Please note our 2024 Holiday Support Hours Schedule: our office will be closed from December 23, 2024 through January 3, 2025. Our normal hours will resume on Monday, January 6, 2025.
Skeleton staff will still be available to support our customers. If you require emergency support during this time, please log into the Election Manager, click on the Help button in the bottom right corner of the page, and set the priority to “emergency.” One of our team members will follow up with you promptly.
As we wrap up 2024, we want to take a moment to thank our incredible clients and partners for a year filled with collaboration and success. Your trust and support have been key to our growth, and we’re excited to continue working together in 2025.
During the holiday break, while our office will be closed, our team will remain available to assist with urgent matters, ensuring your elections and voting processes run smoothly. Whether you’re planning for an upcoming election or need immediate support, we’re here to help.
We’re looking forward to an exciting 2025, full of new opportunities, innovations, and strengthened partnerships. Wishing you joyful holidays and a New Year filled with success and progress toward digital democracy.
From all of us at Simply Voting, we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and a very democratic New Year!
We are excited to announce the launch of our redesigned voting website starting December 16th 2024 for most accounts and continuing throughout the first months of 2025 for accounts with premium features, customized voting websites and clients that are in the middle of an election process.
As we are committed to always improving the voter experience, this new design offers a clean, modern look that is both visually appealing and user-friendly. Fully optimized for all devices, it ensures a seamless experience whether electors are browsing on a desktop, tablet or smartphone.
Key Features and Improvements
– Enhanced Accessibility
This refreshed layout aims to inspire confidence, improve usability and offer a smooth effortless experience. With a strong focus on accessibility, the site is designed to be inclusive for all users, providing easy navigation and clear content.
– User-Friendly Design
The new voting website incorporates:
A responsive design that adapts to different devices
Intuitive navigation for a smoother user experience
Simplified content presentation
The new website now includes a progress indicator, a feature designed to reduce abandoned ballots by guiding voters through the process.
Overall, the redesign enhances both the aesthetic and functional elements of the website, streamlining the voting process for electors and ultimately fostering increased participation. By creating a more intuitive and visually appealing interface, we aim to empower voters and make their experience as seamless as possible.
Feedback and Continuous Improvement
We value your input and are committed to continually enhancing your voting experience. We’ll be gathering research and feedback from users to make further improvements.
Simply Voting and Intelivote powered the online voting system and managed election logistics, enabling the municipality to elect its first new mayor in over a decade.
Internet voting was the preferred method for 62% of voters, 13% more compared to 2020.
Montreal, Canada – November 26, 2024 – Simply Voting, in collaboration with Intelivote Systems, successfully delivered online voting solutions for the 2024 Halifax Regional Municipality Election. The innovative approach resulted in a significant increase in online voter turnout, with 69% of votes being cast digitally (internet, kiosk and telephone voting), contributing to a smooth and accessible election process.
In a historic result, the municipality’s residents elected Andy Fillmore. He is a former MP, as its first new mayor in over a decade. Fillmore won decisively, defeating his nearest competitor by 21,000 votes. Voter engagement was at the forefront. Housing and affordability set as Fillmore’s top priorities as he prepares to take office.
Simply Voting provided the online, kiosk and telephone voting platforms for the election. While Intelivote offered logistical support, including election project management. The advance voting election, held from October 8 to October 16. This period allowed voters to cast their ballots using a unique personal identification number via internet or phone. Paper ballots was available only on election day, October 19.
Key Election Stats:
Voter turnout reached 36.8% of the 335,341 eligible voters, with 123,529 total votes cast.
62% of voters chose to vote online, representing 76,386 individuals vs 32% votes by paper ballot.
During advanced voting 90.4% of the votes were cast online using Simply Voting’s platform.
With 58% of voters using desktop devices and 42% using mobile devices.
5% of voters opted for telephone voting, while 2% used the kiosk voting option.
The voting process involved over 1,200 election workers, with months of behind-the-scenes planning.
The success of the election was praised by Returning Officer Iain MacLean: “We are extremely satisfied with the voting solution provided by Simply Voting and Intelivote. This year’s election goal was to ensure accessibility, and the results confirm we met that objective.”
Brian Lack, President of Simply Voting, expressed pride in the company’s contribution: “It’s incredibly gratifying to see our online voting solutions set a new record for online voter turnout. The overwhelming preference for internet voting reaffirms the importance of providing an easy-to-use, accessible platform for all voters.”
Dean Smith, President of Intelivote Systems, also emphasized the collaboration’s success: “Intelivote Systems provided an electronic voting solution to 43 additional separate municipal elections in the province-wide 2024 Municipal Elections allowing up to 94% of all Nova Scotian electors an opportunity to vote safely and conveniently, including over 335,000 electors in HRM. Intelivote’s evoting management with expert knowledge of Municipal Election processes, partnered with Simply Voting’s technology, allowed our clients to deliver successful and secure elections across the municipality and the province.”
About Simply Voting Inc. Simply Voting Inc. is a full-service provider of secure, web-based electronic voting solutions. Over 5,000 organizations from municipalities to universities to unions rely on Simply Voting to safely manage their election. For more information, visit www.simplyvoting.com.
About Intelivote Systems Inc.
Intelivote is a services company which provides eDemocracy solutions to Government at all levels, hundreds of Municipalities in both Ontario and Nova Scotia, political parties, unions, associations and other National and International organizations that regularly conduct elections, surveys, referendums, plebiscites, or other events that require secure, accessible member participation. For more information, visit www.intelivote.com.
We’re excited to announce that for 2024, Simply Voting has made a charity donation of $30,000 to Sun Youth Organization and Le Chaînon.
Our mission is to deliver affordable, trustworthy, and efficient e-democracy solutions to the thousands of organizations we serve. But beyond our role in supporting democratic processes, we also believe in giving back and making a meaningful impact on the world and our local community.
Each year, we invite our team to recommend charitable organizations that are making a positive difference. We then hold a company-wide secret ballot to decide where our support will go, aligning with our commitment to both democracy and community impact.
We’re excited to announce that for 2024, Simply Voting has made donations of $15,000 to each of the following organizations:
Le Chaînon
Founded in 1932, Le Chaînon’s mission is to welcome women in difficulty, unconditionally and without judgment.
Le Chaînon is a society project. Its vision is based on the fundamental idea of kindness and unconditional acceptance, in the hope of seeing a society develop that is truly in the service of the most disadvantaged communities. It acts as a lasting source of hope, it embodies freedom of action while respecting differences, so that vulnerable people can thrive.
They offer women secure shelter as well as help and support adapted to their needs. With the help of experienced assistants, women who come to Le Chaînon will take steps towards achieving personal and social independence and autonomy.
Women benefit from professional support in an environment that encourages the most egalitarian relationships possible.
Le Chaînon also hopes to take collective and social responsibility to denounce inequality, difficult living conditions and the various forms of violence that women experience in their lives. Its goal is to promote the rights of women – with women.
Founded in 1979, Sun Youth Organization (Sun Youth) provides emergency services and basic needs to people in need in Montreal. Sun Youth also runs crime prevention programs, sports and activities for youth, and a summer camp.
In F2022, Sun Youth spent $4.7m cash on its programs and distributed $5.6m in donated goods. The charity runs three main programs: Emergency Services, Community Services, and Camp. Sun Youth’s most recent annual report is from F2023. In F2023, Sun Youth helped under 90,000 people (68,000 in F2022) across its programs. Of the people it helped, 32% were men, 33% were women, and 36% were children.
For 38 years, Sun Youth was based in Montreal’s legendary former Baron Byng High School on Saint-Urbain Street. In November 2018, the Montreal School Board took back its building, which left Sun Youth without a permanent home. Since then, Sun Youth has continued to provide services from temporary facilities while working towards Building a Brighter Future, a plan to build a permanent community hub to offer its services. The federal government committed $10.7m for the new building. .
Community Services represented 15% ($722k) of program costs in F2023. Sun Youth runs sports and after-school and day camps to help youth develop new talents and socialization skills. In F2023, the charity distributed $89,000 worth of school supplies to 1,144 students. 2,500 children participated in Sun Youth’s activities and leagues. The charity also distributed 100 bikes to 100 youths.
For several months, we have worked with Montreal’s My Little Big Webweb design agency to revamp and re-think our corporate website. Today, we’re pleased to launch our new design! We have streamlined and re-imagined some aspects, and incorporated new elements like a Careers page, enhanced FAQs, and improved client testimonials.
To better serve clients, another important change is that our Support form is now only available within the Election Manager – this helps us ensure our Support staff are only communicating with authorized users about any sensitive questions or requests related to your elections and account.
During our business hours, our Support staff are always standing by – either by phone or by email. You can always find our support information once logged into the Election Manager, just locate the “Help” icon in the bottom right corner.
From there you can access our Help Portal with guides and documentation, see our Helpline, or open a support ticket describing your issue and we’ll be in touch shortly.
And for urgent requests that truly can’t wait until our business hours, a member of our Support staff is still on-call 24/7. Again once logged into the Election Manager, just locate the “Help” icon in the bottom right corner, set priority to “urgent” and describe your issue and we’ll be in touch shortly.
We hope you find the new website inviting and informative. And at Simply Voting, we know how critical it is to run successful elections, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need assistance!
2023 Holiday Support Hours Schedule: Please note that our office will be closed from December 25, 2023 through January 5, 2024. Our normal hours will resume on Monday, January 8, 2024.
Skeleton staff will still be available to support our customers. If you require emergency support during this time, please fill out the support form on our website and set the priority to “emergency”. One of our team members will follow up with you promptly.
As we close out 2023, we’d like to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to all of our clients and partners for a year of collaboration and success. Your continued trust and support have been essential to our growth, and we are excited to continue working with you in the coming year.
During this holiday break, while our office will be closed, our team will remain available for urgent matters to ensure that your elections and voting processes proceed smoothly. Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming election or require immediate assistance, we are here to help, even during this quieter period.
We are looking forward to an exciting 2024 filled with new opportunities, innovations, and strengthened partnerships. May your holidays be filled with joy, and may the New Year bring continued success and progress in the pursuit of digital democracy. Thank you for being a part of the Simply Voting community!
From all of us at Simply Voting, we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and a very democratic New Year!
Our mission at Simply Voting has always been providing affordable, secure, trustworthy, and efficient e-democracy solutions for the thousands of organizations we serve. We also understand that companies like our own can have a positive impact on the world around us and particularly our local community.
Every year we survey our staff for potential charitable organizations that continue to make a difference in our community and the world, and internally we run our own secret ballot to determine where our charitable focus will go.
We are pleased to announce that for 2023, Simply Voting has made $15,000 charitable donations to each of the following organizations:
With the belief that suicide is preventable, Centre de Prévention du Suicide de Montréal (CPSM)’s mission is to help prevent it through greater access to information, quality services, and resources. They provide direct support to those who are lonely, depressed and contemplating suicide. They also assist those left behind by suicide including the family, the individual’s social network, and others.
CPSM provides prevention measures, such as education, awareness, and strategies towards prevention; provides a 24/7 telephone helpline and digital intervention line; and provides postvention to support recovery and healing.
Mission Nouvelle Generation is an organization that strives to help underprivileged people in their emotional, psychological, spiritual and material needs by providing support and guidance toward appropriate resources within the Mission.
Services include:
a food bank that provides food to over 1,500 families each week in Montreal
bike workshops that recycle and repair old bicycles
a low-cost general mechanical service
a community garden
and a store that offers new and used goods at low prices.
The 2023 AMCTO conference is a unique opportunity for municipal professionals, key vendors and suppliers, and special guests to attend. It’s the place to exchange new ideas, and explore important topics, such as internet voting for Ontario municipalities!
Known as ‘The Municipal Experts’, AMCTO offers a breadth of expertise and knowledge through year-round education and professional development programming. Also, through our members across a range of municipal operation areas and legislative issues. They are recognized as an influential voice for local government professionals regarding key management and legislative issues affecting the sector.
Simply Voting is attending the 2023 AMCTO conference, which is taking place June 11-14 in Niagara Falls! We’re looking forward to having some great discussions with municipal staff and leaders from across the province. Drop by and speak with us at booth #44!
As a trusted provider of secure and transparent online voting solutions, Simply Voting is dedicated to empowering municipalities with the tools they need to run efficient, inclusive, and reliable elections. The AMCTO conference provides the perfect platform to showcase how our technology can streamline voting processes, enhance accessibility, and build public confidence in electoral outcomes. Let’s work together to shape the future of voting!
In 2022, Simply Voting proudly helped 50 municipalities deliver successful elections driven by internet voting, and we can’t wait to help deliver many more come 2026!
At Simply Voting, we understand that companies can and should do more to have a positive impact on the world around them and the communities in which they exist. In addition to annual donations to charitable organizations voted upon by our staff, we seek to directly impact our local community in Montreal with volunteering efforts as well.
This year we partnered with Tree Canada, a national non-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees in rural and urban environments. Our mission: help beautify and “green” a local elementary schoolyard with ten trees to ensure young students could benefit from shade coverage.
So on a comfortably warm Friday our staff took time out of their workday, and with tools in hand and water bottles at the ready, we did just that! We worked in teams, taking on specific roles to make our work efficient. Along the way, our staff learned about several nuances around planting and caring for trees, and overall we embraced and matched the passion from our partners.
While we were tired and sore after hours of planting, and in between desperate dreams of ice cream, we could see how the literal sweat and effort would make a lasting addition to the schoolyard for generations of students. Our staff live nearby so we will see firsthand how the trees grow and take root.
We would like to thank Tree Canada for being an excellent partner and helping assist Simply Voting to make a positive impact in our community, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Tree Canada in the future.
Please note our 2022 Holiday Support Hours Schedule office: our office will be closed from December 26, 2022 through January 6, 2023. Our normal hours will resume on Monday, January 9, 2023.
Skeleton staff will still be available to support our customers. If you require emergency support during this time, please fill out the support form on our website and set the priority to “emergency”. One of our team members will follow up with you promptly.
From all of us at Simply Voting, we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and a very democratic New Year!
