Launching an election

How to set an election live for voters

The final stage in any election setup process is launching your election.

What's the purpose of launching an election?

Launching an election takes it from building only mode into a scheduled mode.
Voters can only vote in a launched election.
Launching an election completes the building process.

How to launch an election

Before launching an election, there are some things to consider and check.

Elections with a position must have at least 2 candidates for each position
Elections must have voters imported
Any voter email notifications should be checked for required customisation
Election start and end dates should be checked
Payment details should be ready

Once you are ready to go, launching an election is a multi step checking process.

This is done by navigating to the "Launch" menu option from within the election you wish to launch.

Launch Steps

Step 1 "details" : Check the dates, and email notifications options are as you require - if not, stop and make any corrections
Step 2 "Resolutions" : Check your resolutions are correct (Applies only to elections with resolutions, otherwise confirm and skip)
Step 3 "Positions" : Check positions are correct, and that candidates are in the correct position
Step 4 "Voters" : Verify the correct number of voters are present
Step 5 " Terms": Read and accept our terms of use
Step 6 "Final Step": At this stage you will be asked for payment information for your election.

Methods of payment

Method	Options
Credit or Debit Card	This is the default option and applies to most users
Invoice payment	We do accept invoice payment options, you would apply for this using our support tickets, and acceptance is subject to checks.

Card payments are processed using "Stripe", we do not store payment details.

Stages of elections

An election has three stages.

Stage	Definition	Voting enabled?	Launching required?
Building	Your election is not yet ready for voters to participate, you are still creating your election	No	No
Scheduled	You have completed your election setup, and have launched the election, however you have not yet met the defined point in time for your election to be live	No	Yes
Live	You have completed your election setup, and have launched the election, and your specified start time has been met, your election is live and open for votes.	Yes	Yes

Important note:
If an election is launched, and the intended start date/time has passed, the election will become live within one minute of launching, you will skip the schedule stage because the start date/time has already happened.