10 Useful Tips for Organising an Election

10 Useful Tips for Organising an Election

Government elections are what comes to mind when elections are mentioned. However, student bodies, clubs and organisations may also hold elections to agree on which individuals should make up committee members and other leadership positions.

Planning to organise an election? Check out the following tips on how to hold a successful election:

1. Know Your Rules, Bylaws and Regulations

If you are in an organisation, chances are that it already has a handbook or regulations outlining its election procedures and requirements. Be sure to consult these rules before you start planning your next election.

2. Determine Your Budget

How much campaign funds are potential candidates eligible for? The candidates should be made aware of how they can use their election budgets and which costs are covered. You’ll also want to determine your own budget for communications, ballots and other necessities.

3. Choose Participation Methods

Ideally, how should voters be able to cast their votes? If you are holding your elections close to the potential voters, on-the-spot traditional voting could do the job. However, if most potential voters are unlikely to be able to vote in person, you might consider online voting or postage voting.

4. Set an Election Timeline

First, you should define the candidate requirements and deadlines for potential candidates to submit their applications. Then, the campaigning duration and the election dates should also be finalised after the voting candidates have been confirmed.

5. Update Potential Voter Database

You will need to reach your potential voters to inform them about the upcoming election. For that to happen, you need an updated voter database containing accurate details. This data should include everything from their full names to their contact information.

6. Design Election Ballot

When organising and designing your ballots, be sure to factor in how you want to portray guidelines for submitting an acceptable vote. At this stage, you can also decide if you’re going to allow voters to write the names of unlisted candidates manually.

7. Communicate and Promote Election Information

Inform potential voters and candidates via several mediums to ensure that they are well-notified of the next election. There should be enough information communicated so that the stakeholders are aware of how to nominate their candidates as well as how, where and when to vote.

8. Safeguard Data

Elections should always be anonymous, and the members’ data and information should be strictly private. When possible, ensure that the committee members are aware of which person will have access to the voting information, and if this access is required to maintain a need-to-know basis.

9. Train Election Staff and/or Volunteers

Are the election staff or volunteers aware of how they should coordinate the election process and how to deliver the ballots at the end of the day? The electoral committee needs to make sure that there is enough staff assigned to the voter registration process and other steps along the way.

10. Create Results Release Strategy

Decide how you want to release the voting results for the election. It is always better to issue a detailed report after the results have been finalised. The report should include the highlights of the election, an executive summary and a short synopsis of the total votes.

Image via Pixabay CC0 License

Martin is a tech and home enthusiast with a background in electronics and computing.