Table of Contents. Click on heading to navigate directly to that section. Introduction... 3

Transcription

1 Election Guide

2 Table of Contents Click on heading to navigate directly to that section. Introduction... 3 Part One: Pre-Election Set-Up... 3 Step 1: Logging into Your Simply Voting User Account... 3 Step 2: Creating the Ballot... 4 Step 2: Managing the Ballot... 5 Step 2.1: Managing Ballot Details... 5 Step 2.2: Managing Electors With UMN Internet IDs... 6 Step 2.3: Managing Electors Without UMN Internet IDs... 8 Step 2.4: Managing Questions... 9 Step 2.5: Managing Question Options Step 2.6: Previewing the Ballot Step 3: Finalizing the Ballot Part Two: Waiting and Active Election Management Step 1: Starting or Ending an Election Early Step 2: Sending Blasts to Electors With UMN Internet IDs Step 2.1: Sending Blasts to Electors Without UMN Internet IDs Step 3: Scheduling Blasts to Electors Step 4: Managing Bounces Step 5: Checking Segmented (or not) Elector Turnout Part Three: Post Election Management Step 1: Checking, Interpreting, and Publishing Results Step 2: Checking Comments (if applicable) Step 3: Checking Activity Log Conclusion Glossary... 30

3 Introduction Welcome to the University of Minnesota Election Guide. Setting up an online election can seem daunting initially, but this guide will walk you step-by-step through the set up of a typical election, in addition to election management during and after your designated voting period. If at any time during the election set-up process you feel overwhelmed or have any questions, contact us via the Support Form on our website or give us a call at 1 (800) during business hours. Part One: Pre-Election Set-Up Step 1: Logging into Your Simply Voting User Account To access UMN s Election Manager, visit the following URL: As instructed, click the Login button. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 3 of 32

4 Step 1 continued: Logging into Your Simply Voting User Account After clicking Login you will arrive at UMN s Shibboleth Sign In page. Enter your Internet ID and Password. The first page you will see after successful login is the Election Manager s Ballots page. From this initial page you will start building your election ballot. Step 2: Creating the Ballot A Ballot represents a voting event. All ballots begin in Draft status, and while in Draft status your election is fully editable. Your election will not allow voting until you change the status from Draft, as discussed further on in this Guide. You may also have multiple simultaneous or overlapping election ballots, serving multiple voting events. In the Ballot Name text field beneath the New Ballot header create a title for your election ballot describing your voting event (e.g UMN Senate Election ). In the dropdown menu labeled Usergroup, select the appropriate Usergroup for the election you are drafting (there may be only one choice). Click the Create button when you are ready to create your initial Draft. You may optionally Clone an existing ballot to copy over its dates, electors and questions into the new ballot. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 4 of 32

5 Step 2 continued: Creating the Ballot Once created, click on the title of the newly created election beneath the Ballot Name header to begin managing the ballot. Step 2: Managing the Ballot After you have created an initial ballot, click on its Ballot Name and use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to each section. Step 2.1: Managing Ballot Details In the Ballot Details section, beneath the Edit Ballot header, you define the election s Starting Date and Time in addition to the Closing Date and Time. Clock time corresponds to your local time zone. Moreover, you must also specify the election s Usergroup. You can also specify an optional Description as well. This Description will appear at the top of the election ballot and you may add emphasis by using various available HTML Tags in this, and any other Description field elsewhere in the ballot. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 5 of 32

6 Step 2.1 continued: Managing Ballot Details Step 2.2: Managing Electors With UMN Internet IDs In the Electors section, you can start adding eligible electors. Electors are all eligible voters that can participate and vote in your election. You can begin by adding electors Manually one by one, or you can Import electors in-full by setting up and formatting a.csv file with your elector data in it, which will save you time and energy. A properly formatted.csv file, that leaves out column headers or titles, using a common spreadsheet software will look like the sample below. Each column corresponds to elector data: Required - Column 1: Supply a unique Elector ID for every elector. All elector IDs for UMN will correspond to a voter s Internet ID. For voters without a UMN Internet ID, please refer to the next section. Optional - Column 2: Supply a Name for every elector. Optional - Column 3: Supply an address for every elector. Optional - Column 4: You can leave this fourth column Blank for every elector, since Passwords will not be stored on Simply Voting. Optional - Column 5: Supply a Segment code for every elector, such as the voter s registered college or some other important group to which they belong, if segments are necessary (segments may not always be necessary for every election). University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 6 of 32

7 Step 2.2 continued: Managing Electors With UMN Internet IDs As you can see from this sample, each Elector has been segmented by their registered college (Column 5 / E). Additionally, you can also segment Electors into Multiple Segments. To do this, add a semi-colon (e.g. Design;Liberal Arts) between any segment values. Segments set up like the example above will allow you to define questions with the following types of voter access, for example: Questions which all Electors may vote on regardless of their registered college. Questions which only Design Electors may vote on. Questions which only Design and Liberal Arts Electors may vote on, etc. If you supply a Name for your electors, s will greet them using their name and when they authenticate themselves and access the voting ballot, their name will be displayed at the top of the screen. If you supply an Address for your electors, you will be able to use Simply Voting s Blast feature to send out voting initial voting instructions and reminder s. Once you have set up your file with elector data, save it as a.csv file and import it into the Ballot from the Electors section. Once Electors have been imported into your ballot, if you come across any errors in this Draft stage of the ballot, such as an incorrect name or address, like in the example below, you can Edit an Elector by clicking on its blue Elector ID link in elector list. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 7 of 32

8 Step 2.2 continued: Managing Electors With UMN Internet IDs Once you ve fixed any errors, click Save to update the elector s entry. Step 2.3: Managing Electors Without UMN Internet IDs Electors without Internet IDs should still be included in your properly formatted.csv file. Like Electors with Internet IDs, you will similarly format Electors without Internet IDs in your.csv file. Each column corresponds to elector data: Required - Column 1: Supply a unique Elector ID for every elector. For voters without a UMN Internet ID, assign each a unique value, like their address. Optional - Column 2: Supply a Name for every elector. Optional - Column 3: Supply an address for every elector. Optional - Column 4: You can leave this fourth column Blank for every elector, and a randomly generated Password will be assigned to each elector. Optional - Column 5: Supply a Segment code for every elector, such as the voter s registered college or some other important group to which they belong, if segments are necessary (segments may not always be). Additionally, include a special segment for only electors without Internet IDs, like external or ` no_id. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 8 of 32

9 Step 2.3 continued: Managing Electors Without UMN Internet IDs Step 2.4: Managing Questions In the Questions section you define the items or issues being voted upon. Questions represent individual topics on which your electors will vote. In the text field beneath the New Question header create a Title for your first question describing the topic (e.g. Student Senate or Mascot Vote ) and then click the Create button. After you ve created a new question, click on its Title to manage the details and voting options associated with the question. Beneath the Edit Question header you now edit the Title, specify a Description (Optional), upload an Image (Optional). In the Description you can use certain HTML tags to add formatting emphasis as desired. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 9 of 32

10 Step 2.4 continued: Managing Questions Now you must specify the Type of question and additional question details. Plurality (most votes wins): This is often used for candidate races or Yes/No questions, and this is your basic election ballot question type. It is the type of question that requires electors to Select from the following options. For Plurality questions you may also select whether or not you would like to accept Write-ins. Write-ins allow electors type-in a voting option (such as a candidate s name) in a free form text field. If Write-ins are enabled, Simply Voting standardizes any nuances in capitalization. Write-ins are tabulated on the results section like any other results. Preferential (rank each option): This is often used for preference questions where electors must rank in order their preference for certain voting options. For Preferential questions you must specify how Voters Rank, which defines how many of options must be ranked for a vote to be accepted: Optional Preferential, electors must rank a minimum of one option. Partial Preferential, electors must rank a minimum of one option for every position available (the number of winners). Full Preferential, electors must rank all options. Additionally for Preferential questions, you must also select the Counting Method, which determines how your results are calculated. The following Counting Methods are available: Borda Count Single Transferable Vote / Hare-Clark / Instant Runoff Voting Condorcet Ranked Pairs / Tideman. For a more complete explanation of Preferential questions and possible Counting Methods, please login to your Simply Voting account and refer to the Help Page inside the Election Manager. Comment Box: This is often used for gathering freeform text responses to questions that require the elector to supply some form of information or text (e.g. Additional Comments or Suggestions on How to Better Serve Students etc.). There is no limit on how much content an elector can supply for a Comments question. If Abstain is enabled, electors simply leave the text area blank if they do not wish to comment. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 10 of 32

11 Step 2.4 continued: Managing Questions Info Box: This is often used to group similar questions together, such as those relating to a particular office or position or perhaps a category of questions, or to simply to add a block of descriptive or informative text somewhere on the ballot. For instance, you could specify a header Title such as Student Services Funding and a Description that explained the next series of questions. Then you could create a series of questions all relating to the above category. For Plurality questions you must specify the Minimum and Maximum number of options that Voters Select. (e.g. If 50 vacancies are being filled on Student Senate, you could specify electors must select at least 1 option and no more than 50, out of x total options). For Preferential questions, you must specify Number of Winners, which defines how many voting options will be elected (e.g. If 1 new mascot is going to be chosen, winners would be set to 1). For all questions, you define how each question is (or is not) Segmented. If the entire electorate should be able to vote on a question, No Segmentation should be chosen (though selecting all available segments performs the same function). However, if only specific segmented groups of the electorate need access, then only those specific groups should be selected. For some questions you must specify the Sorting of Options, which defines how voting options are presented to electors when viewing the ballot. These sorting options include Random, Alphanumeric, or in a specific Fixed Order. With a Fixed Order, you can move voting options [Up] and [Down] to create a unique order of your own choosing. Moreover, for some questions you must also specify whether electors are allowed or disallowed to Abstain. Click Save after you ve filled out the details of the question before proceeding onto Question Options. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 11 of 32

12 Step 2.4 continued: Managing Questions Step 2.5: Managing Question Options Options are the candidates or options electors may select. There is no limit to the number of options. You can add options Manually if you have a small amount, or you can Import from a.csv file if you have a large amount of options. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 12 of 32

13 Step 2.5 continued: Managing Question Options To add options Manually, simply type the name of each option in the available text fields and then click Add. You can add up to four at once, so to add more and more options, simply repeat this process. If there is a large number of options, you can Import options en masse from a.csv file. Using a common spreadsheet software, place the name of each option on a new line in Column 1 / A. Once your.csv file is set up, click Import beneath the Add Options From CSV File header. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 13 of 32

14 Step 2.5 continued: Managing Question Options After you ve created one or more options, click on an Option Name to manage and format the Description, using certain HTML Tags, and upload an Image if necessary. Once finished, click Save. Step 2.6: Previewing the Ballot Once you have finished managing your entire set of question Options, scroll back to the top of the screen and review your ballot by clicking on Preview Questions. Preview Links are also available on the Ballot Details and Finalize sections as well. Previews will give you a sense of how a ballot will look and how electors can interact with it from your Voting Website. The Preview will also display every question s Segmentation Restriction (if there are any), so you can check that your questions are Segmented the way you wish. Information regarding how questions are Segmented will not appear on the real voter ballot. The Preview URL in your browser s address bar is unique to that Ballot and can be shared with other associates or colleagues via . These other evaluators can access the Preview URL without having to access the Election Manager. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 14 of 32

15 Step 2.6 continued: Previewing the Ballot University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 15 of 32

16 Step 2.6 continued: Previewing the Ballot Step 3: Finalizing the Ballot Once you have completed your ballot review use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Finalize section to complete a final check. You cannot Finalize your ballot until you pass all the final checks. If a Fix is required, a [fix it] link will appear. One common mistake is not using a future Start Date and Start Time. Once all checks are passed, you can Preview your ballot before clicking Finalize. Once Finalized, your Ballot s Status will change from Draft to Waiting and your election will begin and end automatically at the time you specified earlier. You will also no longer be able to edit or change the ballot to protect the integrity of the election, so if you find a mistake or need to alter the ballot after it has been Finalized, please contact Support from the Support page on our website. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 16 of 32

17 Part Two: Waiting and Active Election Management Step 1: Starting or Ending an Election Early Election organizers have varied reasons for why an election needs to be started or ended early. For instance, you may want to start an election early so electors do not have to wait until the previously specified date and time to cast their vote, or you may want to end an election early if you have reached a specific amount of voter turnout. To start or end an election early, login into your Simply Voting account. The first page you will see is the Election Manager s Ballots page. Click on your election s Ballot Name. This will bring you to the ballot s Ballot Overview section. If the election has not yet started, next to the Start Date a [start now] link will appear. If the election has already started, next to the End Date an [end now] link will appear. In either starting or ending an election early, a Confirmation Box will pop-up asking if you are sure you want to perform this early action. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 17 of 32

18 Step 2: Sending Blasts to Electors With UMN Internet IDs Login into your Simply Voting account. The first screen you will see is the Election Manager s Ballots page. Click on your election s Ballot Name and use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Blast section. If your election is in Waiting or Active status, you can now send an blast immediately to your electors, inviting them to vote in your election, and supplying them with instructions, or you can opt to send an blast later, at a specific date and time of your choosing. You have three general choices when choosing the recipients of your Blasts: You may send an Blast to All Electors with a valid address, often useful for sending out your first invitation for a ballot and instructions. Or you may send an Blast to Electors that have not yet voted, often useful for sending out reminders to increase voter turnout. Or you may send an Blast to Specific Electors, often useful for resending invitations or reminders to individual electors with bounced addresses that have been corrected, in addition to countless other possible reasons as well. Using the Segmentation drop-down menus, you can also target Segments of your electorate (as specified by your.csv file), which then allows you to tailor content as necessary to any given segment and send an blast to only Design segmented electors who have not yet voted for instance. Once you have decided on the recipients of your blast, you may specify who the message is From. You then specify the Subject and format the Body of the message. Simply Voting provides you with a standard content template, but the Body of the is a free form text field so you can add and remove as much content as you would like. Moreover, you can use certain HTML tags to add formatting emphasis as desired. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 18 of 32

19 Step 2 continued: Sending Blasts to Electors With UMN Internet IDs Items in {Brackets} indicate items of special code, which will be unique to each recipient, and the system will automatically fill in appropriate {bracketed} information as the s are sent out to electors. For most UMN purposes, {name} is likely the only special code item to be used: Use {name} to address by Name your electors Electors should always be directed to the following URL to complete any votes: Once you think you are satisfied with the Body of your message, you can click on Preview Body, above the New Blast header, to see a Sample Preview with some dummy placeholder elector data. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 19 of 32

20 Step 2 continued: Sending Blasts to Electors With UMN Internet IDs If your election is in Waiting or Active status, you can now send an blast immediately to your electors, inviting them to vote in your election, and supplying them with instructions and any other information you may wish, or you can opt to send an blast later, at a specific date and time of your choosing. To send an blast immediately, select the Send immediately button in below the s Body in the Schedule section. Click Send when you are ready. After sending your message, a blue Sending Blasts Message will appear and your Blast History section will be updated with your new blast. For larger blasts, as indicated in the Blast History section, Processing Time may take several minutes. You can always check on the Status of an blasts to determine if the system is still processing it and sending out s by looking to see if it is Active or Finished. For smaller blasts, Processing Time may only take a few minutes. Once your blast is complete, the Status will be listed as Finished. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 20 of 32

21 Step 2 continued: Sending Blasts to Electors With UMN Internet IDs For blasts with 10 or less electors, Processing Time is essentially instantaneous and a green Success Message will appear. If an blast is received by electors during the Waiting election period, and if any of these electors login, they ll see an Upcoming Ballots section displaying the names of any election ballots for which they are registered but which are not yet currently Active. If there are no Upcoming Ballots for an elector this section is hidden. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 21 of 32

22 Step 2.1: Sending Blasts to Electors Without UMN Internet IDs Login into your Simply Voting account. The first screen you will see is the Election Manager s Ballots page. Click on your election s Ballot Name and use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Blast section. If your election is in Waiting or Active status, you can now send an blast immediately to your electors, inviting them to vote in your election, and supplying them with their unique voting credentials and instructions, or you can opt to send an blast later, at a specific date and time of your choosing. You have three general choices when choosing the recipients of your Blasts: You may send an Blast to All Electors with a valid address, often useful for sending out your first invitation and instructions. Or you may send an Blast to Electors that have not yet voted, often useful for sending out reminders to increase voter turnout. Or you may send an Blast to Specific Electors, often useful for resending invitations or reminders to individual electors with bounced addresses that have been corrected, in addition to countless other possible reasons as well. Using the Segmentation drop-down menus, you can also target Segments of your electorate (as specified by your.csv file), which then allows you to tailor content as necessary to any given segment, such as for voters with no_id. Voters without UMN Internet IDs should always receive Blasts that provide such voters with a Direct Voting Link, that they will use to access the ballot directly, instead of instructing the voter to sign in with any IDs and Passwords. This Direct Voting Link should always be formatted as follows in your Blast: See the example below for a representation of this. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 22 of 32

23 Step 2.1 continued: Sending Blasts to Electors Without UMN Internet IDs Step 3: Scheduling Blasts to Electors To send an blast later, select the Send later button in below the s Body in the Schedule section. Fill out both the Send Date and the Send Time for your future blast and click Send. The Blast History section will be updated with your new blast. To Cancel a previously Scheduled blast, simply click the [cancel] button for the appropriate message. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 23 of 32

24 Step 3 continued: Scheduling Blasts to Electors Once Cancelled, a green Cancel Success Message will appear and the blast will be removed from the Blast History. Step 4: Managing Bounces After you have completed an Blast for the first time, you can keep a tab on any Electors that may not have received their because their address does not exist due to inaccurate spelling, formatting, or because the address no longer is active. Note: Bounce backs in the Electors List may be updated instantaneously, but bounce back may take up to 72 hours as well. To check for bounces, use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Electors section for your election ballot. Scroll to the Find An Elector header and checkmark the box next to Display only electors with invalid s and then click Search. You may also click on the title of the Valid column heading of the elector list to re-sort the list so electors with Missing s and Invalid s are displayed at the beginning. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 24 of 32

25 Step 4 continued: Managing Bounces If you need to correct one or more s you may [edit] the elector s address to supply a corrected one by clicking on the [edit] link in the Valid column. Once you have corrected bounced s, you can Resend an blast by navigating back to the Blast section. From there you can resend an to each Elector you corrected by choosing to send an blast to Specific Electors, or you can simply send a reminder to all Electors that have not voted, and all electors with corrected addresses will be automatically included in this larger blast. When sending Specific Elector Blasts, you only must specify the UMN Internet ID for each elector, on a separate line. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 25 of 32

26 Step 5: Checking Segmented Elector Turnout To keep tabs on your total elector turnout in addition to the turnout for each segment, use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Turnout Report section. From this report you can see the cumulative turnout of electors, the number of electors per day, in addition to a customizable Turnout Chart to gather more specific data on turnout for each segment. To keep tabs on whether individual electors have voted, use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Electors section. You can then use the Find An Elector search to determine whether an individual elector has or has not voted. You may also sort the Electors to organize and display which electors in a specific Segment have voted or not. To do this, use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Electors section. Then you can click on the Voted or Segment column headings, or alternatively [Download a CSV version] to sort and organize data using a common spreadsheet software. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 26 of 32

27 Part Three: Post Election Management Step 1: Checking, Interpreting, and Publishing Results Results are immediately available for view and download upon the end of an election. To view results, login into your Simply Voting account. Use the yellow highlighted dropdown menu to navigate to the Results section. To download your results in a.csv file to further organize or sort the results data in a common spreadsheet software, click on the [Download CSV version] at the bottom of the Results section. To give your Electors access to the Results, you can Publish election results to your Voting Website. Once published, the results are made available to the public on your Voting Website and anyone will be able to view the results summary and verify the results by downloading a file containing votes and receipt numbers. You can always Unpublish election results at any time. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 27 of 32

28 Step 2: Checking Comments (if applicable) Voter comments by default are anonymous. To view Comments, use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Comments section. To download any comments in a.csv file to further organize or analyze the comment data in a common spreadsheet software, click on the [Download CSV version]. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 28 of 32

29 Step 3: Checking Activity Log The Activity Log is an audit trail of all significant activity related to this Ballot and is often used for auditing purposes. Use the yellow highlighted drop-down menu to navigate to the Activity Log section. To download your results in a.csv file to further organize or sort the activity log data in a common spreadsheet software, click on the [Download CSV version]. Conclusion This concludes our University of Minnesota Election Guide. Thank you for using Simply Voting. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 29 of 32

30 Glossary Active (Ballot Status) A period between the starting date and time and the ending date and time during which electors are able to cast their vote. Active ( Blast Status) A period when an blast is currently being processed and sending s out to eligible voters with valid s. Ballot -- Simply Voting uses the concept of a Ballot for any voting event. A ballot contains Questions and Question Options, in addition to a list of eligible Electors. Whether you are setting up an election ballot or a nominations ballot, the same ballot architecture is used. Bounce Notifications If checkmarked in the Election Manager s Setting page (or the appropriate User Details page for Multiple Administrators), you will be notified when blast messages bounce back as undeliverable. Description An optional freeform text field available at the Ballot, Question, and Option levels. Typically instructive or informative text is placed within these fields to present electors with this information while they are completing their vote. Candidate(s) See Options. Clone This Ballot A feature that allows election organizers to clone an existing ballot. This new Draft ballot will have identical ballot details, questions, question options, and the electors of the existing ballot. This is an excellent tool for running test elections..csv (Comma Separated Value) File Format A file format that specifies data within the file must be separated by commas (or columns if you are using Excel) and on a new row for each complete data set. The first data set (column 1) is an Elector ID, the second data set (column 2) is a Name, the third data set (column 3) is an Address, the fourth data set (column 4) is a Password, the fifth data set (column 5) is a Segment. This file format is used when importing electors into a ballot. This file format is also used when downloading the following files from the Election Manager: the list Imported Electors, Results, Comments, or the Activity Log. Direct Vote Link Sent out using Simply Voting s Blast feature, this is a link with unique authentication credentials encrypted into it for every elector, thus all any elector has to do is open their and click on the link. They then will be automatically authenticated and eligible to vote in any ongoing elections, bypassing the need to manually type in voting credentials. This is only used for electors WITHOUT Internet IDs. Election Any voting event occurring through Simply Voting. Election Manager This is the back end where election organizers may manage their pre-election setup or active and post-election management. Log into the Election Manager by clicking Login on Simply Voting s homepage and authenticating with the proper credentials. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 30 of 32

31 Elector ID A unique identifier for each elector, normally used for voter authentication. This is the primary identifier of an elector throughout the Election Manager. For UMN purposes, an elector s Internet ID should be used as an Elector ID. Electors Any eligible participants in a ballot. Blast blasts may be sent from the Blast section located within the desired ballot when logged into the Election Manager. You may send or schedule blasts to all electors, those who have not yet voted, and to a list of specified electors. You may also send blasts immediately, or schedule a certain date and time for when you would like an blast sent to electors. Blasts are useful for sending general information to eligible electors such as when an election will begin and end. Finalize The final step in the pre-election setup process. At this step, you confirm starting date and time in addition to the ending date and time, the number of questions in your election, and the amount of electors in your election ballot. Once finalize, you can no longer make edit changes to the ballot unless you get in touch with Simply Voting staff. To request a change or edit, please contact Support. Once finalized, your electronic ballot transitions into a Waiting stage until the start date and time occurs, at which point the electronic ballot then transitions to an Active stage until the end date and time. Fully Managed Election Simply Voting staff will take care of the pre-election setup, such as constructing your ballot and creating and importing the list of eligible electors. Simply Voting staff will also manage Blast sending and reporting on mid-election turnout, in addition to post-election results and any other opted for additional Premium Services. To inquire about purchasing this Premium Service, contact Support. Kiosk Kiosk voting is often used for in-person or live event voting. A voting Kiosk may simply be a computer connected to the internet with a browser opened to the special Kiosk Voting Website link, available on the Settings page in the Election Manager. After a voter has confirmed and submitted their ballot, the voter is automatically logged out and the kiosk is ready for the next person. Letter of Certification (Results) A letter attesting to the validity of your election results. To request a Letter, please contact Support. Options / Question Options These are the options electors may select from while voting. Options may take the form of candidates running for an elected position, or actions such as accepting or refusing a collective agreement, or something as simple as yes / no / abstain. Password A second identifier for each elector, used for voter authentication. For UMN purposes, electors will use their own UMN Passwords that do not need to be imported into Simply Voting. Plurality (Question Type) These are straightforward first-past-the-post races, whomever has the most votes wins. Plurality can be used for candidate races and Yes/No questions. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 31 of 32

32 Preferential (Question Type) For these questions electors rank the options in order of preference. Votes are more expressive as electors can indicate their second preference, third preference, et cetera. Three counting methods are available for preferential questions that affect how winners are selected: Borda Count; Single Transferable Vote / Hare-Clark / Instant Runoff Voting; and Condorcet Ranked Pairs / Tideman. Segment See Segmentation. Segmentation Is a system that allows election organizers to restrict any question on the ballot to a segment of eligible electors. For instance, restricting certain ballot questions that may only be related to one Academic Year or group within your electorate, et cetera. Shareholder Voting See Weighted Voting. User When opting for the Multiple Administrators Premium Feature, a user is any individual given access to all or portions of the Election Manager. Usergroup -- When opting for the Multiple Administrators Premium Feature, usergroups indicate specially configured groups of users which may have certain restrictions on what elections and sections within elections that can be accessed in the Election Manager. Voter See Elector. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) -- Once the electronic ballot has been cast a printable receipt is provided to assure voters that their votes have been recorded as intended. Should you opt to publish the final results, anyone will be able to download a file containing votes and receipt numbers. This serves as a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) - an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results. Voting Website The unique customizable website to which your electors are directed so that they may authenticate themselves and complete their vote. UMN s Voting Website is: Waiting (Ballot Status) A ballot that is not yet Active, and thus electors must wait until the starting date and time to cast their vote. At this point, election organizers can also no longer perform edits on the ballot on their own, and must contact Simply Voting staff in order to make any changes. Waiting ( Blast Status) A period when an blast is waiting to be processed due to a future date and time scheduled to send an out to eligible voters with valid s. University of Minnesota Election Guide v.1 Page 32 of 32