time voting, this method is increasingly used across sectors.

From quick setup to increased result reliability and safety, here are 10 reasons why any organization benefits from using an online voting system.

1. Speed of implementation.

From beginning to end, a quality electronic voting system allows organizations and individuals to forego the hurdles caused by traditional paper-based voting, such as printing and preparing the ballot, to ensure a faster vote count and tabulation. Thanks to improving technology, using an online voting system will help you save a great amount of time by taking care of all aspects from A-Z. From sending ballots with just a few clicks and streamlining the election to tallying the results and offering final analysis, reports, and counts.

2. Cost savings

Elections can quickly become an expensive engagement, and the financial toll of operation can put a strain on your budget. With online voting, you easily reduce costs and improve the overall election process. By avoiding the printing and mailing fees of the ballots— which may also be accompanied by the potential cost of stamps or shipping— you are eliminating the earliest and most tedious phases of the election process. Instead, you can send instructions via email or help voters access their ballots online to simplify the entire process– through your own member’s portal or a third-party option.

3. Smart voting

The digitalization of information allows the use of many formats, be it text, PDF, audio orr video. E-voting offers the opportunity for equal, informed votes and high-quality vote choice, as everything needed is gathered within the application, such as publications, statements of faith, and anything else deemed necessary.

Offering an online vote is a chance to present individuals with all the necessary information, displayed clearly and efficiently, promoting an informed, fair, and convenient voting experience— hence, encouraging more regular participation of the voters.

4. Reliable & Trustworthy Results

Online voting means a safe, integer vote. By implementing an online voting system, you eliminate the risk of fraud, and double voting, and enable accountable votes demonstrated by auditing tools. Compared to postal voting, e-voting can reduce the incidence of vote-selling, family voting or any other kind of manipulation through direct control.

5. Immediate results

One of the main advantages of online voting is its convenience in terms of speed, as it offers almost immediate results, counts, and digital analysis through available daily tools, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Having everything digitalized ensures accuracy, speed of vote counting, and instant decision-making. No need to wait anymore – results are in within minutes.

6. Guaranteed privacy and secrecy of the vote

Voter privacy is still a top priority and utmost concern when considering a voting system or app. E-voting ensures absolute privacy and that there is no retaliation against the voter for the cast vote. It greatly avoids pressure for the voter when you can conduct anonymous surveys, polls, voting events, and elections, which remove the worry of expressing their own opinion or discussing controversial information.

7. An election following the regulations

Laws and regulations are strict, many, and vary across sectors and countries. With an electronic voting system, you can easily ensure you are conforming with the corresponding regulations. Not only will it demonstrably adhere to democratic principles, but it will also comply with data protection and security laws that fulfill the requirements of the international protection profile.

8. Voting whenever, wherever

Ideally, voting should be simple, location-independent, and accessible. With an online voting app like Voteer, you reduce barriers to participation, allowing participants and voters to cast a vote from anywhere, at any time. Whether on vacation, abroad, on sick leave, or- voting is done with just a few clicks, in minutes, without the need of having to drive or go anywhere.

9. Environmentally friendly

Holding a paper ballot election for 10,000 voters generates greenhouse gas emissions of over 500 kg of CO2. That’s equivalent to driving over 1000 miles (ca. 1,609 km) in an average passenger car. The environmental cost increases if you are mailing the ballot to voters. E-voting might be the most environmentally friendly option, as it saves unnecessary paper waste and trips, greatly lowering CO2 emissions from not using the car to drive to the nearest polling place. Instead, you’ll receive

10.  Increased participation:

Finally, offering online-voting could motivate younger voters, especially, to take part in elections they would otherwise ignore, raising the participation rate at the poll stations, as they are accessible 24/7 and allows the voter to connect from their computer, tablet, or smartphone without having to install anything.

Ready to leverage online voting at your next meeting?

Digitalize the vote to engage your voters and improve governance meetings today.

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