Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. To get the most out of the software, you should have participated in one of our training sessions. Clicking on the question will take you to the general category. Scroll to find your question. To return to the question list, click Index. If your question is not answered here, the next step is to review the page to which your question pertains.
If your question is not answered there, contact e.thePeople
FAQ
I’m the administrator and I cannot log in.
As an administrator, can I allow restricted access to the Voter Guide?
Can I publish a race even if all my candidates have not yet responded?
Can I see a sample of the email being sent to candidates?
Candidates have submitted responses but their status is still ‘Invited’.
What does ‘Bouncing’ mean as an email status?
What does ‘Unverified’ mean as an email status?
How many reminders can I send?
How do I send my invitations?
What are the symbols next to the candidate’s name in the Campaign Tracker?
Can I allow a candidate who has submitted his responses to make changes?
A candidate says they cannot enter the system using the email.
A candidate cannot upload their photo.
How do I re-invite candidates?
How do I approve candidates?
Can I find out if a reminder was sent to a candidate?
Can I save a copy of our entire guide?
I’m getting an “Invalid Geometry” error message for one of my GIS files.
My GIS files won’t load.
Some of the districting is matching incorrectly.
Where can I get GIS data?
I’ve ‘gone live’ and don’t see my races.
I’ve entered an address and it doesn’t show my races.
I’ve updated candidate information but I don’t see it.
Can I hide a Bio Field from the public, such as a candidate’s private number?
In setting a character limit, how many characters do you use for an average word?
A candidate has dropped out of the race. What should I do?
Can I assign multiple parties to a candidate?
Can I upload multiple races at once?
Can we link to information about a race?
How do I create a initiative type race?
Can I indicate that a candidate was invited but did not respond?
Can I provide instructions for users?
How do I find email addresses if my Secretary of State or Board of Elections does not have this information?
How many races should I feature?
If I had a guide in the last election, should I start from scratch or use that one as a template?
Can I add a candidate if I don’t have all of their information?
What should I do once my primaries are over?
General Troubleshooting
I’ve entered an address and it doesn’t show my races.
Try clearing your cache, then reentering the address.
I’ve ‘gone live’ and don’t see my races.
Verify that your races are published.
I’ve updated candidate information but I don’t see it.
The first step is to republish your race. The Voter Guide is hosted on multiple servers. The complete caching cycle can take up to two hours to process. Two hours is worst-case scenario. Your updates will appear. We advise against updating on-the-fly during the weekend before your election, but suggest grouping changes for an early AM update and a late day update. The last recommended step is to clear your cache. If revised data is still not appearing, contact e.thePeople.
Admin Issues
I’m the administrator and I cannot log in.
Please contact e.thePeople.
As an administrator, can I allow restricted access to the Voter Guide?
No. There is a single password assigned to each Voter Guide. If you wanted to provide candidates’ responses to someone, you can do this via Data Export. See the Data Export page.
Setup
How many races should I feature?
You should aim to cover (where applicable) Presidential, statewide, Congressional and county races.
If I had a guide in the last election, should I start from scratch or use that one as a template?
The answer depends on whether you want to retain data such as candidate data GIS files and districting. If these data can be recreated easily, or have major changes, it is best to start with a new guide. You can still have access to the data for reference.
Can I indicate that a candidate was invited but did not respond?
Yes. See Appearance page , No Response Message field.
Can I provide instructions for users?
Yes. See Appearance, Address Form Instructions.
How do I find email addresses if my Secretary of State or Board of Elections does not have this information?
Google the candidate.
Can I add a candidate if I don’t have all of their information?
Yes, but you will need to complete the basic fields: email, party, first name and last name before you are able to proceed to the most important features.
Timeline
What should I do once my primaries are over?
See the Timeline for post-election steps.
Districting
Some of the districting is matching incorrectly.
My GIS files won’t load.
Unfortunately, we can only offer limited with the support GIS files, as the error typically has to do with the data itself. Please contact the source first, and make sure you have the most up-to-date file, and ask if there are known errors in the file. If the provider believes the file to be correct, please contact e.thePeople.
Where can I get GIS data?
We do not have GIS data. Many cities, states, and universities offer the data as a free service. Google GIS data, [your city here]
I’m getting an “Invalid Geometry” error message for one of my GIS files.
Unfortunately, this has to do with an error in the file you are trying to upload. You will need to contact the GIS data provider. Frequently this is because the polygon is not closed, which is required for the file to upload.
Races & Candidates
How do I create a initiative type race?
See the Races page.
Can we link to information about a race?
Yes. Use the Description field. It is HTML based.
Can I upload multiple races at once?
If you have the comprehensive package, you can do this via Script Upload. Please contact e.thePeople, and we’ll walk you through the process and provide a spreadsheet sample for you.
A candidate has dropped out of the race. What should I do?
You should delete the candidate, either through Candidates or Races. See either of these pages for instructions.
Can I assign multiple parties to a candidate?
Yes, but it will need to be done manually, instead of a spreadsheet. See Candidates page.
Candidate Communication
Can I publish a race even if all my candidates have not yet responded?
Yes. As the candidates respond, their data will appear automatically.
Can I see a sample of the email being sent to candidates?
You can preview any email except receipt. See Email Templates page.
Candidates have submitted responses but their status is still ‘Invited’.
The candidates likely selected ‘Save For Later’. They can select Submit, or you can manually change their status to Responded.
What does ‘Bouncing’ mean as an email status?
Bouncing means email delivery has been attempted and failed. Check the spelling of the email address, then check with the contact to verify the email address.
What does ‘Unverified’ mean as an email status?
Unverified means the email cycle (sent, received, system responded) has not yet been completed.
How many reminders can I send?
There is no limit to the number of emails of any type you can create. You should assign a name to each email.
How do I send my invitations?
Please see the Campaign Tracker page.
What are the symbols next to the candidate’s name in the Campaign Tracker?
If you ‘mouse over’ (hold the mouse over) a character, the meaning will appear above the symbol.
Can I allow a candidate who has submitted his responses to make changes?
Yes. In Campaign Tracker reset the candidate to Invited by clicking the Approve/Reject button in the Responded column. Mouse over the buttons to identify the appropriate button.
A candidate says they cannot enter the system using the email.
Obtain the candidate’s security code by clicking on the candidate’s name on the Candidate page. Direct then to thevoterguide.org, where they can click on Candidate login and then enter their security code.
A candidate cannot upload their photo.
Photos have specific file type and size/ratio requirements. Make sure that the file is a jpg; make sure the height:width ratio is 3:2 (this yields a rectangular shape).
How do I reinvite candidates?
In the Campaign Tracker, click on the Uninvite button in the Invited column. Mouse over the buttons to identify the appropriate button. Please see Campaign Tracker for additional assistance.
How do i approve candidates?
Please see Campaign Tracker.
Can I find out if a reminder was sent to a candidate? Yes. Click on the candidate’s name in either Candidates or Campaign Tracker, then click on See event log for this candidate.
Questions & Bio Fields
Can I hide a Bio Field from the public, such as a candidate’s private number? Yes. Create a Bio Field with the type ‘Private’. For further info, see the Bio Field page.
In setting a character limit, how many characters do you use for an average word?
Typically a word is 5 characters; our system counts spaces, and punctuation as a character. Set your character limit accordingly.
Data Import & Export
Can I save a copy of our entire guide?
Yes. See the Data Export page.