Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing (ABBS)

At times, researchers offer incentives like gift cards or discounts to answer the survey. They may want to prevent respondents from taking a survey multiple times. QuestionPro uses cookies to detect if the respondent has already answered the survey. You can also use custom variables to identify responses to QuestionPro surveys.

Examples of Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing (ABBS)

• An email invite is sent to the respondent with the tracking link, and the ABBS feature enabled. They clicked on the link and completed the survey. If they try to clear the browser cookies or switch to another browser, they will still get an error message saying they have already taken the survey.



• An email invite is sent to the respondent with an anonymous link, and the ABBS feature enabled. They clicked on the link and completed the survey. If they try to clear the browser cookies or switch to another browser, they will be able to retake the survey as the link was anonymous and not email-specific.

• An email invite is sent to the respondent with ABBS and Save and Continue feature enabled. If the survey is lengthy and the respondents do not want to complete it in one go, they can click on 'Save and Continue Later'. They'll be asked for their email address and get a new survey link to continue they had left off.

If the respondent clicks any of the two links - original email invite or save and continue link, they can continue from where they had left off. However, once the survey is completed, they won't be able to retake the survey.

How does Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing (ABBS) work?

As soon as the respondent starts the survey, a unique response ID is generated and assigned. Once they click on 'Submit', cookies are saved on the browser. If the respondent clicks on the link the second time, QuestionPro will look for the cookie and not allow them.

ABBS is triggered when the survey is completed for the first time. If the respondents start the survey but do not complete it, they can still access the survey by clicking on the link they have received via email.

However, if the respondent has completed the survey, then the link will get disabled. So, when they try to access the survey nest time, they will get an error message.

Uses of Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing (ABBS) in surveys

• Manage rewards: You can be sure nobody will be able to exploit the system if you are offering rewards for the survey.

• Online quizzes/tests: You can configure the scored surveys to be answered only once by the test takers.

• Election polls: Use ABBS to prevent anyone from manipulating the polls.

Advantages of using Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing in surveys

• Collects accurate data: As the respondent can answer only once, it helps keep data free from the choice bias. Accurate data, in turn, affect the quality of insights derived and the decisions taken based on them.

• Prevents exploitation of the system: Automated software or bots cannot manipulate the system and answer the survey multiple times. Thus it helps researchers conduct surveys securely.

How to set up Anti-Ballot Box Stuffing (ABBS) in your surveys?

Learn how to set up and use this feature with our help file on ballot-box stuffing.