---
title: "Timestamps and Time Zones"
slug: "timestamps-and-timezones"
description: "ISO 8601 date and 24-hour time formats, the user-specific time zone in your User Profile, the account-level time zone for voting receipts, and IANA zone names."
updated: 2024-07-12T16:15:13Z
published: 2024-07-12T16:15:13Z
canonical: "help.simplyvoting.com/timestamps-and-timezones"
---

> ## 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.

# Timestamps and Time Zones

How are timestamps and time zones managed by the Voting System?

          

## Date and Time Format

All dates, times, and UTC offsets in the **Election Manager** and on the **Voting Website** are formatted according to the **ISO 8601** standard.

Dates are expressed in **YYYY-MM-DD** notation.

| Simply Voting Date | Equivalent |
| --- | --- |
| 2024-03-05 | March 5, 2024 |
| 2024-05-03 | May 3, 2024 |

Times are expressed in **24-hour** notation.

| Simply Voting Time | 12-Hour Equivalent |
| --- | --- |
| 00:00 | 12:00 AM (midnight) |
| 12:00 | 12:00 PM (noon) |
| 18:00 | 6:00 PM |
| 23:59 | 11:59 PM |

          Beginning vs. End of the Day

          

To start at election at the **beginning of the day**, it is recommend to set the **Start Time** to **00:00** or **00:01**.

To end an election at the **end of the day**, it is recommended to set the **End Time** to **23:59**.

## Time Zones in the Election Manager

All dates and times in the **Election Manager** are expressed in the time zone defined in your **User Profile**.

Each **User** can define their own time zone, which the **Election Manager** takes into account when displaying timestamps (such as the election's **Start Time** and **End Time**).

For example, an election set to begin at **6 AM** by a user on **Pacific Time** will appear as starting at **9 AM** to a user on **Eastern Time**.

| Pacific Time User | Eastern Time User |
| --- | --- |
| ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/image%28109%29.png) | ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/a78bcdfe-0fc1-4248-a709-1fe58ecd1ca1/Images/Documentation/image%28110%29.png) |

If in doubt, you can always verify your user-specific time zone from the clock in the top right corner of the **Election Manager**.

To modify your user-specific time zone, click on your **name** in the top right corner of the **Election Manager**, then navigate to **Profile**.

From the **User Profile** page, select your desired **Time Zone** and click **Save**.

## Time Zones on the Voting Website

Timestamps on electors' **voting receipts** are expressed in the **account-level time zone**.

The **account-level time zone** can be modified in the **Election Manager** from the **Settings** page.

From the **Organization** section, select the desired **Time Zone** and click **Save**.

## List of Available Time Zones

Time zone names in the **Election Manager** and on the **Voting Website** are formatted according to the [IANA time zone database](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tz_database).

Each time zone has a unique name in the form of **Area/Location**, such as **America/Toronto** or **Europe/Paris**.

Locations are sorted by **UTC offset** and are attributed to one of 10 different **Areas**, which are:

- Africa
- America
- Antarctica
- Arctic
- Asia
- Atlantic
- Australia
- Europe
- Indian
- Pacific