Bulk entry in ElectoSense

Candidates and voters are handled differently. Candidates are entered manually one at a time, while voters support CSV import.

Candidates and ballot options

Candidates (and multiple-choice / yes-no / ranked-choice options) are added manually inside each ballot item. Open an election from Elections, go to the Ballot tab, and click into a ballot item to use the editor. From there you can:

  • Choose the ballot item type — Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Yes/No, Ranked Choice, or Approval
  • Add each option or candidate as a row
  • Set Maximum Selections for multi-choice and approval items
  • Enable write-ins under Advanced (not available for Yes/No or Ranked Choice)

There is no CSV-based bulk import for candidates or options today. For races with many nominees, prepare the list in a spreadsheet first for reference, then type them into the ballot item editor in the same order.

Voters — bulk import is supported

Voters can be added in bulk from two places:

  • The Voters tab on an election — Import CSV adds voters directly to that election
  • The org-wide All Voters directory — import once and reuse the same voter records across elections

Preparing the CSV

  • One row per voter
  • Include email addresses exactly as you want invitations sent
  • Keep names consistent and properly capitalized
  • Remove merged cells, trailing spaces, and hidden duplicate rows
  • Save as CSV (not XLSX) before uploading

After import

Always review the imported list before switching the election to Active:

  • Spot-check a handful of email addresses for typos
  • Confirm the total voter count matches what you expected
  • Look for duplicates caused by whitespace or casing differences

Best practice

For high-stakes elections, do a small test import (10 rows or so) first, send yourself a test invitation from Send Invites, click through the voter experience end-to-end, and only then import the full list.

Summary: candidates are entered directly in the ballot item editor, voters are imported via CSV on the Voters tab or All Voters directory.