Email Communications Guide
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: Standard Meeting sessions are designed for real-time voting during an in-person or virtual meeting, so reminder emails are not available. If you set an Early Voting Start date on your Meeting session, a pre-meeting voting window opens and reminder emails become available to nudge voters who have not cast their ballot before the meeting begins.
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. To retry a bounced voter, correct their email address and use the re-invite action on their row in the Voters tab.
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?
Reminder emails for Meeting sessions are only available when Early Voting is enabled. Without an early voting window, Meeting sessions are designed for real-time voting during the meeting itself. To enable reminders, set an Early Voting Start date in your session schedule settings.