People use technology in different ways. What may seem natural and convenient to one person or group situation can be awkward to another. So RCV123 offers a variety of methods suitable for small, casual decisions all the way to secure votes of 10,000 or more. There are often trade-offs between ease-of-use and precision.
All of the methods below create a dashboard for managing your poll/election. Our system for deterring many types of duplicate votes is also activated. The dashboard does not reveal how anyone voted. RCV123.org does not sell or share voter email addresses or other information in any way. We recommend you start with a small test election.
Tiers 1, 2 and 4 create a common 7-digit code that voters will need in addition to a common election URL to begin their ballots. Tier 3 requires each voter to have a link or code generated by RCV123 or a group Member ID, and so does not require common 7-digit codes.
Tier 0: This is the same as our Open Link method, but creates a dashboard to enable a few features. For polls or elections that do not show real-time results, the number of votes cast can be seen, and the the vote can be closed manually. No 7-digit code is needed.
Tier 1: Voters enter the information requested if they choose to, and none of it is confirmed in any way. The Election Administrator can check the dashboard and decide if a vote meets participation standards.
Tier 3: This tier works without the need for voters to receive reply codes. Voters just click a unique link, or input a unique 8 to 9-character alpha-numeric code or a group Member ID. Tier 3 requires some extra set-up. Other tiers require sending identical links to all voters. With Tier 3, each voter must confidentially receive a unique code, link or group Member ID.
Our unique URL voting links are designed to be distributed by email. For small elections, we recommend cutting and pasting a link from the list we supply into a separate email to each voter. For large elections we recommend using an "e-mail merge" process on your group’s contact management software. As ballot emails from RCV123 - or any voting service - often get caught in spam filters, RCV123 leaves this step to each group holding an election. Click here for Outlook/Office merge instructions.
Our unique 8 to 9-character alpha-numeric codes are designed for in-person elections with voting conducted on laptops or phones. We suggest each code be printed and distributed to each voter, who then will type in their specific code and can then immediately begin voting.
Lists of links or codes generated by RCV123 will be available on a web page from which they can be copied and pasted into whatever distribution method you use. The link to that web page will be visible at the end of the election set-up process.
Tier 4: Similar to Tier 2, but the election administrator must first upload a list of unique voter email addresses to RCV123. That data must match what the voter enters, and then must then be confirmed by reply code.