Independent Election Administration Professionals

Customized Election
Services

TrueBallot, Inc. provides election services for labor unions, associations, Native American tribal organizations, homeowners associations and cooperatives, public entities, and other organizations. We administer elections on-site, by mail, and by web, with options to customize to meet specific needs. We provide our clients with the highest level of security, transparency, and auditability available in the industry.

TrueBallot combines adherence to strict standards of impartiality and confidentiality with an understanding of human factors, election types and proven methods of automation.

Our patented TrueReview ballot auditing system, provides the most accurate, efficient and transparent auditing solution available. Used in conjunction with any optical scan (paper) election, our TrueReview Ballot Browser provides a level of confidence in election results unmatched by any other technology.

Request a quote Our Process
  • Established 1995Over 30 years running elections

Your organization will benefit from:

  • More transparency
  • Greater accuracy
  • Enhanced security
  • Higher efficiency
  • Improved cost effectiveness
  • More flexibility

What we do

Every way your members want to vote

Run one method or blend all of them in a single election, with one consolidated result and one audit trail.

Online voting

WebVOTE

Encrypted, browser and mobile-friendly ballots with unique credentials per voter, real-time turnout tracking and accessibility built in.

Mail voting

ScanVOTE

Ballot design, printing, secure mailing, return processing and high-speed scanning with signature verification.

On-site voting

ScanVOTE & TouchVOTE

Trained, impartial staff running polling places, worksite votes and convention floor balloting.

Specialized voting

Customization

Weighted ballots, ranked choice or cumulative voting are just some of the customized voting methods we work with. Talk with us to discuss the best process for your needs.

Tabulation & reporting

Certified counts, teller reports and clear result summaries you can publish to members with confidence.

Process

From the planning stage to certified results

  1. 1

    Plan

    We review your election needs and desired timeline, then work together to build an election plan covering the methods, notices and key dates.

  2. 2

    Prepare

    Your organization provides ballot details, valid voter data, and approves our ballot design. Voters are given randomly generated credentials and are securely imported for voting.

  3. 3

    Vote

    TrueBallot Election Administrators oversee and facilitate the voting via your chosen channels, with live turnout updates and support throughout the election.

  4. 4

    Count

    TrueBallot Election Administrators tabulate ballots, certify results, and provide a complete audit record documenting every step of the process and all election data. The audit record is then securely provided to your organization.

Why it matters

Accuracy is Our Business

At TrueBallot, we conduct elections that are more secure and transparent than U.S. public elections. We have the most advanced system available today for ensuring that:

  • Every voter receives one, and only one, individualized ballot
  • Every ballot is counted according to the rules of the election
  • Voter secrecy is absolute
  • All on-line functions have the same level of secrecy as that used by banks for credit card transactions
  • The count can be done in full view of all candidates and observers
  • The optical scan system is audited for accuracy in full view of all candidates and observers

As a result, our elections meet the highest standards of the US Department of Labor, the California Election Code for Associations, and similar election codes and rules.

TrueReview — TrueBallot’s Patented Ballot Browser and Election Auditing System

TrueBallot Inc. has developed the TrueReview auditing application for the purpose of improving election transparency by improving the process of auditing elections. Awarded a patent in 2008, TrueReview allows election administrators to display, count, search, sort and audit electronic (scanned) images of ballots in a fully transparent manner, with a gallery of individuals witnessing the process projected on screen in the count room. TrueReview makes possible a new level of voter confidence in the accuracy of an election count.

TrueReview displays scanned ballot images (pictures) on a computer screen and, when connected to a projector, on screen. As a result, groups can review the ballot and make consensus determinations about the intent of the voter. This permits election committees acting collectively to examine specific ballots to make determinations, while allowing members of the gallery, who may not be in an official role, to review ballot interpretations themselves. Using our scanning protocol, the onscreen ballots receive a control number that relates back to a specific paper ballot, so that, wherever desired, the election administrators may compare the on-screen picture to the original paper.

With the press of a button, TrueReview counts scanned ballot images and displays the running count on one side of the screen. In this manner, if the election administrators choose, the members of the gallery can view a running periodic count of the election, as batches of ballots are scanned.

Highlight Electronic Interpretation of the Ballot

TrueReview employs two separate programs in its count. It uses a standard form reading program, to acquire vote data and then check the rules (e.g. vote for x). Thereafter, a template highlights, in green (for valid votes according to the election rules) or red (for invalid votes according to the election rules), the locations on the ballot that the computer is interpreting to be marked. Because it does this, simple manual override of computer mark interpretation and count is possible. Simply click on the miscounted location and change the color, and the vote count is changed.

Search and Sort

TrueReview allows the election administrator to sort and search for specific ballots without having to go through tens of thousands of pieces of paper. Standard sort queries include search by ballot type, search for invalidly marked ballots by position, and search for ballots left blank by position. Search by ballot type allows an election administrator to scan ballots in any order without concern for maintaining common ballot forms together, since the computer can find common forms when needed. Search for invalidly marked ballots allows for a ballot by ballot audit of problem ballots in close races.

100% Hand Audit

In those situations where, because of the closeness of the election, a 100% hand audit is necessary, TrueReview makes it possible to do in a fraction of the time it would take to recount paper ballots. Because the scanned images are pictures of the original ballots and have control numbers allowing the administrator to refer back the original ballots whenever necessary, an on screen audit is identical to a hand audit of paper. But because the on screen audit makes use of the other features of TrueReview (such as green and red highlights, display to multiple people at the same time, search and sort, etc.), it allows an entire audience of people to go through the 100% audit together simply by clicking from image to image, without fumbling through paper.

Post Election Support

If there is a challenge or other inquiry about your election, we provide full defense of our elections without additional fees. We are that confident in our system. We can demonstrate to anyone that your election was conducted fairly.

Who we serve

Built for member-driven organizations

TrueBallot Inc. has been proud to work with the following organizations in a variety of local, district, and national elections.

Leadership

Who runs your election

The people accountable for TrueBallot’s independence and for the conduct of every election we administer.

Chief Executive Officer & President

tariq@trueballot.com

Tariq Blakey

Tariq Blakey serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of TrueBallot, where he leads the company’s election services practice and its commitment to running impartial, fully auditable elections for member-driven organizations.

He succeeds the company’s co-founders, John Seibel and Nick Koumoutseas, who built TrueBallot into an independent election administrator, and now leads the company in their place.

Under his leadership TrueBallot continues the standard of independence, accuracy and verifiable results established by its founders.

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Office Manager

molly@trueballot.com

Molly Kowalski

Molly Kowalski serves as Office Manager at TrueBallot, handling the company’s in-office operations and keeping day-to-day business running smoothly.

She brings experience in both election administration and graphic design — supporting the conduct of client elections while also shaping the ballots, mailings and materials members actually see.

She is often the first point of contact for client and member inquiries, and keeps election work moving on schedule.

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Chief Election Administrator

jhheaney@trueballot.com

John Heaney

John Heaney retired from the Senior Executive Service as Western Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). He devoted the last 25 of his 37 years of federal service to enforcing the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), which establishes requirements for labor unions concerning officer elections, trusteeships, fiduciary standards, financial reporting, and recordkeeping. Before becoming Regional Director, John served as OLMS Chief of Enforcement in Washington, DC, and as OLMS District Director in Denver and Seattle. He was an instructor at the Grace Carroll Rocky Mountain Labor School and has conducted workshops at numerous union conferences and conventions. John holds a degree in economics from Northwestern University and previously worked as an economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he served as a union steward and election committee member for the American Federation of Government Employees. He was also a member of the National Union of Labor Investigators and served on its bargaining committee.

At TrueBallot, John is responsible for the impartial conduct of client elections. His work encompasses election planning, guidance, tabulation, and certified reporting, helping member organizations publish their results with confidence.

Chief Election Administrator

bob@trueballot.com

Bob Hayes

Bob Hayes oversees the administration of client elections from planning through certification. He came to TrueBallot after a career with the United States Department of Labor, when as a Senior Investigator he investigated and supervised the conduct of union officer elections to verify fairness, accuracy, security, and compliance with complex federal laws. Bob now uses this experience and knowledge to assure that the clients’ elections are conducted in accordance with federal law and the union’s Constitution and Bylaws.

Contact

Planning an election?

Tell us your organization, timeline and voting methods — we’ll work with you.

Office
3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 712
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Tariq Blakey
tariq@trueballot.com
Molly Kowalski
molly@trueballot.com

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