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Church Elections

Overview​

Shepherd's Elections module lets you run a complete, transparent election — from nominations to results — directly inside the platform, with WhatsApp as the primary voting channel.

Elections follow a fixed, audited lifecycle:

Draft → Nominations Open → Review → Voting Open → Closed → Published

Every action (approval, vote, status change) is written to an immutable audit log.

Screenshot

📸 [Screenshot: Elections list page showing active election card with status badge and phase indicator]

Secret Ballot Design​

Shepherd uses a ballot token system to honour both voter privacy and post-election auditability:

  • A unique ballot token (UUID) is generated when a member votes and sent to them as a receipt
  • The token proves they voted — but cannot reveal who they voted for
  • Admin can verify participation ("Did this member vote?") but never see their choices

Creating an Election​

  1. Go to Elections (sidebar) → click New Election
  2. Fill in:
    • Title — e.g. "Elder Board Election 2026"
    • Description — optional context for staff
    • Nomination dates — when members can submit nominations
    • Voting dates — when ballots open and close
    • Quorum % — optional minimum turnout required (e.g. 51%)
  3. Click Create Election — election is created in Draft status

Adding Positions​

  1. On the election Overview tab, click Add Position
  2. Fill in: Title (e.g. "Elder"), Seats (how many people will be elected), Description (optional)
  3. Repeat for each position

Positions can only be added while the election is in Draft status.

Election Lifecycle​

Phase 1 — Draft​

Invisible to members. Add positions and configure the election.

Phase 2 — Nominations Open​

Click Open Nominations. Members submit nominations via WhatsApp:

NOMINATE [Name] for [Position]

or self-nominate. Each nominee receives a WhatsApp consent request.

Phase 3 — Review Nominations​

Click Close Nominations. On the Nominations tab:

  • ✓ Approve — nominee appears on the ballot
  • ✗ Reject — enter an optional reason (nominee notified via WhatsApp)

Only approved nominees appear on ballots.

Phase 4 — Voting Open​

Click Open Voting. Shepherd snapshots the eligible voter list from all active members with phone numbers — this list is locked. All eligible members receive a WhatsApp voting invitation.

Phase 5 — Voting Closed​

Click Close Voting. The Results tab shows vote counts per candidate, winners highlighted, tie warnings, and quorum status.

Phase 6 — Publish Results​

Click Publish Results. All eligible members receive a WhatsApp announcement with the winners. The election is locked — no further changes.

Screenshot

📸 [Screenshot: Results tab showing vote counts with winner highlighted and Download Certificate button]

WhatsApp Voting (Members)​

Cast a Vote​

Members send VOTE to the church WhatsApp number. The bot:

  1. Finds the active election and checks the member is on the eligible voter list
  2. Presents each position one by one as an interactive list
  3. After all positions: sends a ballot token receipt (proof of participation)

Check Voting Status​

VOTE STATUS
→ ✅ You voted in Elder Board Election 2026 on 28 Mar 2026.
   Your ballot token: 550e8400-...

Downloading Election Certificates​

After an election's results are published, you can download an official PDF Certificate of Election for each winning candidate:

  1. Go to Elections → select the completed election
  2. Click the Results tab
  3. Find the winning candidate for a position
  4. Click the Download Certificate (📄) button next to their name
  5. A professionally formatted PDF certificate is generated with: candidate name, position, election title, date, and your church name

Certificates are useful for formal announcements, installation services, and permanent church records.

Audit Log​

Every action in the election lifecycle is recorded on the Audit tab and is append-only — no entry can be modified or deleted:

ActionWhat's Recorded
Election created✅
Status changed✅ with from/to
Position added✅
Nomination submitted✅
Nomination approved/rejected✅ with reason
Eligible voters snapshot✅ with count
Ballot cast✅ member ID + timestamp (NOT choices)
Results published✅

Permissions​

PermissionWho Gets It
View electionsSuper Admin, Pastor, Branch Admin, Admin
Manage electionsSuper Admin, Pastor, Admin
VoteAll members (via WhatsApp)

Tips​

  • Set quorum carefully — if quorum isn't met, you'll see a warning before publishing. You can still publish, but it's recorded.
  • Approve all nominations before opening voting — new approvals after voting opens don't update ballots already sent.
  • Tie-breaking — if two candidates tie for the last seat, you'll see a ⚠️ Tie warning on the Results tab. The system flags it but leaves the decision to the pastor/committee.