In 2017, the Jumbrox Limited team launched a project designed for and specifically targeted at undergraduate students in Delta State (Nigeria). It was organised in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Higher Education. Jumbrox Challenge, the code name for the project, is specially geared towards creating academic relationships amongst undergraduates and promoting interdependence amongst our tertiary institutions. We observed keenly that while in the second phase of its 3-phased execution rollout, it was not achieving the projected traction. Ironically, only the participating students were talking about the competition in their respective schools which wasn’t supposed to be. This became a cause for concern because a key part of the project’s objectives was already being defeated. By an uncommon inspiration during a brainstorming session to resolve this challenge, we hit on the idea of taking the program to the general public by requesting participating students’ performance to be vetted. We implemented this intelligently by tasking the participating students to speak on a certain topic in a one-minute video, thereafter requesting the public to judge and vote for their favourite candidate.
It was decided that the result of the voting exercise would now form part of their final assessment… and boom! Far beyond our expectations, the desired traction began to roll in geometrically. So effective was this strategy that different campuses started talking about the programme, even family and friends of the students were not excluded from the conversation. Most significantly, we noticed that our Google ranking massively rose. Suffice it to say, that all these amazing achievements were scored because we introduced a vital call-to-action called “voting”.
The focus of this article is geared towards organising a proper voting process and identifying key features to look out for when deciding which voting platform to use. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2024 ed.); “a vote is usually a formal expression of opinion or will in response to a proposed decision, especially one given as an indication of approval or disapproval of a proposal, motion, or candidate for office”.
Also, according to Google Dictionary; “a vote is a formal indication of a choice between two or more options or a call-to-action. It is the act of indicating a preferred option among given options”. Some instances of the use of voting include programmes like the Grammy, Oscar, Reality TV Shows, Pageantry, Organizations or Associations’ elections, and Student Union elections, to mention a few. Voting has become a fundamental part of most organised competitions.
According to Dr Myles Munroe of blessed memory, “when the purpose of a thing is not known, its abuse is inevitable”. Aside helping in decision-making, voting has other strategic applications which is why most event organizers deploy it in their programmes.
BENEFITS OF VOTING
Some of the benefits of voting are as identified below:
1. Traction
As a classic example, one of the reasons the “Big-Brother Naija” reality show became very famous is because of the concept of voting for contestants. Many pundits share the opinion that their content is less entertaining than the “Who wants to be a Millionaire” reality show, however, it is far more profitable and attracts some of the highest-paid sponsorships for a Nigerian TV show. In addition, most of the contestants achieved more fame after the event due to the traction gained from voting. Traction is achieved because viewers perceive and feel that they are given the ultimate power to determine the course of the competition by deciding who stays or gets evicted, and ultimately the winner. Throwback to the year 2017, that was the first time I voted on the show where I voted for Efe who eventually emerged the winner. This level of qualitative & quantitative traction is gotten only when a proper voting system is in place. People naturally connect to perceived places where their voices count, equivalent to what social media does. Introducing a voting system automatically means that they have a say in the competition, this in turn becomes your powerful magnetic pull. Take a moment to compare the level of traction by “Big Brother Naija” and “Who wants to be a Millionaire”, and let the numbers speak. You be the judge!
2. Revenue
Smart business-oriented event organizers reposition their brands and events via revenue generated from monetization of the voting process, that is, charging a fee to participate in the voting process. Although this has attracted a lot of criticism because of the approach of implementation. To say the least, this has been misused and abused to the point of extortion. However, it also means if done right, it can achieve excellent revenue results. later.
3. Decision making
One of the most important uses of voting in a competition is to aid in decision-making, especially when there is a tie among the options/participating contestants. Now for a program whose primary criteria of getting the winner does not involve voting, voting can play a very important role in breaking ties. For example, during our Jumbrox Challenge competition, the winner of the competition, Justice Orogun a student of the then Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, Delta State won by vote because there was a tie between him and the first runner-up in the question-and-answer session. CrediVote, an online voting platform was built to take into consideration the number of votes and the number of voters in which one of these would be a tiebreaker. So, voting can be a fantastic unbiased decision-making tool.
4. Feedback
No one can be as honest as a participating voter whose favourite contestant did not win. You can get a lot of honest feedback on any aspect of your project based on the traction that your programme attracts.
5. Publicity
Voting can serve other purposes such as publicity. Like the example cited at the introduction, Jumbrox Challenge became popular among undergraduates in Delta state to the extent that we did not need to do much regarding paid publicity in our subsequent edition.
TYPES OF VOTING
There are two major types of voting which are free voting and paid voting.
1. Free Voting
As the name implies, this nature of voting does not require voters to pay a fee to carry out a voting exercise. The entire process is free but may require the voters to meet specific requirements. These requirements are usually determined by the organizers. However, on Credivote, free voting is sub-divided into two categories; Open-voting and Close-voting.
In the Open-voting, the number of participating voters is usually not known. In this case, anyone can participate, provided they meet all the requirements. The result obtained from Open voting may not be accurate because of the nature of supervision, compliance is not strict. One can safely conclude that this type of vote should not be used when data integrity and accuracy is a priority. Close voting on the other hand usually has known voters and, in most cases, they are registered to participate. Unlike Open-voting, the results obtained in Close-voting are wholly accurate and reliable. Credivote has been designed in such a way that all participating voters have a unique/private voter-identification-number which can only be obtained by voter registration and accreditation. This nature of voting is applicable in Association elections, Student Union elections, Cooperative society elections, Political Parties primary elections, etc.
2. Paid Voting
This nature of voting requires that every time an individual votes, they pay a specific amount per the number of votes being cast. Moreso, it can be pre-programmed to allow a voter cast any number of votes at any time as they desire. When properly organised, it can be a very huge source of revenue. Although this nature of vote has been abused and therefore criticized because critics feel competitions that implement this nature of votes are usually monetized. Hence, the result obtained is influenced mostly by “who is able to pay/attract more” and not on merely on merit. One can see reasons with critics, but then, a fee tends to check any form of abuse thereby ensuring accurate reflection of results. Credivote is designed not only to record the number of votes, but also the number of unique voters. This is designed for organizers to ascertain who truly has more voters, not just votes so as to form better decisions. Also, vote organisers can restrict the number of votes each voter can cast. We believe that this can balance things up when required.
Three (3) Super Advantages of Choosing Credivote
One of the mistakes a programme manager often make is trying to design their own voting platform without consulting experts with adequate knowledge and experience on how to set up a functional voting system. Contracting a platform like Credivote has many advantages, some of which are:
i. Time efficiency
It saves you time and effort which can be channelled into other meaningful activities.
ii. Cost-effectiveness
Saves you resources that you would have invested into setting up infrastructure for the voting system.
iii. No financial implication
Setting up your voting process on Credivote is FREE
Nine (9) Critical Characteristics of a credible voting platform like Credivote
What should you consider when deciding on the voting platform to use?
The major feature that makes a voting platform standout include the following:
1. Simplicity
It should be simple to use because of varying levels of experience, location, educational level of users. For example, voting on Credivote does not require any form of training.
2. Security
Security is an important feature to consider when deciding on the voting platform to use. In some cases, people will be required to provide personal and sensitive information which needs to be guided against data theft and compromise. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a platform that guarantees the security of those data. With Credivote, maximum security is guaranteed.
3. Fascinating
One feature that makes Credivote stand out is being able to keep voters and users engaged. Users will always stay glued to the intriguing and interesting process and features. A good voting platform should be interactive and engaging.
4. Accuracy
Real-time results update is guaranteed with Credivote. This is one of the most important features to look out for in any voting platform. Voters should see their vote count as soon as it is cast. The voting result should be made public and updated immediately as each voting is being carried out. Credivote has a unique feature that rates the contestants from the most voted to the least, done in real-time. This creates trust among voters and even makes voting within the duration of the exercise appealing.
5. Vote tracking
There are cases when the voting process gets disrupted either because of poor internet service or device failure. In such cases, it is necessary that a voter know the stage at which this failure occurred and be able to complete the process. This is referred to as vote verification on Credivote. A truly failed or incomplete process will require the voter to use the vote reference (which is usually provided via mail) to carry out this action.
6. Log Monitoring
You as a client should be able to monitor the activities using the administrative privileges provided on the platform. On Credivote you are able to ascertain in detail the number of votes, voter’s information, revenue generated and a number of controls.
7. Voting Options
It is important that the requirements for voting are readily met and available. This is to ensure large participation. For paid votes, the platform must feature several payment options to choose from. This ensures ease of participation irrespective of location, exposure, etc.
8. Flexible Charges
This is the amount usually charged by the voting platform. Some platforms charged a percentage of the vote fee. However, the voting platform must inform you of any form of charges.
9. Customer Care
This is an all-important section of any business. From our experience, voting is quite a demanding exercise. This requires a high level of customer care representative to resolve every challenge being faced by voters at any given time.
In conclusion, there is a lot to be gained when the right platform is deployed to facilitate the voting process with the right objectives. Therefore, it is not out of place to put in the required effort to achieve the desired successful outcome(s). If truly these and more are your desire, then I strongly recommend Credivote as the right platform with credibility and reliability to help you achieve your aim. With over half a decade of experience managing online voting of any capacity, we can be trusted with your project(s) and be rest assured of excellent results and an unforgettable voting experience.
I am Daniel Ejumejowo, founder and CEO of Jumbrox Limited, and Credivote is a brainchild of Jumbrox Limited. Jumbrox Limited is a Nigerian-based software development and consulting firm. I have a degree in Production Engineering from the University of Benin with more than 10 years of practical work experience in software development and Project Management. My skills and expertise have been deployed to work in some reputable companies in Nigeria and the United State of America.
