Voter Groups
Voter groups let you split your voters into named groups — wards, departments, or any other division — and choose which races each group sees. Each voter only sees the races open to their group.
This feature is behind the beta features flag. See How to enable beta features to turn it on.
Turning on Set Voter Groups
Once the beta flag is on, go to your election’s Settings page and switch on Set Voter Groups. You can turn it back off at any time without losing your group list or your race assignments.
Managing the group list
Click Edit groups (or Add groups when the list is empty) to open the group manager. From there you can:
- Add a group by typing its name and clicking Add. Names are trimmed of surrounding spaces, and names that differ only in letter case (“ward 1” and “Ward 1”) count as duplicates.
- Delete a group that has no voters assigned to it. Delete is disabled for groups that still have voters; move those voters first.
The group list is read-only once the election is finalized. Plan your groups before you finalize.
The race × group grid
Below the group manager, a grid shows every race (in ballot order) across the rows and every group across the columns. Check a box to let that group see that race.
- Races that existed before you turned groups on start with every box ticked, so nothing is hidden by accident.
- A newly added group starts ticked for every race.
- A No group column appears whenever at least one voter has no group assigned, so you can choose what those voters see.
A short line above the grid reads: “Check the boxes to choose which races each group can see.”
Warnings
The grid highlights problems so you can catch them before voters arrive. Warnings inform — they don’t block finalization.
- A race no group can see — the row is shaded and a warning reads No voter group can see “Race Title”. Check at least one group for this race.
- A group that sees no races — the column is shaded and a warning reads Voters in “Group Name” would see no races. Check at least one race for this group. For the No group column, the message reads Voters with no group would see no races. Check at least one race for No group.
Warnings appear only on the Settings page.
Adding voters with a group
When voter groups are on, include a voter_group column in your voter CSV. The accepted column headers are exactly voter_id, email, and voter_group (in that order when all three are checked).
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
Blank voter_group cell | The voter gets No group — no warning or error |
| Letter case | ward 1 matches Ward 1 on your list and is stored as Ward 1 |
| Group not on your list | The confirmation dialog shows the new groups before you commit |
| After finalization | An upload with groups not already on your list is rejected with an error |
New groups in an upload
When an upload contains group names that aren’t on your list yet, the confirmation dialog lists them — for example:
This adds voter groups “Ward 7” (41 voters) and “Wrd 2” (1 voter) to your existing voter groups “Ward 1”, “Ward 2” and “Ward 3”.
Check the names carefully: a typo like “Wrd 2” becomes a new group. Click Proceed to add the groups and the voters together, or Cancel to upload nothing.
What voters see
Each voter sees only the races open to their group. On the ballot-submitted page, voters with a group see a Voter Group: line confirming which group they voted in. Voters with no group see no group line.