Nomination Modes

Purpose

The nomination mode determines how people become candidate records, whether the public self-nomination portal is available, whether nomination dates are compulsory and which records may appear on the final candidate list. Select the mode before receiving nominations or entering candidates. Changing it after work has started may invalidate candidate-list publication and require reconciliation.

Decision table

1. Commission upload only

Meaning

The Electoral Commission is the only source of candidate records. Candidates may be added individually or through the candidate CSV/XLSX import workflow. The public election page does not accept self-nominations.

Suitable circumstances

• nominations were completed on paper or through another system;
• the Commission received and approved a final candidate schedule before CivitasVote setup;
• governing rules give the Commission exclusive entry responsibility;
• a controlled bulk import is preferred.

Required procedure

1. Configure candidate positions.
2. Download the candidate import template or add candidates individually.
3. Validate position names, candidate names, status, order and references.
4. Commit the import only after the preview has no blocking errors.
5. Upload a valid photograph for every approved candidate.
6. Review the register for duplicates and incorrect positions.
7. Publish the final candidate list after all candidate and position readiness checks pass.

Implications

• candidate records do not require a source nomination;
• Commission-entered candidates are valid;
• the candidate import does not currently contain a photograph column, so photographs are handled after import;
• rejected and withdrawn candidate records remain excluded from the ballot;
• public nomination dates should be left empty unless a later workflow expressly uses them.

2. Self-nomination

Meaning

Eligible registered voters submit their own nominations during a defined public nomination period. The Commission reviews every submission. Approval creates or synchronises a linked candidate record.

Required conditions

• nomination opening and closing times are mandatory;
• nomination closing must be after opening and no later than voting opening;
• the person must have an active eligible record for the election;
• the voter uses the staff or membership number and personal PIN;
• the position must belong to the election and be a candidate contest;
• a valid candidate photograph is required;
• the same voter cannot submit a second nomination for the same position.

Review outcomes

• Under review: Commission is considering the submission.
• Approved: a linked approved candidate record is created or updated.
• Rejected: the nomination is retained as a completed decision but excluded from the final list.
• Withdrawn: the nomination is retained as a completed decision but excluded from the final list.

A clear review reason of at least ten characters is required for rejection or withdrawal.

Publication rules

The system should allow publication only when:

• the nomination period has closed;
• no submission remains Submitted or Under review;
• each approved nomination has a photograph;
• each approved nomination has a linked candidate record;
• the linked candidate is approved and has a photograph;
• each required candidate position has an acceptable number of approved candidates;
• no unlinked direct candidate remains in the election.

Unlinked candidates are invalid in this mode. The management page provides individual and bulk deletion actions before voting opens. Deleting such a record is safer than silently ignoring it because an approved unlinked record could otherwise remain available to ballot queries.

Suitable circumstances

Use this mode where membership eligibility and transparent Commission vetting should be the sole path to candidature.

3. Self-nomination and upload

Meaning

Both sources are valid:

• eligible voters may submit through the public self-nomination portal; and
• the Commission may add or import authorised candidates directly.

Suitable circumstances

• online self-nominations and paper nominations run in parallel;
• some candidate records come from an external authorised process;
• the organisation is transitioning from paper to online nomination;
• different offices follow different approved introduction procedures.

Control requirements

Mixed mode is flexible but creates a higher duplicate and reconciliation risk. The Commission should:

1. use a common nominee reference convention;
2. search by name, staff/member number and position before direct entry;
3. avoid adding a direct candidate where a self-nomination already exists;
4. complete all self-nomination decisions before publication;
5. ensure every approved candidate, from either source, has a photograph;
6. investigate apparent duplicates rather than deleting audit evidence casually.

Publication implications

Direct candidates without a source nomination are valid in Mixed mode. They must not be labelled as invalid merely because no nomination record exists. Approved self-nominations must still have linked candidate records. Rejected and withdrawn nominations are excluded.

4. No nomination stage

Meaning

CivitasVote does not manage the formal nomination process. Election officers configure the ballot using candidates or questions already authorised outside the platform.

Suitable circumstances

• a runoff has predetermined candidates;
• a confirmatory vote has a predetermined nominee;
• the ballot contains only Yes/No or referendum questions;
• nominations were fully concluded before the electronic election project began;
• the governing instrument has no nomination stage in this system.

Procedure

1. Create positions or questions.
2. Add approved candidates directly where candidate contests exist.
3. Upload photographs and supporting public information.
4. confirm ballot order, seats, maximum selections, abstention rules and required choices;
5. complete the ordinary readiness checks.

Implications

No public nomination window or vetting queue is expected. Candidate records are treated as Commission-entered. The absence of a source nomination is not an error.

5. Photograph rules across modes

Every approved candidate must have a valid public candidate photograph before final publication and voting readiness. The current validator accepts JPEG, PNG and WebP, up to 5 MB, with dimensions from 400 × 400 to 6000 × 6000 pixels.

In Self mode, the protected nomination photograph is copied to the public Candidate record only after approval. The source remains protected as audit evidence.

In Upload, Mixed and None modes, the Commission must supply the Candidate photograph directly. Candidate import does not currently carry photographs.

6. Rejected and withdrawn records

Rejected and withdrawn nominations do not block publication once the decision is complete and the candidate register is synchronised. They remain visible to authorised officers as audit records. They must not appear as approved candidates on the final list or ballot.

Where a previously approved nomination is changed to Rejected or Withdrawn, its linked candidate status must also cease to be Approved. The service layer checks for stale approved candidates before publication.

7. Changing nomination mode

Changing nomination mode is a material election-configuration action. The application invalidates an existing candidate-list publication when relevant settings change. Before changing mode:

1. record the governance authority and reason;
2. confirm the election has not opened;
3. export or preserve the current nomination/candidate evidence;
4. identify records that become invalid under the new mode;
5. reconcile duplicates and unlinked candidates;
6. complete all outstanding nomination decisions;
7. republish the final candidate list;
8. rerun readiness and mock-election checks.

Do not change nomination mode after voting opens.

8. Mode selection checklist

Choose Commission upload only when the Commission is the exclusive authorised source and a formal nomination list already exists.

Choose Self-nomination when every candidate must originate from an eligible voter’s own submission in CivitasVote.

Choose Self-nomination and upload only when both sources are formally authorised and the Commission can manage duplicate reconciliation.

Choose No nomination stage when nomination is outside the system or unnecessary, such as a referendum or predetermined runoff.

9. Common problems

Publication says unlinked candidates exist

This is expected only in Self mode. Use the candidate-register cleanup actions to delete records that did not originate from approved nominations. Confirm the records are genuinely invalid before deletion.

A rejected nomination still has an approved candidate

Review and save the nomination decision again, then inspect the linked candidate status. Do not publish until the stale approved record is corrected.

Candidate import is unavailable

Import is intentionally restricted to Upload and Mixed modes. Self mode requires nomination approval; None mode generally uses direct ballot configuration rather than the nomination import interface.

Nomination page is closed

Check the mode, opening and closing times, server time zone, election status and whether at least one single-seat or multiple-seat position exists.

Approved nomination cannot be saved

Confirm that a valid photograph is attached and that the review form contains a permitted status. Photograph dimensions and size are validated.