What it does
Election Runner builds online ballots from questions and candidate or answer options, including spreadsheet imports. Administrators can add voters after launch and send their instructions automatically when an email is supplied. Small elections have free access; paid elections are charged at launch by eligible-voter band, with separate education subscriptions.
In Election Runner, open Ballot > Import, select Questions, and upload the completed template with Choose File. Repeat with Options after the questions exist. Preserve the lowercase headers without adding columns, and match each option's question value to its existing question title. Imports support multiple-choice questions; write-in options need separate setup.
Voters may still be added during voting, individually or by import. Providing an email address automatically sends the new voter instructions. Extra charges depend on the voter band at launch and the expanded list size.
Small elections have a continuing free option. Paid elections are charged when launched, using eligible-voter bands, with a calculator for larger lists. School and university subscriptions are available separately. The free-election promotion permits at most five concurrent free elections within a five-day period.
Creating an account requires an email address and organization name. No card is needed to sign up; paid launches require payment.
Strengths
- Templates separate question definitions from their ballot options
- New voters can receive instructions after the election starts
Watch out for
- The ballot import does not import write-in options
Best for
- Administrators importing long ballots and updating voter lists
Sources
- Election Runner pricing (Oct 27, 2026)
- How to import the ballot from a spreadsheet (Oct 27, 2026)
- Adding voters to a running election (Oct 27, 2026)
- Election Runner terms of service (Oct 27, 2026)
- Build a Secure Online Election for Free | Election Runner (Oct 25, 2026)