Ask us anything about VoteStead
Type a question and get the answer this site publishes, with a link to where it says it. Anything it cannot answer goes to a person: support@votestead.com, the contact form, or 1-855-573-VOTE (855-573-8683).
Everything it can answer
Each one repeats what a page on this site already says. Nothing here is generated, so it cannot invent a rate or a rule.
How much does an election cost?
A self-serve binding election is $89.99 plus $0.65 a voting unit, and a managed election is $199 plus $1.55 a unit. The per-unit rate falls as the community gets larger. A 120-unit self-serve election is $160.99. A 200-unit managed election is $461.50. Associations over 50 voting units also pay a $99 annual platform fee. Test elections are always free, and VoteStead publishes no discounts, so every association pays the same published rate.
What does mailed notice cost?
A printed and mailed voting notice is $1.75 a piece and a reminder postcard is $1.25, postage included in both. Self-serve boards can print the same letters, reminder cards and address labels themselves at no charge. On managed elections VoteStead prints, stuffs, stamps and mails them.
Is there a per-ballot fee?
No. Online ballots, email invitations and text reminders are in the price, and there is no charge for extra ballot questions. The only per-piece charges are printed mail VoteStead sends for you: $1.75 a mailed notice, $1.25 a reminder card and $4.50 a paper ballot packet, postage included. Print your own instead and they cost nothing, on self-serve and on managed.
Is there a subscription or a contract?
Elections are billed one at a time, so an association that votes once a year is billed for one election. There is no monthly plan and no minimum number of elections. The only recurring charge is the $99 annual platform fee, and only for associations over 50 voting units.
Can the board see how someone voted?
No. The ballot is sealed on the owner’s own device before it is sent, and it is stored in a separate database with no name, no unit and no linking timestamp. Two of three key holders open the count after voting closes, and even then the result is a tally, not a list of who voted which way. Nobody at the board, the management company or VoteStead can tell how a unit voted.
Who holds the keys that open the count?
Three people hold one share each, and two of the three are needed to open the count after voting closes. One share alone opens nothing. On a managed election the holders are the VoteStead election manager, an independent inspector and one board member who is not up for election. On a self-serve election the board names three holders, none of them a candidate, a director up for election or the managing agent. The board also chooses whether VoteStead holds one of the three for $49, which keeps the count from running on two people inside the community alone.
What about owners without email?
They get a mailed notice with an access code and a PIN and vote at votestead.com like everyone else, or they vote on a paper ballot. VoteStead prints paper ballot packets with a secret ballot envelope and a signed return envelope, logs each returned envelope, and counts paper and online ballots together. Only the first ballot from a unit counts.
Can an owner change their vote?
No. Once a ballot is cast it is sealed and final, which is why the review screen shows every choice before it is cast.
How does an owner check their ballot counted?
Each owner gets a tracker code on their receipt. After voting closes they enter the election ID and that code on the Check a ballot page, and it confirms their sealed ballot is in the final count without revealing how they voted.
An owner did not get their voting link
Check the spam folder for a message from VoteStead first. If nothing arrived, the association confirms the email address or mobile number on its roster and sends it again. Owners with neither on file get a mailed notice carrying an access code and a PIN.
What number do the text messages come from?
Election texts come from 1-844-398-VOTE (844-398-8683), which is used only for election messages to owners. Reply STOP to any of them to opt out, or HELP for help. Support and contact is a different number, 1-855-573-VOTE (855-573-8683).
Does VoteStead work in my state?
VoteStead runs in all 50 states and DC. Each has a rule pack carrying the statute, what it authorises, the secret-ballot rule, the paper-ballot rule and the retention period, and features the law does not allow are switched off in the console with a note naming the law. VoteStead counsel has reviewed the rule pack for every state. Where a state law does not clearly authorise electronic voting, the launch checklist asks for a letter from your association attorney before a binding vote.
How does quorum work?
Quorum is tracked while voting is open, counted by units or by allocated interest, whichever your governing documents use. Automatic reminders go only to units that have not voted. If quorum fails, a rerun of the same questions inside 60 days is free on managed and half price on self-serve.
Can we buy an election online?
Yes, for a self-serve election. Enter your association, your state and your voting unit count, pay by card, and the account, the paid election and an email with the steps land straight away. Communities over 800 voting units and managed elections are quoted by a person, because the per-unit rate falls and the mail plan matters.
Buy a self-serve electionSee every rate and add-onGet a quote
Can we try it first?
Yes. Test elections are free, unlimited, any community size, in any state. You run the whole flow with your board first, and every page is marked as a test so nothing can be mistaken for binding. There is also a live demo account and a 30-minute video walkthrough.
How long does it take to set up?
Self-serve boards set an election up in a sitting: add the association, upload the roster, build the ballot from one of 21 templates, name the key holders and launch. Rush setup, with the ballot built and launch-ready inside 3 business days, is $99. Ask before ordering rush, because some states set notice periods no rush can shorten.
What is the difference between self-serve and managed?
On self-serve your board runs the election and VoteStead supplies the platform, the state rules and a launch checklist that will not let voting open with a required step missing. On managed, VoteStead builds the ballot, loads and cleans the roster, prints and mails the notices, answers owners and delivers certified results, and your board stays out of the ballot box.
What do we get at the end?
A certified results report as a PDF the board can file, showing turnout, quorum, per-question results and the ballot count. It goes out by email to the board and anyone else you list. Every action is recorded in a hash-chained audit log you can export for an inspector or an attorney, and owners can check their own ballots publicly after the count.
Does VoteStead also manage associations?
No, and it never will. VoteStead runs elections and never acts as managing agent for an association whose election it runs, and sells no other paid service to those associations. Management companies can run elections for the communities they serve through the partner programme, which changes who pays, not who can see a ballot.
How do I reach a person?
Email support@votestead.com, use the contact form, or call 1-855-573-VOTE (855-573-8683). If you are an owner voting right now, your own association answers questions about candidates, meeting dates and deadlines faster than we can.