Have questions? Need assistance?

You're in the right place - we're here to help. Check out our list of common questions below first - the answer to the question you're asking may be in there.

If you still have a question or issue, please contact us by lodging a new support ticket through to us. We'll get back to you as fast as we can.

• 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:
• I've forgotten my password. Can I reset it?
• Absolutely. Just click "Login!" at the top of this page, and select "Forgotten password?" underneath the login form. We'll email you a link to reset your account.
• I've forgotten my username. How can I find it?
• Just click "Login!" at the top of this page, and select "Forgotten username?" underneath the login form. Enter your email address, and we'll email your username to you.
• I tried to register my account, but I never received the activation email.
• Okay. First things first. Sometimes, our emails get moved automatically into Junk or Spam folders. Please check in there first and see if the email has been filed there in error. If you find it, move it back to your inbox and unmark it as junk (this will help to ensure that future emails are not filed into junk incorrectly).
  
  If you are sure you have not received the email, please try re-registering by clicking "Get Started!" above. When you it asks you for your email address, type your same email address and submit the form. The system will automatically recognise that you have an existing account that is not activated, and will send you a new verification email.
  
  If you still do not recieve the email, there may be a problem. Lodge a new support ticket request at the bottom of this page and we'll have a look at it for you.
• How do I update my personal information (e.g. name/username/email/phone etc.)?
• You can change all your information from the Voting Dashboard. Log into your Voting Dashboard by clicking "Login!" on the menu at the top of this page. Then click on the "X's Menu" option at the top right of the Voting Dashboard page. It is named after your name. Select "My Profile" from the drop down list. From here, you can update all of your personal information on your SparkleVote account.
• How do I change something when my voting event is still in countdown (voting not started)?
• Easy. Just click on "Your Dashboard Home" on the left, and find your voting event in the list. Underneath, there will be a button that lets you put the election on hold and go through setup again.
• How do I fix a mistake on the ballot papers if my voting event has started?
• If your event has already started, you'll need to consider how serious the error is and make a decision on what to do. This is because we will have already issued voting emails out to all of your electors.
  
  It is generally not fair to have errors on voting papers go out to some people, and then change them part way through the voting event. If the error is very minor or the voting event is not very important (e.g. you're voting on somewhere to go for dinner :-) ) then it is probably okay to make a change mid-way through. If it is an important voting event (like an election), or the error is very material, we strongly recommend that you start the election again - but this will wipe all existing votes that have already been received.
  
  To do either of these things, log into your Voting Dashboard. Underneath the voting event, there is a button that allows you to make changes. Click it, and it will guide you through the various options.
• I left off a voter or typed a wrong email, and my event has already started. What should I do?
• Login into your Voting Dashboard and click on the voting event on the left of the page. One of the buttons will show you who has voted already, as well as the voter list. Click the button. From there, you can add, edit and delete voters live.
  
  From here, you can amend a voter's email address if they haven't voted already, add up to three voters that you left off, or delete a voter (only if they have not voted already). Amending or adding a voter will immediately send/resend an invitation to vote to that voter (so ensure you enter their email address correctly!). If you delete a voter, their voting link in their invitation to vote email will no longer work.
  
  If you need to add more than three voters, please lodge a support request at the bottom of this page (we do this manually as normally we charge extra for higher numbers of voters).
• How do I get the results?
• When voting is due to close, we'll stop accepting votes and we'll send you an email (as organiser) stating that voting has closed. You can immediately see the results. You will be able to see the full voter list, including who voted and who didn't.
  
  You will see the actual voting results for each question, as well as a graph. From the page, you can also click "Audit Votes" and download a CSV file containing the information of every vote cast - so it's fully auditable.
• How can I audit the votes when voting finishes?
• When voting closes, you will immediately have access to results. Click "Audit Votes". You will be prompted to download a comma-separated values (CSV) file which lists every individual vote, when it was cast, and by who (if it was not a secret ballot).
• Can you give me an official declaration of the votes?
• If you need a formal official declaration document from us, we can manually check the results of your voting event and email/mail an official declaration certificate hand-signed by our Chief Electoral Officer. This service costs USD $99.00. If you would like this, simply lodge a support ticket to us at the bottom of this page. We'll arrange it for you. We may need to call you to get your credit card details and validate your identity.
• Can I print out the results?
• Absolutely. When you click "Get Results", there is a link at the bottom of the page that will allow you to print the full page/s of results (either on paper or to PDF).
• Something strange has happened (e.g. the votes aren't adding up)
• Oh no! That's strange - but don't worry.
  
  Please click "Need Assistance?" at the top of this page, and lodge a ticket through to us. We will manually go through all the votes that we have received, and work out what has happened.
• Is there a maximum number of voters?
• Currently, the maximum is 20,000 voters for one voting event. If you want to do more, simply let us know by contacting us through the form at the bottom of this page.
• 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.
• What types of voting do you support?
• For each question that you want voters to answer, we offer a range of voting types for you to choose from. The simplest option requires voters to pick their one most preferred option for the question (e.g. "yes" or "no"). However, SparkleVote also allows you to setup questions where the voters can pick more than one option. You can either require that voters pick exactly X number of options (e.g. "2" or "5" options) from the list, or you can allow voters to select any number of options up to the limit that you specify (e.g. from 0-4 options). Each individual question can be set up differently, so it's very flexible!
• Do you offer preferential (instant run-off) voting?
• Not yet :( We're working on it though. Watch this space!
• Do you check that voters have voted correctly before accepting the vote?
• Yes. The "Submit Vote" button will not appear unless the voter has completed the vote in accordance with the instructions. Like most of the web, we use JavaScript to control this automatic validation. However, our server also checks votes when they come in to ensure that they are valid, so even if voters do not have JavaScript turned on for the browser, we will ensure that the vote is valid before we process it.
• Are the votes cast by voters secret?
• Up to you. When you set up the voting event, you tell us whether you want the voting event to be a "Show of Hands" (not secret) or a "Secret Ballot" (secret).
  
  Show of Hands - If you select "Show of Hands", you will be able to see exactly how individual electors voted by downloading a file of individual votes from the "Audit Votes" function within your election dashboard. This means that you can exactly reconcile voting results back to the person who voted.
  
  Secret Ballot - If you select "Secret Ballot", we will mark off voters' names from the list of voters (so you can see who voted and who did not), but you will not ever be able to see how individual voters voted. If you download the list of votes from the "Audit Votes" page in your election dashboard, you will be able to see the individual votes and the times they were cast, but there will not be anything that identifies which voter cast the vote. This is closest to how real-world elections run.
• Can I see how voting is going during the election?
• Yes! Simply click the event here on the left in your Election Dashboard. From there, you can see exactly how many people have voted, as well as the full list of voter email addresses. The Dashboard will tell you which of the voters have voted, and which ones haven't. This means that you can easily chase people up offline if needed!
• Do you send people a reminder if they haven't voted towards the end?
• Yes - unless your voting event is only open to voting for less than 48 hours (2 days). If someone hasn't voted towards the end of the voting event, we'll resend them their voting link and remind them to vote.
  
  Here's when we'll automatically remind people:
  
  If voting is open seven (7) days or longer: 48 hours before polls are due to close
  If voting is open less then seven (7) days but two (2) days or more: 24 hours before polls close
  If voting is open less than two (2) days: we will not remind people
• Do you declare a winner of the voting event?
• We give you voting results, but we do not declare a winner. This is because you may have offline rules relating to your voting event that invalidates an option in the voting results. We give you the vote tally - it's up to you to celebrate the winner!
• I have an idea on how to improve SparkleVote. Are you interested?
• Absolutely!! Please lodge a support request with your idea. We'd love to hear it and we'll respond to you as fast as we can.