How to Set and Manage Election Goals

Organizing and holding elections is a huge endeavor in every member-based organization. But not everyone is on the same page when it comes to setting election goals. Does your organization’s election committee know where to begin with goal setting and how to stay on track?

Setting Election Goals

When setting goals for an election, your primary objective must be more than making the actual voting happen. Your election goals should cover the entire poll preparation so you have fewer things to think about on election day.

To avoid the overwhelming feelings that can come with goal setting, you must first identify which objectives are critical to the election’s success. Try to come up with measurable and action-oriented goals. Below are examples of the most common objectives we see among organizations and tips on how to effectively manage election goals.

Improving Voter Participation and Satisfaction

Voter turnout is crucial to an election’s success. It represents the level of engagement among eligible voters and indicates the overall health of the election process. Improving voter participation goes beyond just tracking votes. Take advantage of engagement-boosting tools like embedded login links, QR codes, Single Sign-On (SSO), and email voting reminders. These technologies streamline access, strengthen security, and foster greater participation – making it easier for voters to cast their ballots and stay engaged throughout the election process.

Planning for a Contested Election

Convince members to run for positions so there’s a contested election with more than one option for voters. Start by encouraging participation in annual meetings and community events.

Setting up Hybrid or Online Voting

Hybrid or online voting makes elections more convenient for voting members. Organizations that implement it can benefit from an increased response rate and a streamlined election process. Utilize comprehensive online voting tools for more efficiency.

Enhancing Participation Among Younger Members

Increase engagement among younger members through community participation such as meetings, volunteer opportunities, and social events. This approach creates a more inclusive election and helps you set younger members up for leadership positions in the future.

Reducing Election Costs

Reduce election costs by investing in cost-effective solutions, such as online voting tools and fully managed voting services tailored to your needs. Traditional paper-based voting processes can incur high costs related to printing, mailing, and manual vote counting. By transitioning to online voting, you can eliminate many of these expenses, while also streamlining the election process for greater efficiency

Ensuring Election Security

Security is a critical goal in any election. A secure voting system not only protects the integrity of the election but also fosters trust among your members. To ensure a credible election, invest in tools and solutions that eliminate vulnerabilities and safeguard voter data. With our industry-leading security measures – such as data encryption, multifactor authentication, and SOC-2 compliance – you can offer a secure, transparent, and tamper-proof voting process.

Prioritizing and Achieving Your Election Goals

Now that you have set election goals important to your organization, choose the ones you feel are most critical to the election’s success and as many of your members as possible. Follow these tips in prioritizing your election goals:

• Choose goals that are vital to your organization’s overall mission. If your mission is to enhance member communication, then a clear election goal may be to increase election reminders and engage younger voters through multiple, convenient voting options.
• Aim for big, realistically achievable goals. Setting an unrealistic goal can discourage staff members, so strive for feasible yet impactful objectives.
• Make sure your goals are measurable. For example, cleaning up your mailing list is a good idea to start with, but a goal to clean up the mailing list and reduce the bounce rate by 10% is more achievable because you have a clear measure of progress.

Once you’ve finalized your measurable goals, share them with staff, members, and volunteers to increase accountability. Then, divide your goals into smaller steps and establish an action plan with your team.

Identify potential roadblocks and include additional steps to address them. Set an election timeline to help you stay on track.

Partner With Election Experts

Need help setting those election goals? We offer services and software programs for organizations looking to conduct secure, reliable online elections. Contact SBS for assistance in coming up with an action plan!