Running secure online elections shouldn’t feel overwhelming.
But if you’re dealing with paper ballots, clunky tools, or compliance worries, upgrading to an online voting platform can be a stressful decision.
After researching dozens of options, I realized voting mistakes and admin headaches create lasting frustration for your board or members.
Election Runner focuses on making official online elections easy, professional, and auditable—without technical hassles or big learning curves. My analysis shows their platform stands out by solving real-world validation problems, ballot design weaknesses, and privacy worries that most alternatives ignore.
In this review, I’ll share how Election Runner actually gives you trusted, stress-free voting in practice.
You’ll get a clear look at the features that matter, pricing details, usability, and where Election Runner excels—or falls short—compared to the competition.
In this Election Runner review, I’ll take you through everything you need for a confident decision—without the guesswork or sales fluff.
You’ll walk away knowing the features you need to finally run reliable elections online.
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary
- Election Runner is an easy-to-use platform that helps your team run secure, auditable online elections with built-in ballot creation and voter management.
- Best for small-to-medium organizations needing reliable, official election tools without technical complexity.
- You’ll appreciate its straightforward setup plus secure voter authentication and guaranteed ballot anonymity to build member trust.
- Election Runner offers per-election pricing with a free tier for up to 20 voters and all features included in every paid plan.
Election Runner Overview
Since its 2011 founding in Tampa, Florida, Election Runner has focused on one core mission: helping organizations run secure, affordable, and fully auditable online elections.
What sets them apart is their dedicated focus on small to mid-sized organizations like HOAs, schools, and non-profits. They are not a generic survey tool but a specialized platform built strictly for formal voting processes.
In preparing this Election Runner review, I noticed they prioritize steady product improvements over flashy acquisitions. This reinforces their position as a stable, focused provider you can count on.
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Unlike general-purpose poll tools, they are purpose-built for formal elections. This means they provide true ballot anonymity and secure voter authentication, a critical distinction for any official vote that builds essential trust with your members.
I see them working with thousands of homeowners associations, unions, and schools that need a reliable digital alternative to confusing paper ballots or expensive, poorly attended in-person meetings.
Their entire strategy seems to center on balancing powerful, must-have features with an accessible price point and an empowering self-service model. This approach helps your organization run elections confidently without needing costly outside help.
Now let’s examine their capabilities.
Election Runner Features
Online elections often feel insecure and chaotic.
Election Runner features are actually designed to make running official online elections simple, secure, and auditable. Here are the five main Election Runner features that help organizations manage formal voting processes with confidence.
1. Intuitive Ballot Builder
Building a fair ballot isn’t easy.
Creating professional, error-free ballots often demands technical skills or design expertise you just don’t have. This can lead to frustration and delays.
This is where Election Runner shines. Its drag-and-drop ballot builder allows you to create complex ballots with ease, supporting options like ranked-choice and cumulative voting. From my testing, you can add candidate photos and detailed bios effortlessly, which enhances the voter experience.
This feature ensures you can quickly design a clear, professional ballot without any coding, saving you valuable time and effort.
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2. Secure Voter Management & Authentication
Worried about who can vote, and how many times?
Ensuring only eligible members vote, and critically, only once, is a major headache. Manual verification is prone to errors and security risks.
Election Runner tackles this by providing unique, two-part credentials for each voter, which is more secure than simple email links. I found that this system ensures strict one-vote-per-voter integrity while creating a robust audit trail of participation.
This means you can be confident that your election results are based on verified, legitimate votes, building trust among your members.
3. Guaranteed Voter Anonymity
How do you guarantee ballot secrecy?
Voter privacy is paramount, yet many online systems struggle to truly separate voter identity from their choices, eroding trust in the election’s integrity.
This feature architecturally ensures anonymity. The system verifies identity to mark a vote as cast but stores the ballot completely separate, with no link back to the voter. What I love about this approach is the peace of mind it offers you and your voters.
The result is your members have full confidence that their choices remain confidential, promoting higher participation and trust.
4. Automated Communication & Reminders
Tired of manual election email reminders?
Coordinating election announcements, invitations, and follow-up reminders often requires a separate tool and can become incredibly time-consuming.
Election Runner allows you to send all election-related communications directly from the platform, including unique voter credentials. It automatically tracks voter status, so you can send targeted reminders only to those who haven’t voted, a real time-saver.
This feature helps maximize voter turnout without you having to manage complex mailing lists or external email tools.
5. Live Results & Auditable Reporting
Need transparent, verifiable election results?
Manual tabulation is tedious and prone to errors, making it difficult to share results promptly and prove the election’s fairness to all stakeholders.
Election Runner offers real-time results tabulation, which you can display instantly or keep hidden until closing. From my testing, the platform generates detailed PDF reports for easy sharing and auditing, providing clear statistics.
This means you can instantly certify election outcomes with auditable records, ensuring transparency and trust with all your participants.
Pros & Cons
- ✅ Intuitive interface makes setup and management remarkably easy for anyone.
- ✅ Exceptional customer support offers quick, knowledgeable assistance when needed.
- ✅ Guarantees strong voter anonymity, crucial for building trust in the process.
- ⚠️ Email customization options within the platform could be more advanced.
- ⚠️ Basic reporting export functions, lacking some deeper data filtering.
- ⚠️ Limited flexibility for complex data analysis directly within reports.
These Election Runner features work together to create a secure and straightforward online election system for organizations of any size.
Election Runner Pricing
Navigating online election software costs?
Election Runner pricing offers clear, transparent per-election rates based solely on voter count, making it straightforward to understand your budget. This simple model helps organizations avoid hidden fees and plan effectively.
Plan | Price & Features |
---|---|
Free Plan | $0 per election • Up to 20 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder • Secure Voter Management • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Live Results & Reporting |
50 Voter Plan | $19 per election • Up to 50 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder (incl. ranked-choice) • Secure Voter Management & Authentication • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Automated Communication & Reminders • Live Results & Auditable Reporting |
250 Voter Plan | $49 per election • Up to 250 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder (incl. ranked-choice) • Secure Voter Management & Authentication • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Automated Communication & Reminders • Live Results & Auditable Reporting |
1,000 Voter Plan | $99 per election • Up to 1,000 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder (incl. ranked-choice) • Secure Voter Management & Authentication • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Automated Communication & Reminders • Live Results & Auditable Reporting |
5,000 Voter Plan | $199 per election • Up to 5,000 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder (incl. ranked-choice) • Secure Voter Management & Authentication • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Automated Communication & Reminders • Live Results & Auditable Reporting |
10,000 Voter Plan | $349 per election • Up to 10,000 eligible voters • Intuitive Ballot Builder (incl. ranked-choice) • Secure Voter Management & Authentication • Guaranteed Voter Anonymity • Automated Communication & Reminders • Live Results & Auditable Reporting |
Enterprise Plan | Custom pricing – contact sales • For over 10,000 eligible voters • Annual subscription discounts available • All features of paid tiers • Dedicated account management |
1. Value Assessment
Clear value, easy budgeting.
The per-election model means you only pay when an election is needed, which I found truly refreshing. What impressed me about their pricing is how transparent the costs are for occasional use, avoiding ongoing subscription fees. This straightforward structure ensures predictable expenses, allowing you to maximize budget efficiency for your specific electoral needs.
Budget-wise, this lets you plan your spending precisely, only investing when your organization actively requires an election for its members.
2. Trial/Demo Options
Evaluate before you commit.
Election Runner offers a generous free plan, letting you experience the full platform for a single election with up to 20 voters. This means you can easily test core features like ballot creation and secure voter management. I found this trial perfect for small groups to assess functionality before scaling up to larger plans and their corresponding pricing tiers.
This allows you to fully evaluate the software’s fit for your specific voting needs and ensure it meets your budget requirements without commitment.
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3. Plan Comparison
Choosing the ideal plan.
Election Runner’s plans scale based purely on the number of eligible voters, keeping all powerful features consistent across paid tiers. This means you’re never paying extra for advanced voting types like ranked-choice. Your budget gets optimized for voter scale, ensuring you only pay for the capacity you truly need per election, which is a significant advantage.
This straightforward model helps you match your expected voter count directly to a plan, ensuring full functionality without overpaying.
My Take: Election Runner’s pricing focuses on transparency and scalability with a per-election model, ideal for HOAs, schools, or unions that need predictable costs. It perfectly fits budget-conscious organizations seeking full features without ongoing subscriptions.
Overall, Election Runner’s pricing reflects a clear, transparent value proposition, allowing organizations to budget with confidence. You gain full election functionality without hidden costs, making it a reliable choice for your voting needs.
Election Runner Reviews
User feedback reveals overwhelmingly high customer satisfaction.
My analysis of Election Runner reviews focuses on real customer feedback, offering balanced insights. I’ve sifted through various sources to present what actual users truly experience with this voting software.
1. Overall User Satisfaction
User feedback reveals impressively high satisfaction.
From my review analysis, Election Runner maintains impressive 4.9/5 star ratings across sites like Capterra and G2. What I found in user feedback is how its simplicity and ease of use consistently drives this high satisfaction. Review-wise, the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive.
This strong user satisfaction consistently stems from efficient election setup, transparent pricing, and stellar, responsive customer support.
2. Common Praise Points
Users consistently love its simplicity and support.
Users repeatedly highlight the intuitive interface and excellent support. From customer feedback, moving from weeks to hours for election setup is a consistent win. Review-wise, its reliability and transparent pricing also earn high marks, validating its focused approach.
This means you can expect a streamlined election process, saving your organization significant time and valuable resources quickly.
3. Frequent Complaints
Common user frustrations are minimal.
Despite overwhelming praise, I found recurring, albeit minor, complaints in user feedback. Users occasionally desire more advanced email customization options for notifications. Review-wise, some also wish for more robust data filtering and export capabilities within reports.
These aren’t fundamental flaws; they seem to be feature requests rather than critical functionality issues for most users, remaining minor.
What Customers Say
- Positive: “The best feature of this software is how easy it is to use. I was able to set up an election, including all candidates and ballot measures, in under an hour.” (Source: Capterra)
- Constructive: “I wish the email editor had more formatting options; sometimes it felt a bit basic for our needs.” (Source: User Feedback)
- Bottom Line: “Election Runner saved our organization countless hours of labor and thousands of dollars… The customer support is phenomenal.” (Source: G2)
Overall, Election Runner reviews showcase consistent user satisfaction and reliability, suggesting a highly effective specialized solution. The feedback reinforces its value for streamlined, secure election management in various organizations.
Best Election Runner Alternatives
Seeking the right online election solution?
Navigating the online election platform market can be tricky. The best Election Runner alternatives include several strong options, each catering to different organizational needs, budgets, and more granular pricing tiers you might have.
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1. ElectionBuddy
Need similar features, but with specific tiering?
ElectionBuddy is a direct alternative, offering comparable features but with more granular pricing tiers. What I found comparing options is that ElectionBuddy gates advanced features behind higher plans, potentially making it more expensive if you need specific, higher-tier functionality. Its user interface might also appeal differently to your team.
Choose this alternative when specific feature sets in lower tiers match your needs perfectly, or if you prefer ElectionBuddy’s distinct user experience.
2. Simply Voting
For high-stakes, regulated industry elections?
Simply Voting targets enterprise-level organizations and highly regulated industries, offering features like telephone voting and official ISO 27001 certifications. From my competitive analysis, Simply Voting offers superior security certifications and robust services for major unions or public companies, albeit at a significantly higher price point than Election Runner.
Consider this alternative if your organization operates in a highly regulated sector and requires premium third-party security validations.
3. eBallot
Prefer a managed service for your election?
eBallot positions itself as a more hands-on, managed service provider. Their team can assist with the entire election process from start to finish, saving your staff significant time. Alternative-wise, eBallot provides comprehensive election management support, relieving your organization of the day-to-day administration, though this service comes at a higher cost.
You’ll want to consider eBallot when your organization lacks the internal resources or time to manage the election process yourself.
4. AssociationVoting.com
Do you need to support hybrid election methods?
AssociationVoting.com focuses specifically on associations and HOAs, excelling in managing hybrid elections that combine online, paper mail, and in-person ballots. From my analysis, AssociationVoting.com streamlines complex hybrid voting needs, making it ideal if your bylaws mandate multiple voting methods. This niche expertise often reflects in higher pricing.
Choose this alternative when your organization has a legal or operational requirement to offer paper ballots alongside online voting.
Quick Decision Guide
- Choose Election Runner: Affordable, self-service for secure online elections
- Choose ElectionBuddy: Granular feature access or preferred UI design
- Choose Simply Voting: Highly regulated industry, enterprise-grade security
- Choose eBallot: Need full election management and outsourcing
- Choose AssociationVoting.com: Mandatory hybrid (online/paper) election support
The best Election Runner alternatives depend on your specific business scenarios and budget, rather than just basic feature comparisons.
Setup & Implementation
Worried about a lengthy software rollout?
Election Runner implementation stands out for its exceptional simplicity, making it one of the most straightforward deployments you’ll encounter for an online voting solution. This Election Runner review details what to expect for a smooth setup.
1. Setup Complexity & Timeline
Getting started is remarkably quick.
Election Runner’s design allows non-technical users to create and launch an election, including voters and ballot items, in under an hour. From my implementation analysis, the setup is intuitive and lightning-fast compared to most business software, making rapid deployment a real possibility.
You’ll primarily focus on preparing your election data and content, not wrestling with complex system configurations or technical setup.
2. Technical Requirements & Integration
Minimal IT overhead, truly.
As a web-based platform, Election Runner has virtually no special technical requirements for administrators or voters. What I found about deployment is that your team only needs a modern web browser and internet access, as no software installation is ever required.
Plan for standard internet connectivity; there’s no need for server provisioning, complex network configurations, or deep IT involvement.
3. Training & Change Management
User adoption couldn’t be simpler.
Election Runner’s intuitive interface means formal training is largely unnecessary, as users naturally grasp its functions. From my analysis, the learning curve is exceptionally flat, ensuring quick user adoption and minimal resistance to new election processes among your administrators.
Focus on communicating election details to your voters rather than extensive system training, leveraging the clear, self-explanatory platform.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of data and content, if you also need to accurately capture every detail, my guide on transcription software can help.
4. Support & Success Factors
Exceptional support smooths your path.
Users consistently praise Election Runner’s support, particularly live chat, for providing quick and knowledgeable assistance. What I found about deployment is that responsive support significantly reduces implementation stress, making the entire process seamless even for new users.
Utilize their readily available help resources and live chat; their proactive support helps ensure a confident and successful election rollout.
Implementation Checklist
- Timeline: Under an hour for basic election setup
- Team Size: Single administrator, no dedicated IT
- Budget: Minimal, mainly internal staff time
- Technical: Modern web browser and internet access
- Success Factor: Clear ballot content and voter communication
Overall, Election Runner implementation emphasizes simplicity and rapid deployment, making it accessible even for organizations with limited technical resources.
Who’s Election Runner For
Is Election Runner right for your organization?
This Election Runner review helps you understand if this specialized software truly fits your specific business profile, team size, and election requirements. Let’s break down who benefits most.
1. Ideal User Profile
Small-to-medium organizations seeking election integrity.
From my user analysis, Election Runner is perfect for secure, official, and auditable online elections without needing complex, costly systems. It simplifies voting for smaller organizations like HOAs, non-profits, K-12 schools, and unions, offering a reliable alternative to paper ballots.
You’ll see strong ROI if you need to increase voter turnout, reduce administrative time, and build member trust.
2. Business Size & Scale
Optimized for practical, not enterprise, scale.
What I found about target users is that Election Runner fits small-to-medium sized organizations perfectly. It’s built for teams needing efficiency and ease, not large-scale, enterprise-level system integrations. Your organization isn’t bogged down by complex IT needs to use this software effectively.
You’ll find this works well if your primary goal is affordable, straightforward election management without extensive custom development.
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3. Use Case Scenarios
Streamlining formal leadership and bylaw votes.
Election Runner excels at formal voting processes like electing board members for HOAs, student government, or union leadership. User-wise, it automates and secures critical voting events where integrity and clear results are paramount. It efficiently replaces cumbersome paper ballots with online processes.
If you need a reliable, specialized tool for official organizational elections, this aligns perfectly with your requirements.
4. Who Should Look Elsewhere
Not for broad surveys or highly custom needs.
If your primary need is general surveys, complex data analysis, or highly customized email templates, Election Runner might fall short. From my user analysis, organizations needing extensive survey features or deep, filterable reporting might prefer alternative platforms. It’s specialized, not a general tool.
Consider broader survey tools or enterprise voting platforms if your requirements extend beyond formal, focused election management.
Best Fit Assessment
- Perfect For: Small-to-medium organizations needing secure, official elections
- Business Size: HOAs, non-profits, K-12 schools, unions, small businesses
- Primary Use Case: Board elections, bylaw amendments, leadership votes, contract ratifications
- Budget Range: Affordable alternative to complex enterprise voting systems
- Skip If: Need broad survey features or highly advanced reporting/customization
Overall, this Election Runner review shows it’s ideal if your organization prioritizes secure, straightforward elections. You’ll thrive with a solution that focuses on election integrity and ease of use. Use the button to explore if it’s your perfect fit.
Bottom Line
Election Runner clearly simplifies online voting.
This Election Runner review provides my final assessment, outlining the solution’s core strengths and minor drawbacks. I help you navigate your decision confidently, ensuring clarity on its overall value.
1. Overall Strengths
Simplicity and support reign supreme.
Election Runner excels in user-friendliness, allowing setup in minutes for non-technical users. From my comprehensive analysis, its intuitive interface significantly boosts efficiency for organizations moving beyond traditional methods. Customer support is consistently praised as responsive and highly effective across user feedback.
These attributes directly translate to reduced labor, cost savings, and increased voter participation for your formal elections.
2. Key Limitations
Minor customization options exist.
While highly functional, the platform offers limited advanced email formatting and detailed reporting options. Based on this review, some users desire more granular data exports for deeper analytical needs beyond core results. This can be a slight hurdle for very specific or complex use cases.
These are not deal-breakers but manageable trade-offs for its core efficiency, exceptional ease of use, and robust security features.
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3. Final Recommendation
A highly recommended niche solution.
You should choose Election Runner if your organization needs a straightforward, secure, and reliable online voting platform. From my analysis, it perfectly suits HOAs, schools, and non-profits seeking to modernize their election processes without technical headaches or hidden costs. Its transparent pricing supports this.
Your decision can be confident, knowing it delivers on its promise for formal, auditable online elections, minimizing administrative burdens effectively.
Bottom Line
- Verdict: Recommended
- Best For: HOAs, non-profits, K-12 schools, and unions
- Biggest Strength: Exceptional ease of use and customer support
- Main Concern: Limited email customization and advanced reporting
- Next Step: Try the free trial or request a personalized demo
This Election Runner review affirms its position as a top choice for streamlined online elections. My assessment offers high confidence for its target users seeking reliability and simplicity.