An Introduction to Online Voting/ Surveys 19th November 2015

Overview Established in 2006 by an organisation called iMeta Technologies Ltd Experts in multi-channel voting (postal/ online/ mobile) Provide electoral services to both public and private sector organisations Over 140 clients have used our platform in the last year to run their elections

Clients

What is e-voting? Ability to cast vote online through an internet enabled device (PC/ Tablet/ Mobile) Instruction to vote can be distributed by post or by e-mail Participant can only vote once Process is typically anonymized so no personal data associated with vote cast

Its benefits… Offers greater convenience to voter – which in turn can increase turnout Can replace traditional means of balloting, significantly reducing costs associated with the printing, distribution and counting of postal ballots Real time reporting on turnout provides greater understanding of organisation’s voting behaviour/ metrics

Impact of e-voting on turnout On the whole e-voting generally increases turnout in a ballot Ballot distribution channel plays a major role in determining how individuals vote Notable e-voting projects SNP 2015 candidate selection process - in 47 elections approximately 90% of votes cast online. Largest turnout in Student Union election (MUSU) - all votes cast online Recent examples of organisations moving from purely postal ballot to multi-channel approach: CIHT - 114% increase in 2015 Election of Council (700 to 1500 votes) ICAS - 66% increase in 2015 AGM British Dressage - 630% increase in 2014 Director Elections Royal Aeronautical Society - 100% increase in Council elections Kensington & Chelsea Housing Association - 47% increase in Board Member elections e-voting not a silver bullet for increasing turnout what is being voted on, how the ballots are distributed and also reminders play significant role

Security All websites are encrypted (https) Registered with the Information Commissioners Office All sensitive data stored in a secure data centre. Voting database only stores details of how a vote was cast NOT who cast it Only authorised personnel have access to password protected data Data provided by clients ONLY used for purposes of election Client date deleted after election Security codes can only be used once

Delivery of Ballots Variety of different channels Postal Online (via E-Mail or Post) Mobile SMS Telephone Inperson/ voting machine Most popular model in commercial elections appears to be e-mailing of ballots to all members with valid address, postal ballot sent to the remainder. Over 35% of all votes cast using Mi-Voice are through the mobile channel.

How it Works Codes Generated Notification Ballot Reminder Online Post Client provides membership data in encrypted spreadsheet Membership Split by Profile Codes Generated Communication Notification Ballot Reminder Member votes Online Post Received by Mi-Voice Code Checked Votes collated Result declared Mi-Voice Support

Walkthrough

Communication

Ballot

Further Information PDF Text Video

Voting Process Select Confirm Finished

Reporting – E-Mail Hardbounces Opens Click throughs

Reporting - Turnout

Considerations Data – quality of e-mail addresses Membership – attitude towards technology/ desire to change? Anonymity/ sensitivity of membership data and management of information Voting process – applicability to voting online Communication process – both from organisation and Mi-Voice Support Nominations

Surveys In addition to voting, the Mi-Voice platform can be used for simple surveys The system supports a variety of different question types Surveys can be ‘open’ – anyone can participate or ‘secure’ – a code is required to participate

Surveys - Screenshots