Election Forms are embedded forms (surveys) you can customise, allowing you to ask your candidates to answer questions to support their candidacy and provide structure to their manifesto submission.
Using the Profile Form, you can supplement information gathered as part of a candidate's Election Profile to collect details in addition to their display name etc. The Profile Form might be useful for diversity monitoring, collecting information about access needs, and other information relevant election-wide. If specified, you can set the form as mandatory, and the candidate can edit their response until the nominations deadline.
You can use the Nomination Form to ask post-specific questions, for example, eligibility questions such as if the candidate needs to arrange a visa, or can interrupt their studies if elected. You can easily create a Nomination Form for specific posts or a single form to use as a default for all posts in your election. If specified, you can set the form as mandatory, and the candidate can edit their response until the nominations deadline.
Standardise how manifestos display information to help voters make their decisions more easily by configuring a Candidate Statement Form. You can create one per post, or a single form to use as a default for all posts in your election. If set, this replaces the Free-Text Manifesto Document. Candidates complete the form when editing their manifesto, and the response is displayed on the candidate's View Manifesto page.
When setting up the forms, please read the following guidelines before proceeding:
- The survey's Response Type must be "Multiple"
- The Date Range set on the survey needs to span the election period (or the nominations period, at least). Surveys do not need an end date and time set
- Embedded election forms do not support survey Section Redirects
- Embedded election forms do not display the survey Title, Description or Completion Text
- In this context, Multiple Line Textbox question types do not preserve formatting like separate lines, and any formatting applied is lost in the election display. For capturing multi-line information, we recommend using multiple Single Line Textbox question types instead.
- While the survey can be completed outside of the elections process, any survey responses completed in this way are not linked to the candidacy or election profile so be careful not to direct any candidates to the survey itself
TABLE OF CONTENTS
You can access this feature from your MSL website. Only Content Editors with access to Elections Admin can set Election Forms via the Elections Admin windows, and only Content Editors with access to Survey Admin can create and edit Election Forms (surveys) via the Surveys window.
For further information, see Elections Overview, Election Candidates and Survey Admin.
Election Form Fields
This table lists and explains the Election Form fields.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Profile Form | If specified, this prompts the candidate to answer additional questions on the Your Details page when they click Stand in Election. A response is required before a candidate can submit their nomination, however, a candidate can update their response at any time until the nominations period ends. The options are any surveys you might have set up for the Organisation to which the Election belongs. Profile Forms can be used for diversity monitoring, collecting information regarding the candidate's access needs, and other relevant information. The response is visible in Elections Admin on the Candidate window, alongside the Candidate's name, display name, and contact information. For further information, see How to View a Candidate's Profile Form Submission. This field is displayed only in the Add Election and Edit Election windows. For further information, see How to Set a Profile Form. |
| (Default) Nomination Form | If specified, this prompts the candidate to answer additional questions on the Submit Nomination page when they click Stand. A response is required before a candidate can submit their nomination, however, a candidate can update their response at any time until the nominations period ends. The options are any surveys you might have set up for the Organisation to which the Election belongs. The Nomination Form can be used to ask post-specific questions, for example, eligibility questions such as if the candidate needs to arrange a visa, or can interrupt their studies if elected. If a Default Nomination Form is specified at the election level, it will enable Nomination Forms for all posts. To only enable Nomination Forms for certain posts, see How to Set a Nomination Form Per Post. If a Default Nomination Form is specified at the election level and a Nomination Form is specified at the post level, the post-level form will override the default. The response is visible in Elections Admin on the Candidate window, alongside the Candidate's name, display name, and contact information. For further information, see How to View a Candidate's Nomination Form Submission. The Default Nomination Form field is displayed only in the Add Election and Edit Election windows. The Nomination Form field is displayed only in the Add Post and Edit Post windows. For further information, see How to Set a Default Nomination Form and How to Set a Nomination Form Per Post. |
| (Default) Candidate Statement Form | If specified, this prompts the candidate to answer specific questions, applying structure to their manifesto. A candidate can update their response at any time until the nominations period ends. The options are any surveys you might have set up for the Organisation to which the Election belongs. If a Default Candidate Statement Form is specified at the election level, it will enable the Candidate Statement Form for all posts where, on the Edit Post window, the Candidate Statement Type dropdown is set to Candidate Statement Form. To only enable Candidate Statement Forms for particular posts or to specify a distinct Candidate Statement Form for a specific post, see How to Set a Candidate Statement Form Per Post. The response is visible in the Candidate's manifesto. For further information, see How to Add and Preview a Candidate's Statement Form. The Default Candidate Statement Form field is displayed only in the Add Election and Edit Election windows. The Candidate Statement Form field is displayed only in the Add Post and Edit Post windows. For further information, see How to Set a Default Candidate Statement Form and How to Set a Candidate Statement Form Per Post. |
| Set Up Forms | Click the Set Up Forms linkfield to open the Surveys window where new surveys are set up or existing surveys can be updated. This field is displayed in the Add Election, Edit Election, Add Post and Edit Post windows. For further information, see How to Add a New Survey. |