Increasing engagement for a stronger university community
Alumni Associations are important and influential bodies in the university ecosystem, allowing members to connect with fellow alumni and current students. This network ensures that alumni remain engaged and invested in the university’s mission and goals, and also helps support students once they graduate.
Alumni Associations often hold annual elections for various leadership positions, including officers, trustees, chairs, and presidents. These elections may occur simultaneously or may be held on separate occasions. Different voting groups such as recent alumni who have graduated within one year, may also vote for specific positions or may be ineligible to vote in certain races. The potential complexity of these elections makes them perfect for an online voting system, which can help automate and streamline the entire process.
How does Online Voting work?
With an online voting system in place, election organizers can easily set up the various races, schedule them at specific dates, and assign them to the appropriate voting groups via the online platform. Prior to the election, eligible voters will also receive clear voting instructions and secure credentials to access the voting portal.
When it comes time to vote, voters simply log on to the voting portal from any location and on any device. Casting their ballots requires just a few simply clicks, and results are automatically tallied. An online voting system can also be used alongside in-person paper voting, as well as postal voting, opening up the possibility for a hybrid election.
The efficiency brought about by online voting ensures that less time is spent planning, organizing, and conducting an election, and allows you to allocate more resources to other important initiatives.
Increased Engagement
Alumni Associations are most effective and impactful when the alumni are engaged and committed. Because of this, many universities have already adopted online voting solutions to help boost participation in alumni elections. Conducting an election online means that voters can participate where and when it’s convenient for them, rather than being obligated to attend an election at a certain location and time.
When alumni participate in elections, they are not only more invested in the results, but also in the subsequent programming and initiatives organized by the association. By increasing the accessibility and convenience of your alumni elections, you can help build a stronger and more connected alumni network.
The Importance of Security
While there are many ways to vote online, not all of them are equally secure. It is important to verify that your online voting provider follows security best practices, like the use of encryption and digital signatures. To increase the transparency of your elections, you may also want to implement verifiability measures like voting receipts, which allow voters to verify that their ballots were correctly cast in the online system.
Without these security protocols in place, your university and your alumni members could be open to cybersecurity threats. By choosing a trusted and reliable online voting provider, you can be sure that your elections are protected, and that you will receive the necessary support from start to finish.
