The modern alternative to ElectionBuddy
ElectionBuddy is a capable, long-established platform, and for a straightforward ballot it may well be the right answer. VoteAlly is built for a narrower job: the contested annual general meeting, where proxies, attendance and represented weight all have to hold up afterwards.
VoteAlly is not affiliated with ElectionBuddy. Any reference to ElectionBuddy reflects their publicly published pricing and documentation as of August 2026 and may have changed since. Check their current material before making a decision.
If you are evaluating multiple platforms side by side
ElectionBuddy appears on many shortlists when boards and associations do a structured software review. If your team is running a side-by-side comparison, the most useful thing to know about VoteAlly is that you do not need a demo, a sales call, or a trial agreement to evaluate it properly.
The Free plan runs on the production platform, not a sandbox. You can hold a real binding election with your actual voter list and actual ballot questions before spending a dollar. Your administrator experiences the setup workflow. Your members experience the Magic Link voter flow on their own phones. You see the results report exactly as it will look on your actual election night. The meeting governance features described below sit on a paid plan, but the core voting experience your members will judge you on is the one you can test for free.
That level of hands-on evaluation gives your board a factual basis for comparison, rather than relying on demo environments or vendor claims about how the voter experience feels.
Built for the meeting, not just the ballot
Most voting platforms count votes well. The harder part of an association meeting is everything around the count: who may vote, who is representing whom, and whether the record survives a challenge.
A proxy register, not just a proxy feature
Every appointment is recorded with its source, and every revocation, holder decline and administrator void is stamped in the register alongside it. Voids also carry the administrator and their reason. Appointments an organizer enters from a paper form capture the stated basis, with an optional reference such as a form number. Export the whole register for the minute book or a challenge.
Proxy holders can split their votes
A holder carrying four proxies alongside their own vote has five votes to place, and can allocate three for and two against on a single question. Where members have told their holder how they want their vote used, the ballot can reflect it.
Delegations freeze when voting opens
New appointments stop at your proxy cutoff if you set one, and in any case when the first question of the meeting opens. Withdrawal stays open until voting opens, or the meeting ends, so a passed cutoff never traps a member inside a delegation. After that an administrator can still void an appointment, on the record. Cap how many proxies one member may hold.
Meeting check-in that gates the ballot
Where bylaws require attendance, a check-in step admits members to the meeting before their ballot unlocks. This is an enforced gate on voting, not a turnout number on a dashboard.
Live motion control during the AGM
The chair opens and closes each motion in real time and sees the result the moment voting closes, then reveals it on the projector when ready. Members follow the meeting on screen and vote on their phones at the same time.
Weighted ballots and verifiable receipts
Weight by unit entitlement or share ownership, including weight carried on behalf of others. Each cast returns one or more receipt codes to the member submitting it. Administrators can export the full receipt list and publish it, and that list carries no identities and no choices, so a member can confirm their ballot was included without anyone learning how they voted.
Set up in minutes, not days
Simple enough for anyone. Just follow these four steps:
Configure Ballot
Create your motions or elections. Add candidate photos, set voting rules, customize everything.
Add Voters
Upload a CSV or add members manually. We validate email addresses, and a repeated address updates that member rather than creating a second entry.
Send Invites
Email secure magic links to all voters. They click once and vote. No passwords to remember.
See Results
Watch votes roll in live. Download audit-ready reports when you're ready to certify results.
The two pricing models suit different organizations
Work this out before you compare features, because it usually decides the answer. ElectionBuddy publishes pay-per-use rates. As listed in August 2026, elections start at $29 for up to 350 voters, and their separate meeting product is $197 for up to 75 voters and $397 for up to 350. They also offer volume discounts for organizations running several elections a year, so ask them what your actual annual cost would be.
VoteAlly charges an annual subscription instead. Pro Association is $220 a year for up to 120 voters, with capacity added for larger rosters, and that covers your meetings and your ballots for the year rather than each one separately, up to five active sessions at a time. Archive a finished session to free a slot.
So the honest guidance depends on what you are buying. If you mostly need ballots, pay-per-use is often cheaper than any subscription, and we would rather you knew that up front. Where an annual subscription may pay for itself is when an organization runs several paid meetings a year, or needs the delegation and check-in features described above. Compare your own roster size, how many meetings versus plain ballots you hold, and whatever annual figure ElectionBuddy quotes you, rather than taking a headline rate from either of us at face value.
VoteAlly is a strong fit for boards that...
- Accept proxy appointments and need a holder to split their represented weight across options
- Have to produce a proxy register, including appointments lodged on paper, if a result is questioned
- Require members to check in before their ballot unlocks
- Run live AGMs where the chair opens and closes motions in real time
- Need weighted voting by unit entitlement or share ownership
- Run several meetings a year, where paying per meeting adds up faster than a subscription
Frequently asked questions
Does VoteAlly support proxy voting?
Yes. New appointments stop at your proxy cutoff if you set one, and in any case when the first question of the meeting opens. Withdrawal stays open right up until voting opens, or the meeting ends, so a cutoff that has already passed never traps a member inside a delegation they no longer want. Once voting has opened, an administrator can still void an appointment, and every void is stamped on the record with the administrator and their stated reason. You can also cap how many proxies one member may hold, record appointments lodged on paper, and export a register showing every appointment, revocation, holder decline and void.
Can a proxy holder split their votes?
Yes, on single-choice questions such as motions and single-seat elections. A holder carrying four proxies alongside their own vote has five votes to place, and can put three for and two against rather than sending all five the same way. The server requires the allocation to add up to exactly the weight that holder can still cast on that question. Split allocation is not offered on ranked-choice or multi-select questions, and it requires whole-number voting weights.
Which is better for live AGMs?
Both platforms can run a meeting, so the answer depends on your bylaws. ElectionBuddy sells a dedicated meeting product priced per meeting. VoteAlly is the stronger fit where the delegation record itself has to be governed and evidenced: an exportable proxy register covering appointments, revocations, holder declines and administrator voids, per-holder proxy caps, a freeze that stops members changing their delegation once voting opens, and a check-in step that gates the ballot rather than reporting turnout.
Can I try VoteAlly before switching?
Yes. The Free plan lets you run a real vote with up to 50 voters at no cost, with no sales call and no credit card. One thing to be aware of: the meeting governance features described on this page, including proxy delegation, split voting and check-in, are not part of the Free plan. See the pricing page for what each plan covers.
Try VoteAlly free before deciding
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