Hybrid Elections

Rather than to immediately switch entirely from paper to electronic ballots, you may wish to phase in web voting. An election with both paper and web ballots is called a hybrid election and some options for conducting them are:

• Default to web ballots, but accept paper by request—
  Perform your elections on the web, but permit voters to request a paper ballot. Paper ballot voters must be precluded from submitting both a paper and web ballot. Therefore, when mailing a paper ballot, that voter must have his or her record in the voter database flagged to be ineligible for online voting. ElectionsOnline offers a very simple administrative tool to make this possible.
  Pros: Greatly reduces printing and mailing expenses. Very few paper ballots will need to be entered into the voting system.
  Cons: None.
  
  
• Preregister web voters—
  Use the web to perform an e-voter registration period prior to the election. Eligible voters who register as e-voters won’t receive any paper ballot packages thereby reducing the costs of printing and mailing those packages.
  Pros: Some reduction of printing and mailing expenses. Voters choose how they vote.
  Cons: Reduction in printing and mailing expenses is nominal. Lengthens the election process requiring additional administrative oversight. Voters are hassled by the process beyond what is really necessary.
  
  
• Default to paper ballots, but encourage web voting—
  Eligible voters receive a paper ballot package in the mail. The ballot has the voter’s login data printed directly on it along with the web address of the web ballot. Voters are encouraged to vote online, but for those who return the paper ballot, a designee within either your organization or ElectionsOnline (depending on where the paper ballot is returned) logs into the voting system and casts the ballot on the voter’s behalf essentially impersonating that voter.
  Pros: Puts the voter in control of how they vote.
  Cons: Majority of voters are likely to use the paper ballot minimizing the cost savings. Printing the voter’s login data directly on the ballot means the ballot is not anonymous. Paper ballots still need to be entered into the system which consumes resources.