Overview
This article will teach you how to use the polling feature. This article assumes you have administrative clearance for your database.
Outline
#1 Setup a DB User with a Polling Profile
#2 Setup a Poll
#3 Set a Poll for a Targeted List of Voters
#4 Perform a Poll
#5 Related Resources
HINT: Use the Ctrl+F hot key to jump to different sections using keywords like #1, #2, Related Resources
#1 Create a Database User with a Polling Profile
NOTE: In this example I create a new user with only Polling Access for my DB vs. a user who has clearance to other features i.e. Windows Based Access, Web-based Profile Access, Financial, Communications, and Events Etc.
Follow Application Menu > Voters
Click [+ New] on the search tool strip to begin creating a new record card or query for the person’s record in your database and open it. In this example I chose to create a new record.
Give the user a name and click [Save]. In this example I call my new polling volunteer Bob Smith.
Navigate to the Admin tab and the Logon sub-tab.
Check Allow Polling Access and provide the volunteer with a User ID and Password. You will also want to assign the voter a poll, if you haven’t created one yet we will talk about it in the next section and you can come back and assign it to the user later.
In this example I gave the user an ID of bsmith and an easy to remember secure password utilizing symbols, numbers and upper/lowercase characters. Click Here to use a free Strong Password Generator. I assigned Bob a poll called Support Issues – General 2014 which I show how to create in section #2 of this article.
The user is now setup with Polling Access. To query for a list of users with Polling Access you can open a new voter list, click the Admin tab, check Allow Polling Access and search.
#2 Setup a New Poll
Under the Application Menu follow Polling > Polls
Push the [+ New] button on the search tool strip.
From the Poll Card fill out the Poll Information, General Information and Intro message. The image below displays an example poll with this info filled out.
Click the Questions tab and the [+ New] button to begin entering new questions.
The image below displays a sample question with sample answers. In my example I allow the recipient to answer the question with multiple answers.
IMPORTANT: You can open a poll that’s been created and make edits but it’s not advised once polling is complete. Spending the time to get the appropriate questions/answers in place can help things run smoothly down the road so thoroughly test before running a poll.
Click the Conclusion tab to enter a conclusion message for your pollers to recite. The image below shows an example.
When you’re finished creating and testing your new poll click [Save and Close].
#3 Set a Poll for a Targeted List of Voters
Under the Application Menu navigate to the voter list.
Query for the list of Voters you want to assign to a poll. In this example I generated a list of voters from a specific precinct that did not vote in the General 2010 election, it gave me a record count of 863. The image below displays this. I will then proceed to assign them to the poll created in section #2.
HINT: Click Here to read articles related to queries i.e. Saving, renaming, deleting, and advanced queries.
After you generate the list of voters you want to assign to a poll click the Edit drop-down and select Set Poll…
Choose the Poll you want to assign these voters to. Refer back to section #2 to learn how to create a poll. In my example I chose the poll called “Support Issues – General 2014”.
Click [OK] to continue.
HINT: You could alternately select the radio button Remove Voters from Selected Polls if you wanted to do that.
Trail Blazer will prompt you with a warning message. Click [OK] to proceed.
The system will display a progress bar of the process.
Click [OK] to complete.
HINT: You can generate different list segments and assign them to the same poll, you can also check and uncheck boxes in the include column to only assign certain records.
#4 Perform a Poll
Have the database user assigned to a particular poll login with their unique credentials (look back to section #1 to learn how). In my example I assigned a poll to Bob Smith and log in with his credentials. Because I restricted Bob’s security level to only having Polling Profile Access the Trail Blazer UI is restricted to only show the poll and no other features.
Since the volunteer is restricted to having a Polling Profile the only thing they will see is the next person on the polling list that is ready to be called. If the person doesn’t answer, the call is disconnected, you reach the wrong number, they want a Call Back, or you reach Voice Mail click these respective [Buttons]. Otherwise proceed by reciting the Intro Message and clicking the [Next] button. In this example I chose to have the person answer and select the [Next] button after reciting the Intro Message.
Ask your question(s) and check the corresponding box(s). In this example I will say the voter finds the most importance in the Troops and Obama Care issues.
After the poll is complete for the voter click the [Complete] button and it will pull up the next person on the list.
To analyze your poll(s) login to the DB with admin access and follow Application Menu > Polling > Polls
Click [Search] and you can see overall statistics for the poll, you could also open the poll from with the DB and run/edit it from there.
You can print your statistics by clicking [File] > Print
Also you can use our candid report for Age/Sex analytics. Follow Polling > Polling Reports > Age/Sex
Select the poll to generate the report for. In this example my Report Choice was for Support Issues – General 2013.
