New Electors Import Assistant

Importing a list of eligible voters into Simply Voting is now easier than ever. Using our brand-new Electors Import Assistant, election administrators can now easily import electors into their election without having to reorder, merge, or delete columns from their original spreadsheet.

Now when you import your electors, the assistant will pop-up and display the first few rows of your file for review. From there, you can “map” the elector data in your file to the available Voting System fields by using dropdown menus at the bottom of each column.

Feature highlights

  • No reordering required: You can now import your electors into Simply Voting without having to order the columns in your spreadsheet in any specific way. If a column is not relevant to your election, simply leave it designated as “Ignore” in the new Elector Import Assistant, and it will not be imported.
  • Easily merge names: If your spreadsheet includes first and last names in two separate columns, Simply Voting can now automatically merge them together into a single column. Just assign the “First Name” and “Last Name” data fields to their respective columns using the new Elector Import Assistant, and Simply Voting will do the rest.
  • Support for semi-colon delimited files: You can now import electors or options from either comma-delimited or semicolon-delimited CSV files.

A detailed guide for Managing Electors is available inside our Help Portal. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this new feature, or anything else we might be able to assist you with!

Managing Bad Emails

Voter communication is a core part of any election project. Today, we are excited to announce the addition of Bad Emails, a new tool that gives election administrators more control and insight into email specific issues and how those issues might be resolved.

Feature highlights

  • No more mystery! Bounced emails are now accompanied with an explanation for each bounce, so you can identify the appropriate path to resolving the issue, whether it is a typo in the address, a spam report, or an inbox being full.
  • Unsubscribed email addresses are now included in your Bad Emails report, so you get a full picture of your email deliverability at any given time.
  • You can now review the existing list of Bad Emails as soon as you upload your Electors into a draft election, and see which electors, if any, have already unsubscribed or have a bad email address on record.
  • Email addresses that bounced back in the past and remain unresolved will continue to appear in your Bad Emails report until you update them, so you never lose focus of whose email address needs to be edited.
  • Your list of Bad Emails can be exported at any time as a CSV file, so you can share it with other election organizers who do not have access to the Election Manager.

You can now conveniently keep an eye on the total number of bad emails in your election at any given time, right from the Election Overview page. Since each election organizer sets their own priority for fixing email issues, we’ve eliminated the email bounce notifications in favour of a more robust tool that allows you to manage your email list on your own terms.

A step-by-step walkthrough of the new Bad Emails feature is available inside our Help Portal. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this new feature, or anything else we might be able to assist you with.

Did you know?

Electors who have unsubscribed in the past can always re-subscribe themselves by sending an email message to resubscribe@simplyvoting.com from the unsubscribed email address.

Data Encryption At Rest

When it comes to protecting data, two important areas to focus on are encryption in transit and encryption at rest.

Encryption in transit involves encrypting data while it’s being transferred, so that it cannot be intercepted as it travels from point A to point B. Communication between the voting system and the browsers of voters, election organizers, and Simply Voting staff has always been encrypted at all times to protect against attacks using strong protocols and ciphers. This is best practice for encryption in transit.

Encryption at rest involves encrypting data where it is stored, so that it cannot be used by an attacker that gains access to it.

The most sensitive information – passwords and votes – have always been encrypted by Simply Voting prior to being stored in the voting system’s database. This is an added layer of security to protect against a breach of the database.

Thanks to a recent upgrade of our database software, all data is now encrypted by the database engine before it is saved using a technology called Transparent Data Encryption. Not just passwords and votes but also elector information, candidate details, customer information, etc.. This is done using industry standard AES-256 encryption, and it applies to older data as well as new data moving forward. This technology provides an added layer of security to protect against unauthorized access to the storage used by the database.

Bottom line, Simply Voting is always working on better ways to protect our customers and their data.

Account Recovery and Password Resets

Now, account recovery and password resets are available on the Election Manager login page.

E-democracy and elections are often some of the most important activities an organization undertakes internally, and our mission at Simply Voting has always been to help ensure our customers protect their critical projects. To this end, we’ve recently rolled out an improvement to customer account security.

As you may have seen already over the past couple of weeks, or will see upon your next account login, you will be prompted to complete Security Questions and Answers.

The Security Questions and Answers tool joins our other newly improved Account Recovery and Password Reset tools for customer accounts. You will find these new tools located on the Election Manager login page, as shown below and highlighted in orange. Now if your forget your Voting Website login, you can recover your account by clicking on the appropriate link. And if you forget your Password you can similarly reset your password without going through Simply Voting staff by answering your security questions. If you are ever locked out of your account or have any issues, our Support Department is always just an email or phone call away!

The Account Security section inside of the Election Manager tool, on the Settings page, is also where you can update your password or adjust security questions as necessary, such as during the transition of account ownership from one election official to another election official from your organization if you have periodic staffing changes.

A step-by-step walk through for recovering your account or resetting your account’s password can be found inside our Help Portal as well.

And as always, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support Department if you have any questions or concerns about this enhancement, or anything else with which we might be able to assist!

Integration with Jonas

Emails, no more! Simply Voting has finalized the integration with Jonas Club Software and GGA Partners to make voting easier for your members. Private clubs that avail themselves of an election expertly managed by GGA Partners can now choose to integrate voter authentication with Jonas Club Software.

Club members can now log in to access their electronic ballot using the credentials they already use to log into your club website. No more letters or emails, you (the election administrator) determine which members can vote, and we activate Single Sign On authentication. Voters simply go to your voting website, click login, and enter the username and password they already use to log into your members only portal.

Jonas Club Software helps clubs thrive by focusing on the creation of exceptional experiences. These experiences are delivered through industry leading services, integrated applications, innovative technology, and long term partnerships with the clubs we serve.

GGA Partners is an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful golf courses, private clubs, resorts and residential communities. They are dedicated to helping owners, asset managers, club and community leaders, investors and real estate developers tackle challenges, achieve objectives and maximize asset performance. Established in 1992 as the KPMG Golf Industry Practice, their global team of experienced professionals leverage in-depth business intelligence and proprietary global data to deliver impactful strategic solutions and lasting success.

Simply Voting is committed to making voting easy and accessible. Contact us or GGA Partners to discuss your next election and see if an SSO integration is right for you.

Simply Voting and YourMembership

Simply Voting is a Tech Partner with YourMembership. YourMembership, a membership management software, integrates with Simply Voting to provide seamless online voting for associations and other member-based organizations.

Simply Voting’s mandate is to make voting easier for everyone and we’re working hard on keeping our word. That’s why we’ve become one of Community Brands’ Tech Partners and with that comes some awesome integrations. Our first one is with YourMembership. If you’re a YourMembership user, you can now do three really helpful things:

  1. Your voters can log in to Simply Voting using their YM credentials. No more emails with passwords.
  2. With one click, you (the administrator) can easily pull your membership list from your YM database into Simply Voting.
  3. You can quickly see in your YM membership list if someone has voted in the most recent election. No logging into Simply Voting to verify if a ballot has been cast.

If your association uses YourMembership, contact us to setup the YM / SV integration before your next election. Not a Community Brands software user? No problem! Simply Voting can still help you set up your next election with ease.

This integration is just the beginning of our efforts to streamline and enhance the voting experience for associations and member-based organizations. By leveraging the power of technology, we aim to reduce administrative workload, eliminate voter friction, and provide greater transparency in the election process.

At Simply Voting, we’re always exploring new partnerships and innovations to ensure our platform evolves with the needs of our clients. Whether you’re using YourMembership or another membership management solution, our team is ready to assist you in creating efficient, secure, and user-friendly voting processes tailored to your organization’s unique requirements.

Clareity Single-Sign-On

Real estate professionals rejoice! Simply Voting and CoreLogic have paired up to make Clareity Single-Sign-On integrationyour next election a whole lot easier. Simply Voting’s mission is to make voting easier for everyone which is why we now have a tile on the Clareity Dashboard. No more emails with logins and passwords. Voters simply log onto their Clareity Dashboard, click on the orange checkmark, and their ballot opens.

We’re excited to announce this seamless integration between Simply Voting and CoreLogic’s Clareity Single-Sign-On, designed specifically with real estate professionals in mind. By adding Simply Voting directly to the Clareity Dashboard, we’ve eliminated the need for multiple logins and passwords. Voters can now effortlessly access their ballots with just one click—making the entire process quicker, easier, and more secure.

At Simply Voting, we understand that ease of use is critical, especially when managing elections for busy professionals. This integration is just one of the many ways we’re committed to simplifying the voting experience for our clients. Whether you’re a real estate association or another membership-based organization, we’re here to provide tailored solutions that meet your needs. Reach out to us today to learn more about this integration or to discuss how we can support your next election with other association management tools you may use. We’re here to ensure your elections are as smooth and efficient as possible!

Simply Voting is always looking for ways to make your election setup and voting experience easier and more convenient.

Contact us directly if you’d like to learn more about our Clareity Single-Sign-On integration or if you use another association management tool. And if you are already a Simply Voting customer, contact our support team and we’ll get you setup before your next election!

Easier Question and Option Reordering

We are pleased to announce an enhancement within the Election Manager for managing question and option reordering on your ballot. You can now save time by using the reordering feature which employs a drag and drop interface.

This update saves time and reduces the complexity of adjusting your ballot layout. Whether you’re managing a simple election or a more complex one, this tool ensures flexibility and efficiency in creating a well-structured ballot.

Key Benefits:

  • Drag-and-Drop Simplicity: Rearrange questions and options in seconds by clicking and dragging them into the desired order.
  • Improved Workflow Efficiency: Quickly adjust the layout without navigating multiple menus or manual entry.
  • Enhanced Accuracy: Visualize the final ballot format as you reorder, minimizing errors.

For example, imagine managing the placement of questions on your election ballot: simply drag the questions to their new positions, and your updates are instantly reflected.

This enhancement is part of our ongoing commitment to provide intuitive tools that make the election management process seamless.

Below is an example of managing the placement of questions on your election ballot.

Below is an example of managing the fixed order for options for a given question.

This new enhancement can be found detailed in our extensive Help Portal, so give it a go in your next election!

Contact us if you need more information!

Enhancements to Kiosk Voting

We are pleased to announce an enhancement to our existing Kiosk Voting feature.

Kiosk voting, for those who are unfamiliar with this type of voting, is in-person online voting where voters line up in queues typically and vote from communal devices — such as at an Annual General Meeting, or perhaps at your organization’s headquarters or branch offices, or some other designated in-person voting location. Kiosk voting often occurs alongside standard remote online voting, but it can also occur in place of any remote online voting too.

Inside of your Election Manager account, at the bottom of the Settings page, you will find a revamped Kiosk Voting Website section. Like before, you can still manage the “success text” for all kiosks.

Now instead of having a specific kiosk voting URL, to activate and launch a kiosk there is a new Activate Kiosk button. This enhancement may seem very minor at first-glance, but we’ve drastically increased the security of your kiosks through allowing total control of what devices are (and thus are not) configured for kiosk voting by election administrators.


As part of our feature enhancement, we’ve also developed and published a new Kiosk Voting Guide, available on the Help page, to better guide customers through setup and maintenance of voting kiosks. Moreover, if you have the Multiple Administrators feature activated on your account, we have also added a new permission to control access to “kiosk activation” for your users.

If you have never thought about incorporating any live in-person voting into your election management, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can help you evaluate whether incorporating kiosk voting into your electoral event is a worthwhile endeavor.

Warnings for Undervotes

We just launched a “warning for undervotes” feature. One of Simply Voting’s core guiding principles revolves around simplicity and ease of use from the voter’s perspective. Our aim is to always ensure that our interface and how information is presented to voters is streamlined and valuable.

To this end, Simply Voting has launched a small improvement to our voter interface which will help ensure that voters execute their vote to the allowed fullest extent. When a voter interacts with a question that allows multiple optional selections, if the voter selects less than the pre-configured maximum number of options, a special note, a warning for undervotes, will appear next to the appropriate question when the voter reaches the Confirmation page.

For example, in the screenshot above (taken from our demo at demo.simplyvoting.com in case you want to see it in action), the Board of Directors question allows for voters to select up to 3 candidates. This sample voter only selected 2, and a new “note” has been added to bring this to the voter’s attention. The voter can do what they wish with this information!

This feature is particularly valuable in elections where voters may inadvertently misunderstand the number of selections allowed or forget to make their full range of choices. By gently prompting voters to review any undervotes, we aim to reduce accidental omissions and empower voters to make more informed decisions. Importantly, this warning is non-intrusive, voters are not required to make additional selections if they intentionally choose to cast fewer votes. This strikes a balance between guiding voters and respecting their autonomy.

Contact us if you need more information!