--- title: "Electors" slug: "managing-electors" updated: 2026-09-03T17:32:27Z published: 2026-09-03T17:32:27Z canonical: "help.simplyvoting.com/managing-electors" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.simplyvoting.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Electors In the **Electors** section, you can start adding eligible electors. **Electors** are all eligible voters that can participate and vote in your election. You can begin by adding electors **Manually** one by one, or you can **Import** electors in-full by setting up and formatting a **CSV** file with your elector data in it, which will save you time and energy. ## What to Use as Elector Data The most common data needed to run any election are **Elector IDs**, elector **Names**, and elector **Email Addresses**. These datasets are provided by your organization. Finally, an additional secret, known as a **Password** is also typically the last element to an elector's record of data. **Passwords** by default are auto-generated by the Voting System and not known by any user. Additional Fields Additional data may be needed if you have opted for **Premium Features**. This may include categories of elector membership, vote weight data, or additional authentication secrets like a date of birth. Data for mailing addresses and other static elector information may also be used if you have requested additional feature activations. Moreover, if you need to specify a **Password** for every elector instead of using a randomly generated **Password**, please contact [**Support**](https://help.simplyvoting.com/docs/contacting-support). The chosen data to be used for **Elector IDs** is entirely up to your organization. **Elector IDs** need to be unique to each individual. We suggest using an Elector ID that may already be known by an elector, such as a “Member ID” or “Employee Number” that is *permanently associated* with the individual, when possible. This data may already be used for internal tracking in your organization’s own database. Sometimes an individual's "Internal Database ID" is not known to electors, which is still fine. Other possibilities include an arbitrarily assigned number. Important Notes About Elector IDs If you have multiple elections with the same **electors**, make sure their **Elector IDs** are the *same and consistent across all elections*. If you have multiple elections with different electors, make sure **Elector IDs** are *unique and are NOT recycled or used twice for two or more different individuals*. Moreover, if you have some or all of the same **Electors** in multiple elections, these **Electors** will be able to use their unique **Elector ID** (consistent across all elections), and *any* **Password** to authenticate themselves—a sort of “*one stop shopping*” approach that allows electors to not have to worry about associating a specific election password with a specific election. If **Elector IDs** are recycled and are not wholly unique to an elector, this will result in an **Elector ID Collision** at **Finalization**. If a **Name** is supplied for any elector, emails will greet them using their name and when they authenticate themselves and access the voting ballot, their name will be displayed at the top of their screen. Names can be full first and last name(s), or whatever combination is preferred. **Names** are not required, though can help for troubleshooting and reporting. If an **Email Address** is supplied for any elector, users will be able to use the Voting System's **Email Blast** feature to send out voting instructions and login credentials to electors. Electors do not necessarily need to know their **Passwords** in advance since electors can receive them in the above mentioned **Email Blast**. ## CSV File Formatting A properly formatted **CSV** file, using a common spreadsheet software, may look like the sample below. This sample also includes some exported data *which is not necessary for voting*, and which users can choose to ignore during the import process. In the **CSV** file, each **column** corresponds to a category of elector data, and each **row** corresponds to a unique, individual elector. The order of data in the file is not important. ![EM_pre_election_elector_spreadsheet_formatted_en](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_pre_election_elector_spreadsheet_formatted_en.png) Additional Fields Additional data may be provided if you have opted for **Premium Features**. This may include categories of elector membership, vote weight data, or additional authentication secrets like a date of birth. Data for mailing addresses and other static elector information may also be provided if you have requested additional feature activations. ## Controlling Elector Authentication and Format To control **Password Type** (**Alphanumeric** vs **Numeric**) for auto-generated passwords, and to control **Password Length**, **super users** can adjust these *account wide configurations* on the **Settings** page in the **Authentication Details** section, when an account is set to **Standard Authentication**. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_authentication_details](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_authentication_details.png) Remote Authentication If **Remote Authentication** is used (anything other than Standard Authentication in the **Authentication Details** section), **Passwords** are ignored completely. For more information about **Remote Authentication** please visit our [Elector Authentication Guide](/v1/docs/elector-authentication). ## Importing an Elector CSV File Once you are ready to import your elector data into the **Election**, navigate to the **Electors** section and click on the **Import Electors** button. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_import_electors_fixed](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_import_electors_fixed.png) In the pop-up window that appears, **browse** and locate the desired **CSV file**. If your first row contains column headers, leave the relevant box checkmarked. Click the **Continue** button to move to the next step. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_import_electors_refixed](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_import_electors_refixed.png) Once you've started working with your CSV file, the Voting System's importer will display the first few rows of your file for review. Now you must "map" the elector data in your file, to the available Voting System fields by using the **dropdowns** at the bottom of the pop-up window. Map the corresponding data in your file as necessary, and **ignore** any irrelevant data not necessary for import. When ready, click the **Import** button to continue with the importing process. Invalid Error If you receive an "**Invalid CSV file**" pop-up, you may have attempted to import a spreadsheet in a different file format, which is prohibited. Upon import completion, a green **Success Message** will appear with statistics regarding the recent import. If any **issues** are found, they will be displayed in the message. Mass updates after Finalization If you anticipate needing to add, delete, or update electors en masse during an election’s voting period, please contact [**Support**](https://help.simplyvoting.com/docs/contacting-support) to discuss unlocking additional import operations. ## Reviewing and Addressing Any Initial Issues Once **Electors** have been imported into your election, if you come across any issues or errors in this **Draft** stage of the election, you should attempt to resolve them, or at least be aware of them. The import **Success Message** will detail certain issues that were identified. It is perhaps prudent to review the original source data and make updates in the organization's own database to preempt future issues. To edit an elector and resolve for instance a misspelled name, you can **edit an elector** by clicking on its **Edit Elector** button in the **Action** column. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_edit_elector](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_edit_elector.png) Once you’ve fixed any errors, click the **Save** button to update the elector’s record. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_edit_elector1](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_edit_elector1.png) The **Election Log** will contain a timestamped activity record that a change was made to an elector. This is accessible either directly in the **Election Log** section, or you can review individual elector activity records through the **Elector Log** by clicking on **Show Log** button in the **Action** column for a given elector record. ![EM_redesign_pre_election_elector_log](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_elector_log.png) ![EM_redesign_pre_election_elector_edit](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/EM_redesign_pre_election_elector_edit.png) Managing Bad Emails Upon import, there may also be electors with **Bad Emails** that may be fixable. Please refer to [**Managing Bad Emails**](/v1/docs/managing-bad-emails#bad-emails-in-the-electors-section).