A Case Study in Online Elections
By Melissa A. Hicks
Published in the October 2003 issue of ASAE's Association Management magazine.

In an effort to reverse declining voter participation, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) implemented online voting earlier this year. SCTE is a 15,000 member professional association with a 17-member board of directors elected by the membership. Annually, approximately half of the board members' terms expire.

The Problem
In 1997, 23% of SCTE's eligible voters cast a ballot. In 2002, the voter response rate was down to 18%. Given SCTE's members preference for electronic communications, the convenience of online voting was expected to yield an increased number of participants.

Both/And
A few years ago, SCTE's president/CEO, John Clark, returned from an ASAE conference with a summary of the golden nuggets he gleaned from the presentations. One of his favorites was the "both/and approach." This concept is based on the premise that an association leader needs to be wary of the "either/or approach" when servicing members, as one risks alienating a smaller but important constituency within the membership.

We employed the both/and approach to test the impact of online voting with virtually no risk.
Although the cost savings of eliminating the paper ballot was tempting ($15,000 in postage and shipping), for the launch, we opted to continue the tradition of mailing paper ballots to all members. This decision was important given the fact that 41% of SCTE's computer-savvy members opted to vote using the paper ballots.

The Impact
Voter response reached 24% in the 2003 elections, with a 30% increase (+762 members) in the actual number of voters. Another noteworthy impact was the increased number of ballots cast by members outside of the U.S. and Canada. International voter response reached 17% in 2003 compared to only 6% in the prior year.

Although SCTE had strict security measures in place for the elections, the professional election firm took them to a whole new level. This advanced security was an added bonus, as was the reduction in staff work load and streamlining of the implementation process.

Prior elections required the involvement of staff, a printer, a mailing fulfillment house and an accounting firm to tabulate the votes. The online election firm handled all aspects of the elections, from graphic design and printing, to online development, security, tabulation and reporting. Staff simply had to provide the written copy for the voting materials and the database of voters, then review and approve the finished materials.

Thanks to the one-stop service provided by the election firm, SCTE was able to reduce its election expenses by $4,000.

Tips for Successful Implementation
Hiring a professional, experienced online election firm was critical to SCTE's success, as they were able to guide us through the process. Upon completing the request for proposal (RFP) process, we selected Intelliscan out of Phoenixville, PA. Pricing was relatively equal across the submissions, so our decision hinged on the firms' level of experience and client feedback.

Another important element to the successful implementation of the 2003 election was early and ongoing communication with members. SCTE's annual elections begin in January and continue through March. We began to make members aware of the new online voting option in the fall, before the candidates were announced. We emphasized the convenience of online voting through an aggressive awareness campaign that continued through the voting deadline.

The paper ballots also included instructions for voting online. To make it as easy as a click of the mouse, on two occasions we sent an e-mail to SCTE's voters encouraging them to vote online. The e-mail featured a link to the online ballot and their voting security ID number. After the first e-mail was sent in January, we saw an immediate spike in the number of online votes.

The Future
It's likely that SCTE will use the same approach in 2004. To further cost savings, SCTE may consider providing paper ballots upon request, instead of mailing them to all of the members.

By providing SCTE's members with an online voting option, we were able to increase voter response, reduce staff workload and cut expenses. With a well-thought out plan, it's likely that you can do the same for your association.

Contacting the Author
Melissa A. Hicks, e-mail or call 877.238.4045