ElectionChamp
How to send voting links by email or SMS
Every voter gets one single-use 16-character key. You choose how it reaches them: by email, by text message, on paper, or a mix.
In ElectionChamp, you choose how voters get their key on the Start step, under How will voters get their key? Email sends each voter a personal voting link and needs an email address in your voter list. Text message sends the link by text and needs a phone number. Hand out keys gives you 16-character keys to print or share yourself, with no contact details needed. You can pick more than one, and text messages have no per-message fee.
Choose how voters get their keys
Each voter on your list gets a unique, single-use 16-character key. You choose how it reaches them on the Start step, and you must pick at least one. A new election starts with Email.
| Method | What the voter gets | What your voter list needs |
|---|---|---|
| A personal voting link by email, when voting opens | An email address | |
| Text message | A personal voting link by text, when voting opens | A phone number with its country code |
| Hand out keys | A 16-character key you print, mail or hand over | No contact details |
Voters open the link in a browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There is no app to install and no account to create.
Set up email and text message voting links
- On the Start step, under How will voters get their key?, turn on Email, Text message or both.
- On the Voters step, paste your list from Excel or Google Sheets, or upload a CSV file. Include an email address for email and a phone number with its country code for text messages.
- On the Invitations step, check the messages. They are written for you, and the [Voting link] stays in each one. Click Email me a test to see the real email.
- On the Launch step, press Launch election. Keys are made at once, and the invitations go out when voting opens.
Our voter notifications page lists every template tag.
Hand out printed keys for paper or in-person voting
Turn on Hand out keys when some members have no email or phone number on file, or when you hand out keys at a meeting. ElectionChamp makes a 16-character key for each of these voters. After launch, click Print keys on the Voters tab, or Download CSV, and give them out on paper, by mail or in person.
A voter with a printed key goes to app.electionchamp.com/vote/ and types the 16 characters, or taps Scan Voting Key with Camera. Treat printed keys like paper ballots and hand them over one to one, because whoever holds a key can use it.
Mix email, text messages and printed keys in one election
You can turn on more than one method in the same election. Each voter still has a single key, and that key stops working the moment their ballot is submitted. Online votes and printed-key votes are tracked in one place.
Example: a 160-member community association has email addresses for 141 members and phone numbers only for 12 more. The other 7 have neither.
- The committee turns on Email, Text message and Hand out keys on the Start step. On the Voters step, the 7 members go in the list with no email or phone, so their keys are ones the committee hands out.
- The 141 members with email addresses get a link by email, and the 12 with phone numbers get a text.
- The committee prints keys for the 7 members with no contact details and mails them.
The election has 160 voters, so it costs the flat $10 for 21 to 200 voters. Texting adds nothing.
There is no per-message text fee. The only cost is the price per election on our pricing page, which counts every key, and every delivery method is included on every plan.
If a voter cannot find their link
Ask them to check their spam or junk folder first. Corporate filters sometimes hold election email. On the Voters tab, click ⋯ in their row, then Resend invitation email or Resend invitation text. It sends the same key again. You can resend each voter's email once and text message once, while voting is open. Our guide to reminders and resending walks through it, and voters can follow how to vote.
Send Voter Keys Questions
No. Text messages have no per-message fee. You pay only the price per election, which counts every key, and every delivery method is included.
Yes. On the Start step, under How will voters get their key?, pick any mix of Email, Text message and Hand out keys. Each voter still has one single-use key, so no one can vote twice.
They go to app.electionchamp.com/vote/ and type the 16-character key, or tap Scan Voting Key with Camera. Voting happens in the browser with no app or account.
A phone number for each voter, with its country code, in the SMS Phone column. Email needs an email address, and keys you hand out need no contact details at all.
Get help sending keys
Email support@electionchamp.com with questions about your voter list, templates or printed keys. Email support is free for administrators and voters.
Questions? Email support@electionchamp.com