What tools help with online voting in your association or social enterprise?

In the area of digital teams, an important question comes up very quickly in everyday life: how can we hold votes and elections in our online conferences? After all, a digital team can only work successfully if it also has a right of co-determination. Legally, it is not a problem to conduct elections digitally, but there are a few basic things to keep in mind. Why online voting is more democratic, what you have to consider from a legal point of view and which tools can help you with your online voting you will learn in this article.

Online voting is more democratic

Not only for purely digital teams is an online election a good way to make decisions, but also in any other form of collaboration you should take a close look at the possibility of online election. This is because online voting drastically increases participation, as it gives members who cannot physically show up for a vote the opportunity to vote via their computer or smartphone. This not only makes their decisions more democratic, but also greatly increases the acceptance of their decisions by their members.

Online elections are easier

The nice thing about online elections is that the voting results are directly available digitally and can thus be evaluated quickly. Usually, with one click the result is ready and one more click and all participants are informed about the result. This means saying goodbye to the annoying counting of hundreds of ballots and also the control over possible formal errors is omitted. This is because online voting does not allow for incorrect entries in the first place. Of course, an online election can also be integrated without any problems at a face-to-face event.

Legal validity of online elections

According to the law, real and virtual resolutions are equally recognized in the board. This means that both digital assemblies and offline assemblies offer the same decision-making opportunities. An important point, however, is that the possibility of holding digital meetings as well as their ability to make legally binding decisions must be explicitly permitted in the articles of incorporation or bylaws. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the Articles of Association or Rules of Procedure, the same requirements and conditions apply to digital votes as to normal votes.

An example of wording for an association charter would be:

Tools that help you with your online choice

There is a wide range of free and paid tools which can help you with their online choice. Some tools are specially approved for online elections and others can be used for other purposes.

When choosing the right tool, it is not only important to look at the price, but also to ask yourself which functions I need. Do you need a secret ballot function? Should the results be available live? Do I want an authentication procedure for the participants of my voting? What budget do I have available?

It is best to decide on the selection of the tool with your board to increase the acceptance of the new process.

Free tools for online voting

Here is a listing of the 4 best free tools for your virtual decision making, ranked by our personal recommendation. Since data protection is particularly important, we have made an assessment of the providers’ data protection. Detailed information on the collection and use of personal data can also be found on the websites of the providers. In the assessment, particular attention was paid to common certifications of the providers. For more detailed information, we recommend consulting a data protection officer.

LamaPoll

Our recommendation for institutions that want to approach the topic for the first time, but are already thinking about a possible paid variant.

Functions:

• Secret ballot possible
• Multiple participation in the free version only guaranteed via cookies (but fully guaranteed in the paid version)
• Real time evaluation
• No individualized participation invitation possible in the free version

LamaPoll has made it its business to adapt online surveys to the GDPR and helps you to design your surveys accordingly. It is a suitable tool for institutions that feel unsure about the GDPR. The free version is good for small institutions with high trust among themselves. There is a possibility to participate more than once by deleting your cookies. However, in case of a non-secret ballot, you will quickly recognize if someone has accidentally registered twice. For small clubs where people know each other and for non-secret elections an exciting tool. And if you are completely convinced, you can easily switch to the paid version.

Website: https://www.lamapoll.de/

Electionbuddy

Our recommendation for teams working internationally, who are looking for more features than just a simple choice. Candidate profiles or comment functions can thus also provide information about the election options at the same time as the election.

Functions:

• English only control panel for the administrator
• Elections can be conducted in different languages
• Candidate profiles can be created to present candidates
• Ability to allow comments (useful for budget discussions, for example)

ElectionBuddy is not certified under the GDPR and therefore does not guarantee its compliance with European regulations. However, its current provisions are compliant with the requirements of the GDPR and can be used accordingly. A change in the privacy and use of personal data by the software should be reviewed periodically. Apart from data protection, it is a wonderful software with a lot of possibilities to meet special requirements of an election.

Website: https://electionbuddy.com/

Surveymonkey

Our recommendation for institutions that already work with Surveymonkey or that are planning surveys in addition to digital polls.

Functions:

• Secret ballot possible
• Invitation only possible by email (this is the only way to ensure that each participant votes only once)
• Voting possible via app
• In the free version only the first 40 votes are visible
• Real time results
• No download of results possible in the free version (are only visible in the program)

Surveymonkey is a well-known tool for online surveys and can easily be used for online whales as well. It is based in the USA and is certified and can be used without any problems from a data protection point of view. However, you are obligated to inform your participants about this. In order to comply with the data protection regulation, the survey results can be deleted by the survey initiator. Surveymonkey is a good option for online elections even for larger associations. Many clubs may already be working with it and accordingly do not need to buy a new tool for online voting. However, it is not designed specifically for online voting and accordingly lacks some options.

Website: https://de.surveymonkey.com/

PollUnit

Our recommendation for institutions who want to support a young German company and enjoy the friendly and personal support.

Functions:

• Prevent multiple participation only in paid version
• Secret ballot possible in paid version
• Participation possible without registration
• Creation of votes also possible without own account

PollUnit is a free polling provider, but the features in the free plan are not sufficient for digital voting. However, the paid plans are very cheap and already for 6€/month or even only 24€/year you have all the features you need for a successful digital voting. With its headquarters in Germany, you can be sure that the DSVGO is complied with and fast, personal support is also available. It’s still a very young company and you can expect some great features to be added in the future.

Website: https://pollunit.com/de/abstimmung

Paid tools for your online voting

Here is a listing of the 4 best paid tools for your virtual decision making. Since data protection is particularly important, we have made an assessment of the providers’ data protection. Detailed information on the collection and use of personal data can also be found on the websites of the providers. In the assessment, particular attention was paid to common certifications of the providers. For more detailed information, we recommend consulting a data protection officer.

Polyas

Our recommendation for large organizations that want to conduct a purely digital election.

Functions:

• Secret ballot
• Authentication of the election participants
• Online voting without registration
• Output of the whale results in pdf
• Automatic sending of the whale invitation by email
• Possibility of sending the access data by mail
• Personal advice
• Possibility to book an election manager to conduct the election

POLYAS is a German company, which is adapted to the German legislation on data protection and legally secure election. Due to the price, you should think twice about whether you need this high level of security. An ideal tool for elections and votes of important items or change of bylaws, especially if the topic is critical and has led to disagreements. In our opinion, a simpler tool is also sufficient for small associations or for non-critical votes. POLYAS is the best provider for large organizations facing an important election.

Website: https://www.polyas.de/

Quizzbox

Our recommendation for institutions of any size that want to regularly conduct legally compliant elections, both online and in face-to-face events.

Functions:

• Secret ballot
• Authentication of the participants
• Real time results
• Final report in Excel or PDF
• Different weighting of votes possible
• App voting
• Personal advice

Quizzbox specializes in digitizing elections in digital and face-to-face events. They offer a perfect service for institutions that want to organize elections both online and offline. This can even be done simultaneously, providing a great connection for your digital and offline team. The user interface is very easy to understand. Quizzbox is an exciting solution for clubs that are not completely digital and may have members on their team who struggle with technology. For people who do not have a smartphone, you also offer voting computers for rent.

Website: https://www.quizzbox.com/de/

VotingTech

Our recommendation for institutions that have special requirements and accordingly want an offer adapted to their needs.

Functions:

• Secret ballot
• Integration into face-to-face events also possible
• Installation of local WLAN and server possible
• Detailed advice and individual solutions
• Experience with less IT-savvy participants

VotingTech is a provider that is best suited for very large events. If required, we can even install your own WLAN and a local server for digital voting at your event. A good provider for a large election with a lot of effort and many participants, where really nothing can go wrong. Especially if you are expecting older participants, you can rely on the experience of the team.

Website: https://www.votingtech.de

WeVote

Our recommendation for institutions that require a particularly high level of legal certainty.

Functions:

• Secret ballot
• Invitation to the election by email or SMS
• Retention of the data of the vote for 5 years
• Optionally bookable with notarized certification of election results

WeVote is a product of the Spanish company FullCertificate which offers different IT security products. In addition to digital elections, they also offer certified emails, notarizations, etc. An exciting provider if you want to combine different IT certifications. There you get everything directly at first hand.

Website: https://www.wevote.eu/de/

What’s right for my business or association?

There is now a wide range of providers for digital elections and voting. In their basic functions, most are quite similar. It is important that both the design is intuitive to understand and that there is a good balance between features and simplicity. Especially in elections with many participants it is more difficult to organize a free election.

Which reconciliations do you already perform digitally? And what other tools can you recommend? We look forward to hearing more tips from you in the comments!

Creating a digital team is not difficult and with a few tricks and tips you can soon open your projects to digital collaborators. Sign up for our online course and we’ll walk the path together. It would be a great pleasure for us to support you!

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