Email Communications Guide
Last updated August 11, 2026
How to invite voters, send reminders, and broadcast notices for your sessions.
1. Email Types
VoteAlly supports three types of outbound emails. Each targets a different group of voters.
Invite
Sent to voters who have not yet received an invitation. Each invite email contains the voter's unique access code and a magic link that takes them directly to the ballot. Once a voter is invited, they will not receive another invite.
Reminder
Sent to voters who were invited but have not finished voting. In multi-question elections, voters who completed some questions but not all are included. Voters who have finished voting on all open questions are excluded automatically. Each reminder includes a fresh magic link.
Notice
Sent to your entire voter list. Notices do not include ballot credentials; they are for general announcements such as schedule changes, meeting details, or reminders about upcoming deadlines. You provide the subject and message body when sending.
Voters with bounced or complained email addresses are excluded from all three types automatically.
2. What's Available by Session Type
Which email types you can send depends on your session type and configuration.
| Email Type | Standard Meeting | Meeting with Early Voting | Election |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invite | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reminder | No | Yes | Yes |
| Notice | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Meeting sessions and reminders: Reminders are available on a Meeting session once voting is actually reachable. That covers a live meeting (nudging members who have not signed in yet), an open advance voting window, and an open proxy appointment window (nudging members who have not yet appointed a proxy). An advance voting date that has not arrived yet does not count, because the ballot is not reachable until the window opens, but you can schedule a reminder to go out once it does. Until then, a notice is the right tool.
3. Sending an Email
Go to your session's Setup page and scroll to the Communications section, or navigate to the Voters tab.
- Click Send Invite, Send Reminder, or Send Notice.
- Choose Send now or pick a scheduled date and time.
- Confirm and submit.
VoteAlly will show a live progress indicator while emails are being delivered. For large voter lists this may take a few minutes. You can navigate away; the job continues in the background.
Cooldown: There is a 5-minute cooldown between bulk invite and reminder sends. This prevents accidental double-sends. Notices are not subject to this cooldown.
4. Scheduling a Send
You can queue any email type to go out at a specific date and time. This is useful for:
- Coordinating invites to land in voters' inboxes just before your session opens
- Scheduling a reminder the morning before a deadline
- Setting up the full communication plan before your session goes live
Set the date and time in your session's timezone when prompted. Scheduled sends can be cancelled from the Communications section at any time before they fire.
Tip: The voter count for a scheduled send is calculated at send time, not when you schedule it. If you add or remove voters between scheduling and sending, the count will reflect the current list automatically.
5. Custom Email TemplatesPro
Pro and Enterprise plans can customize the subject line and body of Invite and Reminder emails. Free-tier accounts use the VoteAlly default templates.
Templates can be set at two levels:
Organization-Level Templates
A default template that applies to all sessions in your organization. Configure this under Organization Settings > Email Templates.
Session-Level Templates
An override for a specific session that takes priority over your organization default. Configure this under the session's Setup > Communications > Customize Templates.
Priority order when sending:
- Session-level template (if set)
- Organization-level template (if set)
- VoteAlly default template
Clearing a session-level template falls back to your organization default.
6. Email Quota
Each session has an email quota covering the total number of emails sent across all types (invites, reminders, and notices) for that session.
| Plan | Voters per Session | Emails per Session |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Up to 50 | 150 |
| Pro | Up to 120 | 360 |
| Enterprise | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Session Capacity Boosts
Need more emails for a specific session? You can purchase a one-time Session Capacity Boost to increase the voter limit for that session. The email quota scales with the boost automatically (3 emails per voter). Boosts apply only to the session you select, can be stacked, and do not expire.
When quota is exceeded
Scheduling a send is allowed even if quota is low (you will see a warning). At actual send time, the quota is rechecked with the real-time voter count. If there is not enough quota, the job is cancelled and you will receive a notification email with a link to upgrade your plan or purchase a boost.
7. Delivery Statuses
Each voter's delivery status is visible in the Voters tab.
Bounced and Complained voters are excluded from all future sends automatically.
Correcting a Voter's Email Address
If you have the wrong address for a member, you can fix it directly from the Voters tab. Hover over the voter's email address on their row to reveal a pencil icon (the same control is on the voter card on mobile). You can correct any address, not only one that bounced: members often report a wrong address that delivered perfectly well to somebody else. The pencil is hidden only once that voter has cast a ballot.
Saving a corrected address issues the voter a new access code, invalidates their existing magic link, and returns them to Pending status with the invite date cleared. VoteAlly then offers to send their invitation straight away. Decline that offer if you are correcting several addresses before one bulk send, and use the invite button on the row when you are ready.
VoteAlly refuses the change in three situations, and tells you which one applies: the voter has already cast a ballot, a send is currently in progress for the session (wait for it to finish, then try again), or the session has ended, been archived, or had its voter data purged. If a voter who already voted has a bad address on file, correct it on the roster for your next session instead.
Why the access code changes: The old address may still hold a working login, so a correction rotates both the access code and the magic link rather than just relabelling the address on file. That is what makes it an actual revocation instead of a note. Anything printed or read out from the old code, on a notice or over the phone, needs reissuing once you correct the address. One limit worth knowing: if somebody had already signed in using the old details, that browser session can stay valid for up to three hours. If that matters for your vote, correct the address and then contact the person who received the original email.
Want every voter's delivery outcome in one file? The Export Delivery button on the Voters tab downloads a CSV covering roster status, invite date, and bounce details for the voters currently in view, so you can filter to just the bounced addresses and work through them. It carries no access codes, so it is safe to circulate internally. See the reports and exports guide for the full column reference.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Can I invite voters in batches?
Yes. Add voters in groups and send invites after each batch. Only voters who have not yet been invited are included in each invite send, so there is no risk of sending duplicates.
Will voters receive their login link again if I send a reminder?
Yes. Reminder emails include a fresh magic link so voters can access their ballot directly.
Can I send a notice to voters who have not been invited yet?
Yes. Notice emails go to your entire voter list regardless of invite status.
Can I cancel a scheduled email?
Yes. Scheduled sends appear in the Communications section with a cancel option. Once a send starts processing it cannot be stopped.
What happens if I add new voters after sending invites?
New voters will not automatically receive an invite. You need to send another invite round. Only voters with no prior invitation are targeted, so existing voters will not receive a duplicate.
Why can't I send a reminder for my Meeting session?
Reminders become available once voting is actually reachable: the meeting is live, advance voting has opened, or the proxy appointment window is open. A start date that has not arrived yet is not enough, because the ballot is not reachable until the window opens. You can still schedule a reminder to go out after advance voting opens, and you can send a notice at any time.
How do I fix a voter whose invitation bounced?
Hover over the voter's email address on their row in the Voters tab to reveal a pencil icon (the same control is on the voter card on mobile), and correct the address. You can correct any address, including one that was delivered and read, for as long as that voter has not yet cast a ballot. The change is refused if the voter has already voted, if a send is in progress for the session, or if the session has ended, been archived, or had its voter data purged. Saving a correction issues a new access code, invalidates the existing magic link, and returns the voter to Pending with the invite date cleared, and VoteAlly offers to send their new invitation straight away. If the address had already been emailed, VoteAlly asks you to confirm first, because the code and link sent to the old address stop working.
Does changing a voter's email address affect their existing access code?
Yes. Correcting an address always issues a new access code and invalidates the existing magic link, because the old address may still hold a working login. Rotating both credentials is what makes the correction an actual revocation rather than a relabel, so anything printed or read out from the old code needs reissuing.