Elections FAQ

University Elections are conducted from the Bucknell Elections Qualtrics account. The Qualtrics Elections account is used for any official university elections or voting that requires a confidential ballot. Elections are anonymous. Only the results of the ballot will be supplied to the requestor - all identifying information about how any individual voted is not shared with the requestor.

Types of elections

1. Staff ballots - University Staff Forum Chair, University Staff Personnel Committee
2. Faculty ballots - Faculty committees, honorary degrees, academic department chairs
3. Any other confidential elections

Election Request Process

To request a ballot, submit a Tech Ticket that includes the information requested. You will have the opportunity to review and provide feedback on a sample ballot and notification before the election is released.

Required information

1. Date the ballot should be distributed and date the ballot should be closed.
2. List of questions and candidates. Specify if the questions are pick one, pick more than one, or if there is a write in option.
3. Eligible voters. What population should the ballot be distributed to? If the distribution is to a specific population of individuals, provide a .csv file that includes Bucknell email addresses for each recipient. If the distribution is to a group, such as all staff or all faculty, then specify the target audience.
4. The text of the email invitation (if using the Qualtrics emailer) or the text of the myBucknell reminder (if using myBucknell for distribution).
5. The names of those who should receive the aggregate results of the ballot. 

Distribution methods

Confidential elections can be distributed in several ways. In your request, clarify which type of election you prefer.

1. myBucknell - The ballot will appear at the top of myBucknell in the alerts and notifications area. Ballots in myBucknell can be restricted to a specific population type (all faculty, all staff, all seniors, for example) or a specific list of individuals identified by username.
2. Email distribution via Qualtrics - The ballot can be emailed to a specific list of individuals from using a Qualtrics email distribution.

Important Note:

Additional information about faculty voting is documented in the Faculty Handbook. Consult the section titled "University Shared Governance" for more information.