Getting Members to Vote

When only half the eligible voters in the United States turn out to vote for the highest office in the land, it’s not so surprising that credit unions sometimes struggle to get members to vote in board elections or other key decisions for the organization. A way credit unions can help spur members to participate is to offer electronic voting as an option along with paper ballots. We recently had a client host a hybrid election in which members could either vote online or receive a paper ballot from us. This allowed our client to gradually transition its voters from paper-based elections, with the goal of moving over to entirely electronic voting in the long term. Here are some additional strategies for encouraging members to take the time to vote:

1. Send a postcard or paper mailer to each member with their voting credentials, especially if members are accustomed to receiving communications from the credit union through the mail. This can be particularly important for CUs that are transitioning their votes to electronic means.
2. Send a personalized email to each voter that contains his or her login credentials.
3. Send a series of reminder emails to those who have not voted.
4. Create a "vote" link from the credit union’s website or mobile app that automatically directs members to the online voting platform.

Credit unions are special in part because they are member-owned. Use the strategies put forth in this post to help ensure your members have a voice in their cooperative financial institution.

Deepak Prakash is vice president of eBallot (formerly Votenet Solutions), which powers CUES eVote: Elect and Educate.