The most frequently asked questions

BEFORE THE VOTE

Can you also test the voting website before the vote takes place?
Yes. Before the voting takes place you will receive test codes with which you can go through the voting website and see if everything is to your liking. As soon as the voting starts, the results of the test codes expire, they never count towards the actual voting.

Can you see how many votes have already been cast during the voting period?
Yes. You will receive a customer account in which you can view the anonymous voting results in real time. In addition, on request we can send an overview of which voting codes have been used with the corresponding voting results. With this last option, the anonymity of the vote is lost. After the vote you can download the final report of the vote in your customer account.

Is someone from Online Voting Tool present at the meeting?
No. Your Online Voting Tool contact person can be reached by telephone. You can always contact them for questions.

What input is needed for the voting website?
The required input is the questions with answer options, a logo if desired (this will appear on the voting website), the number of persons entitled to vote, start date with time and end date with time.

How do I provide the necessary input for the voting website?
After entering your details, you submit the questions with answer options in a Word document or by email.

How far in advance do you have to submit the necessary information for the voting website?
In terms of planning, we would like to receive the necessary input at least 7 days prior to the start of the voting period, so that there is sufficient time to prepare everything. This allows you to go through and test the voting website in advance.

Can I change something on the voting website before the vote starts?
Yes. You can change the questions and texts on the website yourself in the customer account. In addition, the investment includes 30 minutes of support as standard. You can also report changes and ask questions. If more than 30 minutes of support is required, this will be charged.

What answer options are there?
There are various answer options. You can choose between radio buttons (with image, one below the other or next to each other), a short text and short text with suggestions. You can also choose to check multiple answer options.

We want to use the Online Voting Tool once, is that possible?
Yes. With Full-Service you always pay once for the voting website and you are not tied to a subscription.

If we choose to send the mailing with the link to the voting website and the voting codes to voters ourselves, does this have to be done manually or is there a tool for this?
If you choose to distribute the voting codes among those entitled to vote yourself, we will provide the voting codes in an Excel file. You can then link the email addresses to a voting code yourself. If you do not have a mailing system (for example Mailchimp), the voting codes must be sent manually.

What do I need to provide when you send the voting codes to eligible voters?
If you choose to have Online Voting Tool send the voting codes to those entitled to vote, you agree to the processing agreement. You then provide the email addresses and names in an Excel file with two columns. A column containing the first names of those entitled to vote and a column containing the email addresses of those entitled to vote. Only one voting code can be linked to each email address.

Is it possible to authorize someone?
Those entitled to vote can authorize other voters or persons to cast his or her vote. This can be done by passing on the unique voting code to the representative. If the delegate receives multiple unique voting codes, he or she can open multiple browser tabs and enter a different unique code per browser tab. You can also use an additional device (smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC).

Is it possible to link the voting website to our teams meeting?
No, the voting website cannot be linked to the teams meeting. To do this, open another tab in your browser. It is also possible to cast your vote via your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC.

How long can a voting website be open to answer the questions?
There is no time limit on how long the voting website can be open. When you have a Works Council election, you can, for example, choose to give those entitled to vote 1 week to cast their vote. For example, if you organize an online General Members Meeting, the voting website can remain open from the beginning to the end of the meeting, or the questions can be put to the vote one by one. The choice is entirely yours.

Does every eligible voter receive a personal voting code?
Yes. If you are entitled to vote, you will receive a unique voting code to cast your vote via the voting website. This voting code is valid once and is only valid from the beginning to the end of the voting.

DURING THE VOTING PERIOD

Can I view the voting results during the voting period?
Yes, that's possible! When you use the Online Voting Tool, you will receive a customer account in which you can view the results in real time. You will also receive personal login details for your customer account. After the voting, you can easily download the official final report yourself.

Are the results of the vote visible to members/voters in the interim?
No, the results for members/voters are not visible. You can choose to share the interim results visible in the customer account with those entitled to vote.

Which browsers does the voting website support?
The election is accessible and supported via:

• Chrome (recent versions) - Windows / Mac / Android
• Firefox (recent versions) - Windows / Mac
• Edge (recent versions) - Windows
• Safari (recent versions) - Mac / iOS

Onlinstemtool does not work for Internet Explorer and the website does not work in an incognito window either.

When will we know if everyone has voted?
During a vote you can see in the customer account how many eligible voters have voted. For example, at some point it can be said (if still necessary): “You have 30 seconds left to vote on this question,” to ensure that the question can be completed. It also helps to indicate to voters that they have 1 minute to cast his or her vote when the question is opened during the live guidance.

Can people change their vote if they vote for something?
As long as not all questions have been answered, someone can still change an answer to a question. This is possible as long as the question is open for answer, but once the question is closed this is no longer possible.

Even if someone has answered all the questions, it is no longer possible to change answers. In that case, there is another option: give the voter a new voting code (so that he or she can vote again) and invalidate the previous voting code.

AFTER THE VOTING

When will I receive the results?
You can download the final report as a PDF in your customer account immediately after the vote.

SECURITY AND ANONYMITY

How long is the data kept?
The voting data does not contain any privacy-sensitive information, so it is not necessary to delete it. However, if this is desired, we can delete the voting data at any time.

Where and how (securely) is the data stored?
The data remains within our platform and is not stored elsewhere. The data is not further secured or encrypted because it does not contain any privacy-sensitive information.

Who has access to the data (afterwards) or is it automatically deleted after x days/weeks?
Data remains within our platform, so only we have access to the voting data. Data of those entitled to vote, such as email addresses, will be deleted within 1 month. This is included in the processing agreement.

How anonymous is voting? We hand out codes, but how do we know whether the right person has voted. Is it possible to find out what everyone voted?
In our system we see which voting code provided which answers, but we do not know which voting code was used by which person.

You provide the voting codes to those entitled to vote, but they can of course pass on their voting code to someone else if they wish. There is no 100% complete identity check possible for online voting. This can only be done by allowing people to come to a physical location where they identify themselves with their passport or driver's license. Such as happens in the national elections for the House of Representatives, for example.

Do you want to know about security and how we ensure that an election is fair? Then read the article about safety.

Would you like to know about privacy and how we handle personal data of voters? Then read the article about privacy

Do you have another question, suggestions or improvements? Send an email to info@onlinevotingtool.com