RosterVote vs ElectionBuddy for party conventions
ElectionBuddy is an established online ballot tool. It is a good choice when you need to email one vote to a membership list. A party convention is a different job. Delegates check in, alternates are seated, seats are apportioned, and the roll call carries legal weight. This page compares the two for that job only.
Feature comparison
For a county or state convention, from precinct through certification.
| What you need | RosterVote | ElectionBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Delegate check-inScan a driver's license or a QR code | Yes. Built-in check-in desk. | Not found. ElectionBuddy sends ballots by email, text or mail. Its site does not describe a check-in desk or delegate credentialing. |
| Caucus apportionment | Yes. Seats per precinct, by your formula. | Not found. |
| Seating alternates on the floor | Yes. Seat an alternate for an absent delegate. It goes on the record. | Not found. |
| County-to-state roll-up | Yes. Each county's certified delegation crosses as a verified copy the state reviews. | Not found. |
| Live meeting votes and motions | Yes. Agenda, motions, amendments, debate and points of order. | Partly. Its MeetingVote product runs live votes and lets you create amendments, with a per-plan motions cap (unlimited on its top plan). Its site does not describe debate management or points of order. |
| Hand-counted paper ballots | Yes. Counted by district and reconciled on the same record. | Printed and mailed ballots are available at its top plan. Its site does not describe a hand-count and reconciliation workflow. |
| Anyone can check the result | Yes. Free and self-serve. Open the verifier in a browser and recount from the exported record yourself. Nothing to install, no one to ask. | Partly. Its site names an Independent Verification feature: a neutral third party staffed by accountants, plus onsite scrutineering by independent observers. Both are staffed services you engage, not a self-serve tool anyone can run from the exported record. |
| Pricing | Book a demo for pricing | Priced per election, by voter count. ElectionVote: free (up to 20), $29 (up to 350), $99 (up to 1,000), from $299 (up to 100,000). MeetingVote: free (up to 20, 5 motions), $197, $397, from $797. |
What a convention needs that a ballot tool skips
ElectionBuddy's political-parties page describes reliable ballot delivery and auditable results. It does not mention delegate check-in, alternates, apportionment or caucuses. That is not a criticism. It is built to get a ballot to a list of voters and count it. A convention needs everything around the ballot as well.
Check delegates in before anyone votes
Scan a driver's license or a QR code at the door. Each delegate gets a ballot tied to their seat. This happens before the first vote, and a plain ballot tool has no place for it.
Run the floor by convention rules
Apportion seats by caucus, fill empty seats, and seat alternates for absent delegates. Each of these goes on the same record as the votes.
Send county results to the state, verified
A state convention is seated from dozens of county delegations. Each one arrives as a verified copy the state can review. No one retypes a spreadsheet.
Let anyone check the result
A close result needs more than an internal log. With RosterVote, a losing campaign, a credentials committee or a reporter can recount the result themselves from the exported record. Nothing to install. See how verification works.
Where ElectionBuddy is the better fit
For the job it is built for, ElectionBuddy is a mature product.
Many ways to deliver a ballot
Email, text, and printed or mailed ballots at its top plan. Weighted voting, proxy voting, two-factor sign-in and an API. It serves nonprofits, HOAs, unions, schools and companies, among others.
Published prices
Both products, ElectionVote for elections and MeetingVote for live meetings, list their prices on the site, from free to very large voter counts. There are discounts for running several elections a year and for K-12 schools.
The right tool for a simple vote
If all you need is one ballot sent to a membership list, with no check-in desk, apportionment or alternates, ElectionBuddy's per-election pricing may be the cheaper, simpler choice.
See RosterVote on your own convention
Book a demo, or read how check-in and verification work.