Summary: The Republican party of South Dakota offered mobile voting to all delegates in its virtual convention last weekend with 85% delegates voting through the Voatz app. 50% of those voters submitted ballots within the first 20 minutes of the voting window.
Boston, June 25, 2020 — Following the momentum of successful virtual conventions in both Utah and Arizona, last weekend Voatz successfully completed its third virtual convention with no incidents, generating elevated participation numbers and record engagement. The convention brought together delegates from 31 counties and concluded on Saturday, June 20, 2020.
Dan Lederman, Chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party, said “Our goal was to create a convention experience that energized the Republican party in South Dakota and replicated an in-person convention. An uncontested convention did not deter delegates from voting, because it was easy. It was a team effort – Voatz worked with us for four weeks ahead of the convention to credential delegates, ensure a smooth rollout, and provide a test vote to get delegates comfortable with the system. It was a successful day for the South Dakota Republican Party.”
“Voatz is proud to partner with the South Dakota Republican Party to securely enable their delegates to vote in their convention while, most importantly, keeping them safe during this uncertain time,” says Voatz Co-Founder and CEO, Nimit Sawhney. “This was the first time voters in South Dakota were able to vote through a mobile app in an election, and we were glad to see the enthusiastic response. More than half of the voters using the app submitted their ballot within the first 20 minutes of the voting window opening. Voatz is excited to replicate the successes we’ve seen in the Utah and Arizona Republican Party Conventions, where record numbers of delegates submitted their votes seamlessly.”
The successful use of mobile voting in South Dakota is an excellent roadmap for election officials looking to expand voting options in states where mail-in voting and polling places are likely to be impacted by Coronavirus. A mobile voting solution would bring relief to anywhere the population skews more elderly.
The South Dakota Republican Party chose Voatz as the mobile voting platform for its virtual convention after clear demonstrations that Voatz could handle the dynamic nature of the convention and the potential for runoff rounds of voting. The platform allowed delegates to vote securely, privately, and electronically through their mobile phones. Voatz helped make the voting process safe and verifiable for delegates and candidates.
Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform that leverages cutting-edge technology (including biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure) to increase access and security in elections. Since 2016 Voatz has run more than 65 elections with cities, universities, towns, nonprofits, and both major state political parties for convention voting. Learn more here.