FAQs

General Queries

For queries regarding the election process i.e. what the election is about and why you have received the information, please contact [email protected] with the name of the election that the query relates to. If your query relates to your organisation or the role of the elected body please contact your organisation directly.

Technical Queries

A brief list of the most common technical problems are included below. UK Engage would urge you to attempt some of these troubleshooting methods first, as there is often a simple explanation to most technical queries. If your query cannot be resolved by following these suggestions, please contact UK Engage at [email protected]

We will need as much information as possible to investigate the problem, including:
  • The name of the election and constituency in which you are entitled to vote;
  • Your Unique Security Code (USC);
  • Details of any error message you have received - please try to explain the error message accurately;
  • The date and time you tried to vote;
  • The browser that you are using (e.g. Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari);
  • What type of connection you are using (e.g. broadband, public Wi-Fi, 3G/4G).
Please email details of your technical query to [email protected]. We will investigate the problem and let you know what we find as soon as we can.

Why am I unable to access the voting site?

There may be a local connectivity problem – try opening www.uk-engage.org or www.google.com – if these websites do not open it is most likely that your device is not connected to the internet. Initially you may want to try closing down your browser and trying again, however, more serious cases may require you to reboot your device.

If your connection problems persist please contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for further guidance.

What browsers can I use to access the voting site?

This site supports all common browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, & Safari. If you encounter any difficulties with these or any other browsers please send a report to [email protected]

How do I know any details I submit will be kept secure?

Our online voting system uses cryptography, which requires two separate mathematically-related keys upon the creation of the election. One of these keys is made public, the other key is held by UK Engage and is kept private. The combination of the public key and private key is described as a key pair. By leveraging cryptography in this way, ballot requests, updates, and submissions made within the system are kept secure, as they cannot be hacked or faked in any way. Also, once an individual has used their vote, the vote is stored in our online voting system’s ballot box, it cannot be changed by any other voter within the system.

Where is my data stored?

Data will be securely stored in UK data centres, managed and maintained by local experts. The data centre has been designed to offer maximum redundancy and security and has been purposely built to run an election.

How long will my data be kept for?

Any data submitted as part of a candidate nomination will be kept for 12 months before being securely destroyed. Elector information used to administer the election will be stored for up to 30 days after the declaration of result in case the election result is challenged, after which it will be deleted.

Can I vote using my mobile device?

The site is optimised to work with most common mobile devices. If you experience any difficulties while using a smartphone or tablet to access the site please try from another device or send a report to [email protected]

What is a USC?

The Unique Security Code (USC) is an 8 digit code comprising of 2 letters and 6 numbers that has been specifically allocated to you in order for you to cast your vote. The USC is issued to all members that are entitled to vote and can be sent to you in the post or via email. It is unique to you and can only be used once in the course of the election.

Why won’t the voting system accept my Unique Security Code?

Make sure you have entered the code correctly; you should have a code that contains 8 characters (2 letters and 6 numbers) and these should be entered without spaces. Your Unique Security Code may have been pre-populated for you by a unique link contained in your email. In this instance the code has been entered for you and therefore the manual entry of the USC will be bypassed.

The voting system says I’ve already voted.

Once you have confirmed your choice, you cannot come back later to change how you have voted. If you try to enter your USC again, you will see an error message as the system is set up to prevent anyone using the same Unique Security Code twice.

How do I know that my vote has been recorded?

If your session is interrupted whilst using the system, initially try to vote again. If the vote was not recorded, the system will allow you to log in. If your vote has been cast you will not be able to log in.

There is a document on the website that I cannot open.

Throughout the site there are documents for you to view, such as candidate statements that have been saved as PDFs. In order to open any PDF documents on the website you will need to have Adobe Reader installed, it can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website.