Operator help

What can we help you do?

Everything you need to run a clean meeting — written by operators, for operators. Use the search or topic tiles to jump straight to a section, or scroll through the full 11-step guide below.

Before the meeting

Import the DCL, share registration links, run allocations

Meeting day

Start the meeting, open ballots, watch quorum

After the meeting

Certify, export, archive

Tips & troubleshooting

Common pitfalls and quick fixes

Roles glossary

Who's who in a District Council meeting

What’s the audit chain?

Think of it like the signed sign-in sheetat a town hall — except every entry is dated and locked the moment it’s added. Each new line confirms every line before it, so nobody can sneak in, change, or remove a vote later without it being obvious.

You don’t have to understand the math. If your receipt code still verifies after the meeting closes — your vote was counted, exactly once, exactly as you cast it.

Before the Meeting (1-2 weeks ahead)

Import the District Council List

When: 2 weeks before | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Import DCL

Download the District Council Members List CSV from Club Central.
Go to your meeting's Import DCL page.
Drag and drop the CSV file (or click to browse).
Review the import summary: clubs, members, officers, DEC members.
Check the 'Action Required' panel for members without email addresses.
If the DCL is updated later, you can re-import — existing data is updated, not duplicated.

Generate and Share Registration Links

When: 2 weeks before | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Registrations

Click 'Generate Links' to create a personalized registration link for every member.
Use the 'Copy Link' button next to each member's name.
Share links via your preferred method: email, Zoom chat, club presidents.
Members click their link, enter their membership ID, select attendance, and choose clubs to represent.
Monitor the registration dashboard: see who's attending, who hasn't responded yet.

Send Notification Emails (Optional)

Optional

When: 2 weeks before | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Email

Compose a notification email with meeting details.
Select the language (English or French).
Click 'Send to All Members' — each member gets their personalized registration link.
Automated reminders go out weekly, then 24h and 1h before the meeting.

Run the Allocation Engine

When: After registrations close (24h before meeting) | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Allocations

Click 'Run Allocation Engine' — the system calculates optimal vote distribution.
Review the allocation table: each member's club votes, DEC votes, sole-rep flags.
Apply overrides if needed (click 'Override' on any allocation, enter reason).
The engine respects all Toastmasters rules: 2-vote cap per member, 2-vote cap per club, sole-rep priority.

Create Your Ballots

When: Before or during the meeting | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Ballots

Click 'New Ballot' to create each ballot you'll need.
For motions: enter the motion text. Type is 'Motion (Yes/No/Abstain)'.
For elections: enter the position title and list candidates (one per line).
For quorum: create an 'Establish Quorum' ballot (automatically counts club votes only).
Use 'Draft with AI' to get formal parliamentary wording from an informal description.
Use the up/down arrows to arrange ballots in meeting agenda order.
Ballots stay in 'Draft' status until you open them during the meeting.

Meeting Day

Go Live

When: 30 minutes before the meeting | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Ballots

Click 'Go Live' — this generates voting access tokens for all attending members.
Each voter receives a unique voting link.
Share the voting links: use the 'Voting Link' button on the Registrations page, or send via the automated email system.
Voters can also be given links through the Zoom chat during the meeting.

Open the Live Dashboard

When: At meeting start | Where: Meetings > [Your Meeting] > Live

The Live dashboard is your command center for the entire meeting.
Pre-flight checklist shows: DCL imported, voters registered, votes allocated, tokens generated, quorum achievable.
Quorum status is displayed with a live progress bar.
Connected voter count shows how many voters are online.
Share your screen on the Zoom call so attendees can see the quorum dashboard.

Establish Quorum

When: First order of business | Where: Live Dashboard

Open the 'Establish Quorum' ballot from the Live dashboard.
This ballot counts ONLY club votes (DEC personal votes are excluded).
Voters tap 'Yes' on their devices.
Watch the participation meter fill up.
When enough votes are in, close the ballot.
If the result shows a majority 'Yes' and club ballots exceed the threshold, quorum is established.

Run Each Ballot

When: During the meeting | Where: Live Dashboard

For each agenda item, open the corresponding ballot from the Live dashboard.
Voters see the ballot appear on their phones automatically (no page refresh needed).
For motions: voters tap Yes, No, or Abstain.
For elections: voters tap their chosen candidate.
Watch the participation meter — it shows what % of eligible voters have voted.
Allow time for all voters to cast their ballots.
When ready, click 'Close Voting' (you'll be asked to confirm).
Results are calculated instantly and displayed.

Handle Late Arrivals

When: As needed during the meeting | Where: Live Dashboard or Registrations page

If a member arrives late who wasn't registered, use the Registrations page.
Find their name and click 'Voting Link' to get them a link.
Or use the late arrival API to register + allocate + generate a token in one step.
They can join voting immediately for any subsequent ballots.

After the Meeting

Close the Meeting and Download Reports

When: After the last ballot | Where: Live Dashboard

Click 'Close Meeting' on the Live dashboard.
All open ballots are automatically closed.
Click 'Audit Report' to download the complete meeting record.
The audit report includes: all ballot results, vote counts, quorum calculations, and the cryptographic hash chain.
Go to Reports for the Credentials Report and Validation Report.
The Credentials Report shows clubs in good standing, total ballots, quorum status.
The Validation Report confirms no individual exceeded the 2-vote cap.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Voter can't see the ballot

They may need to refresh their page, or their browser tab went to sleep. The system automatically reconnects, but they can also just reopen their voting link.

Voter says their vote didn't go through

Ask for their receipt code. Every successful vote gets a unique 16-character receipt code. If they have one, the vote was recorded.

You need to re-run a ballot

Create a new ballot with the same motion text. Closed ballots cannot be reopened, but you can create a fresh one.

Connection issues

The system has a polling fallback — even if the real-time connection drops, voter pages check for new ballots every 5 seconds.

Wrong vote allocation

Go to the Allocations page and click Override on the affected member. Enter the correct vote count and a reason. The change is logged in the audit trail.

Email links not delivered

Use the Voting Link button on the Registrations page to copy the link directly. Share it via Zoom chat instead.

Meeting roles · glossary

Who does what on meeting day.

13 roles · 4 groups

Chair & officers

Presiding Officer (Chair) · Runs the meeting

Usually the District Director. Calls the meeting to order, recognizes speakers, and announces results. Has no special powers in Red Vote — they direct the operator verbally.

Parliamentarian · Rules-of-order advisor

Advises the chair on procedural questions. Doesn't vote unless they're also a delegate. Gets observer access in Red Vote.

Secretary · Records the minutes

Captures motions, results, and notable discussion. Red Vote auto-generates the receipts; the secretary still owns the narrative minutes.

Sergeant-at-Arms · Keeps order & access

Manages the physical or virtual room. Not a Red Vote role — but they're who voters call when their device won't connect.

Credentials & counting

Credentials Chair · Declares quorum

Verifies that registered voters are eligible delegates and reports quorum to the chair. In Red Vote, gets the Registrations + Allocations consoles.

Tellers (Scrutineers) · Watch the count

Independent observers — usually two — who attest the count is honest. In Red Vote, they get a read-only Live console and can re-run the audit chain at any time.

Election Chair · Runs candidate elections

Owns the slate, candidate speeches, and ballot order for officer elections. In Red Vote, drafts and locks election ballots before the meeting opens.

Voters

Vote-carrier · President or VPE only

Each club gets up to two votes, and they can only be carried by that club's Club President or VP Education. No other officers, no proxies — if neither shows up, the club has no voice.

DEC Member · Carries an extra vote

Sitting member of the District Executive Committee. Casts one DEC vote on top of any club vote they hold as President or VPE. A single person can carry at most 2 club votes + 1 DEC vote.

Walk-in · Late add, eligible

A President or VPE who shows up but didn't pre-register. The operator adds them live during the meeting; the addition is signed into the audit chain alongside their first ballot.

Observer · Non-voting attendee

Past officers, guests, candidates outside their division. Sees the meeting and live tallies; can't cast a ballot.

Platform

Operator · Runs Red Vote

The person at the keyboard during the meeting. Imports the roster, opens ballots, handles overrides. Almost always the District Secretary or a designated tech lead.

Co-operator · Backup at the keyboard

Optional second operator with the same powers. Useful for long meetings or when the primary operator is also chairing a portion.