South Dakota Republicans Turn to Voatz for Virtual Convention

Voatz has wrapped up its third virtual political party convention. The Republican Party of South Dakota allowed delegates from 31 different counties to use the mobile voting app to cast ballots in a convention that ended on June 20.

Though the convention was uncontested, the Party still credited Voatz for high levels of engagement amongst its base. The vast majority (85 percent) of the delegates who cast a ballot did so through the Voatz app, and half acted quickly and cast their ballots less than 20 minutes after the voting window opened.

“Our goal was to create a convention experience that energized the Republican party in South Dakota and replicated an in-person convention,” said Party Chairman Dan Lederman. “An uncontested convention did not deter delegates from voting, because it was easy.”

According to Lederman, Voatz spent four weeks working with the South Dakota Republican Party to ensure the convention would run smoothly. The company made sure that all delegates had the proper credentials, and conducted a test vote to make those voters more comfortable with the online voting platform.

“Voatz is proud to enable delegates to vote in their convention while keeping them safe during this uncertain time,” added Voatz Co-Founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney.

The Voatz app has already been used during Republican Party conventions in Utah and Arizona, the latter of which also included a live-streamed town hall component. The company has argued that its technology can make voting safer and more accessible, especially when social distancing guidelines are taken into account.  

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June 25, 2020 – by Eric Weiss