INFORMATION ABOUT SPARKLEVOTE

We've outlined our corporate information below. If you need more information, please contact us using the form at the bottom of this page.

• What is SparkleVote?
• SparkleVote is an online business which allows customers to run their online voting events - quickly and easily. The system allows users to load in a set of questions for voters to vote on, as well as the list of voters participating in the voting event. SparkleVote automatically opens and closes voting at the times specified, and calculates results instantly when voting finishes.

  If you want to learn more, watch our explanatory video below:
• What is the SparkleTheWorld initiative?
• SparkleTheWorld is our initiative that aims to support democracy in countries around the world. Each year, 10% of the net profits of SparkleVote are donated to pre-identified causes around the world that support democracy and free and fair elections. We only ever donate to independent causes, like the costs of running the elections themselves - never candidates or political parties.
• How do voters vote?
• At the time that you specify, we open voting. At this time, we email voters with a link that allows them to vote. The link contains a randomly-generated VoteCode, which identifies the voter. By clicking the link (or visiting www.sparklevote.com/vote and entering their VoteCode manually), voters will be presented with the voting ballot paper listing the questions you are asking, and the options that they can select from. They then submit their vote.
• Who are the SparkleVote management team?
• Our management team have substantial experience in electoral consulting. politics, statistics and executive leadership. Meet our team!
  
  

  		DEAN GILLESPIE BEc MFin JP Founder, Chairman and Chief Sparkler (CEO) Dean Gillespie founded SparkleVote and the SparkleTheWorld initiative in early 2016. In his role as Chief Sparkler, he is accountable for SparkleVote's strategic direction and operations. Dean is also the majority shareholder of SparkleVote. Dean has an extensive background in psephology and consulting on election results. Earlier in his career, he built "AustraliaVotes", a computer system which is still regularly used at every election by some of Australia's major political parties. On election night, Dean is regularly present providing consulting advice with party campaign directors on how to call election results and seats on television. Dean has also held senior executive roles at a number of large companies including leading the retail bank and digital operations for a bank in Asia. Within Australia, Dean has also been Head of Strategy and Head of Home Loan Sales at some of Australia's biggest banks, and regularly speaks at international conferences. He has previously been an elected official in government, and has been a director of not-for-profit organisations (such as ThinIce Productions Ltd). Dean holds a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney, and a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Sydney. Dean is passionate about democracy and set up the SparkleTheWorld initiative with the aim of helping to support democracy in some of the poorest countries in the world.
  		Dr COURTNEY FIELD BA(Hons) PhD Chief Electoral Sparkler Courtney Field joined SparkleVote in 2016 and is responsible for the efficient running of all SparkleVote voting events. In this role, he is also designated the Returning Officer and final arbiter of any voting disputes raised by voters with respect of voting events. Courtney has lectured extensively in statistics and law at some of Australia's leading universities (University of Technology, Sydney and Murdoch University). He holds a doctorate in psychology, and has a deep understanding of the drivers of voter behaviour. Courtney holds a Bachelor of Arts with first-class honours from the University of Western Australia and a PhD from Murdoch University.
  		GARETH PERKINS Head of SparkleTheWorld initiative Gareth Perkins leads the SparkleTheWorld initiative, having joined SparkleVote in September 2016. In this role, Gareth is responsible for SparkleVote's grant program which is focused on supporting democracy around the world and makes recommendations to the SparkleVote Executive Committee on where grant funds should be deployed. Earlier in his career, Gareth was a major-candidate nominee for the Australian House of Representatives. He has also held a range of specialist roles, including at International SOS where he supported teams spread across the world logistically, giving him a detailed understanding on operations in many developing nations. Gareth has a deep understanding of international affairs, and serves as a key adviser within SparkleVote on opportunities to enhance democracy worldwide.

• What are SparkleVote's full legal details?
• SparkleVote Pty Limited is a proprietary limited company registered in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Our Australian Business Number (ABN) is 63 613 546 704 and our Australian Company Number (ACN) is 613 546 704. We are registered for Australian Goods and Services Tax and collect this where required (largely on sales to Australian users).
• What are your contact details?
• Our head office address (which we like to call "SparkleCentral") is SparkleVote Pty Limited, SparkleCentral, 15 Adolphus Street, Balmain NSW 2041, Australia.
  
  If you are looking to contact us for help or support, you should visit our Help Centre and lodge through a support ticket. We'll get back to you as fast as we can.
  
  If you need to call us, you can call the SparkleVote International Help Centre at +1 (650) 581 9111. This is our number in Silicon Valley, California and so international charges will apply if you are outside the US.
  
  If you want to talk to us for corporate discussions, please call us on +1 (650) 581 9111 advising the nature of your enquiry, and we will get back to you asap.
• What type of voting events is SparkleVote aimed at?
• SparkleVote is designed to assist users in managing large and complicated voting events. It makes it easy to send and collate large numbers of votes from voters quickly.
  
  SparkleVote is NOT however designed to be a replacement for important elections that require high degrees of security. You should search online for alternatives for this. SparkleVote takes no responsibility if you choose to use the system for a very important event, and you experience significant issues (obviously, we'll do everything we can to assist).
• How about your systems? Are they reliable?
• Our system is run on servers with 99.9% uptime with regular backups. We regularly run web vulnerability tests on our web application to ensure that threats are minimised.
• Where is data stored and operated from?
• Two countries - Australia and the United States of America. Our business is run from Sydney, but servers and data are located in the United States. This means that data mainly resides in the US, but may travel electronically to Australia when staff members are looking at particular voting events. We also backup all customer and voting event data to computers based in Australia to provide an additional layer of assurance that data is retained in multiple geographies. We also utilise third parties for various components of the SparkleVote system. Some of these parties may have operations in other parts of the world which involve data being moved on a transactional basis through their servers.