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Case Study
West Virginia University |
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| West Virginia University (WVU) is an institution of higher learning based in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA, with off-site campuses in Parkersburg, Montgomery, Keyser and Charleston. WVU was founded in 1867. The university offers 171 different majors in 13 different colleges. |
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“Our technology staff on campus was involved and crucial to our making a successful change. They said the eBallot system was better than anything they could do on our campus (and more cost-effective), so it became an easy sell from the beginning.”
Melanie J. Cook, Ed. D,
Assistant Dean of Students |
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Challenges |
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| WVU needed a new voting method In prior years, paper balloting forced students to visit campus to cast votes in student government elections. This often resulted in weak voter turnout. WVU hoped that delivering ballots online where students live and work would spur students into action and increase participation. WVU was also concerned about students being pressured into voting for specific candidates, therefore they needed a solution that would enable the election administrator to track block voting. |
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Solutions |
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| eBallot enabled WVU to administer its own secure online election. The best-of-breed, user-friendly voting interface simplified the voting process and minimized confusion amongst voters. The election administrator was able to track when and where students voted using eBallot’s robust ballot management features, thus identifying clusters of votes that could indicate possible voting irregularities and/or fraud. |
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Impact |
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| Turnout in SGA* elections increased 29% in the first year and saved the University from the time and cost of developing an in-house election system. The administrator was able to monitor and prevent cluster voting, thus preserving the integrity of the election. |
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