How we count
Every campaign on Student Desk is counted the same way. Here is what a vote is, how the totals stay correct, and what is never made public.
One ballot per student
Each signed-in student has one ballot per campaign. Signing in ties the ballot to a single account, and a mobile number can belong to only one account, so opening another tab or device never adds a second vote.
Yes or No on each demand
On your ballot you answer Yes or No to each demand, and you can leave out any you have no view on. While voting is open you can change an answer, and only your latest choice counts. Some campaigns lock an answer once it is given, and their page says so. When voting closes, every ballot is final.
Live counts, checked every minute
Totals update live, within a few seconds of each vote. Every minute while votes are coming in, every ballot is also counted again from scratch and any total that has drifted is corrected, so the live numbers always match the ballots. The breakdowns by education level, institution type and province refresh at the same time.
Supporters and non-supporters
A supporter is a student who said Yes to at least one demand. A non-supporter voted but said Yes to none. Each demand also shows its own Yes and No totals.
No names, no small groups
The public numbers are totals only. They never include a name or a phone number. Breakdowns are by education level, institution type and province, and a group of fewer than 10 voters is never shown on its own: it is folded into “Other” or hidden. Institution type comes from the institution in your profile, matched against the Higher Education Commission (HEC) list of recognised universities and the provincial college lists.
Verified supporters
When phone verification is switched on, the results also show how many supporters have confirmed their mobile number with a code. This is a separate figure: every signed-in student’s vote counts either way.
Removing spam
Superadmins can hide a ballot that is clearly spam or fake. A hidden ballot stops counting and the totals adjust straight away. Every hide and every restore is recorded in an audit log, with who did it and when.
How long we keep details
One year after a campaign is archived, the personal details on its ballots (name, phone number, discipline, semester and exact institution) are cleared. The choices and the counts stay, so the published results never change.