Dedicated support staff provide 24/7 email support during your election.
Simply click the support button on the dashboard and we’ll respond promptly. Support requests create an automatic email thread that includes your team and BigPulse project managers. Everyone is kept in the loop and support requests get logged.
Fully-Managed Service (where we take care of the election setup), normally you would have a single election with multiple ballots. If you require more than one election we can accommodate your needs and will provide you with a fixed price quote.
Self-Managed Service you can have as many separate elections and ballots as you want during your subscription.
If you use the recommended high security setting a unique voting account is created for each voter which may include their email, name and other variables. This means the vote integrity does not depend on cookies or the IP address of the voter. People can vote from anywhere yet, if they attempt to vote again in the same ballot, even from a different location, the repeat vote is blocked.
However you can choose to let people vote repeatedly or a set number of times and still this will not corrupt the vote. This is because only the last vote from each person is counted in each ballot. It means you can run continuous ballots that can be relied upon.
Yes. Complete voting data is available as a comma separated CSV file.
Voting can be absolutely anonymous or fully transparent like a show of hands or various shades in between.
- Absolute anonymous vote storage – this means there is nothing in the database linking the vote to the voter.
- Anonymous voting – no one sees how each person votes however the votes are linked to the user voting accounts in the database which means the change vote feature can be used.
- Transparent voting – the election administrators can see how each person votes.
- Fully transparent voting – everyone can see how each person votes – like a show of hands.
- First-past-the-post, (FPTP) also known as plurality or simple majority voting. The candidate with the most votes wins.
- Instant runoff voting (IRV). See STV below.
- Single Transferable Vote (STV), preferential, Ranked Choice Voting, proportional representation. STV is a form of preferential voting that produces proportional representation in multi-seat elections. Preferences are transferred and distributed automatically to produce winners. Instant runoff is the special case of STV with one winner. Use optional or compulsory ranking of a set number of candidates. Learn more about STV.
- Range voting – Voters rate each candidate or option separately on a scale.
- Cumulative voting – Each voter has a quota of votes which can be concentrated on one candidate or split across several candidates. This method of voting is used widely in corporate governance.
- Weighted voting and split voting – Shareholder AGM voting is common use for weighted votes. The same voter can have different weights in different ballots enabling elections in many companies with overlapping shareholders. Split voting can be offered with weighted voting. This enables selected voters to act as proxy for other voters.
- Candidate grouping and winner constraints – Candidates can also be grouped into categories and a minimum number of winners allocated to each category.
- D’Hondt method – This method is a highest averages method for allocating positions, and is thus a type of party-list proportional representation.
BigPulse servers are housed in two physically separate locations, Canada and UK. The data is replicated live in both locations. Both server houses are top level high security datacentres with certifications SSAE18, CSAE3416 and ISAE3402. More about Security >
Typically voting accounts can have personal data attached or linked to them. This can include email addresses, names and depending on the chosen anonymity standard for the ballot, votes submitted may also be linked to the voting accounts.
BigPulse has developed a sophisticated protocol for managing the deletion of personal data. For example, personal data can be deleted from voting accounts when and as required while retaining the full vote history of each ballot, de-linked from the voting accounts, and providing clients with a mechanism to verify deletion. Request our security document for more
Yes. Administrators can input paper ballots via the Election Dashboard. Vote receipts are issued for each paper ballot. There is an option for double-entry allowing accurate input. Votes can be entered for existing accounts or new accounts may be created automatically.
Yes. Separate ballots with different electorate groups can be linked via a ballot-menu page. This allows all voters to enter the voting site at the same place. Each voter sees only the relevant ballots and is automatically and seamlessly transferred to the next relevant ballot after casting each vote. No voters can see or access any ballot unless the voter is admitted to the relevant electorate.
To verify your vote you would follow these key steps:
- Authorized access to vote – If you are an authorized voter, you receive an invitation-to-vote email with a secure link that authenticates you as the voter and allows you to access the ballot and submit your vote.
- Vote Receipt Code issued – After you submit your vote you are issued a unique ‘Vote Receipt Code’, for each ballot that you vote in. The vote receipt code is shown on a secure webpage after you vote and is also emailed to you. You can choose to have the emailed vote receipt encrypted with a password.
- Vote Receipt Codes are published – After the election closes and the results are published, the election administrators publish the full list of vote receipts on a Vote Verification page which is on an independent BigPulse secure URL.
- Vote Verification page – You can search the Vote Verification page for your vote receipt code(s), to verify that your vote was recorded accurately. View an example of a Vote Verification page >
Yes. You can open and close individual ballots/resolutions during your virtual meeting and share results instantly. You can also check to see who voted and view a list of voters currently online. The election dashboard allows you to manage online voting in virtual meetings with ease.
Yes. The Two-Factor Authentication methods are:
- SMS PIN authentication – before voters access the ballots they are prompted to send themselves a PIN via SMS. When the correct PIN is entered voters can access the ballots.
- Personal data – voters can be prompted to enter personal data such as date of birth, before they can vote.
- PIN code – voters are prompted to enter a unique pre-determined PIN before they can vote. BigPulse has a PIN generator.
- Email validation – voters are prompted to validate their email before they can vote.
No! BigPulse is a web-based system. Voters can access their ballots from any web browser on their smartphone, computer, or tablet.
Eligible voters receive an invitation-to-vote email with a one-click link that automatically signs them into the ballot – the voters simply click and vote. After they cast their vote, the voters receive a confirmation email with a unique vote receipt. Reminder emails are sent to voters who have not yet voted
See more about How It Works.
The most common method of access is our Bulk Email system which sends a unique access link to each voter that directs them to their specific ballot. This can also be used to automatically send reminders to people who have not yet voted.
We also offer many SSO (single-sign-on) remote authentication methods.
Yes. BigPulse integrates with common remote authentication methods so voters can use their existing sign-in accounts on your system to identify themselves and vote. Supported methods include – SSO (single-sign-on), CAS, Shibboleth, SAOP, LDAP, Flexmls, Facebook and others. These methods can be easily configured to allow access to the ballot via your own website.