The Ballot Screen
Everything you need during a debate is on one screen, split into four tabs: Scoring, Arguments, Notes and Winner.
On a phone the tabs sit two to a row. The ballot is designed to be used one-handed on a 360px screen, because that is what most judges bring.
Before the debate starts
Open your assigned room
From your dashboard, the rounds you are judging appear under My Debates. Tap the room to open its ballot.
Check the motion
For a prepared round the motion is already visible. For an impromptu round it stays hidden until the tab team releases it — you will get a notification on your phone and by email at the moment it is released.
Confirm the teams and speakers
The ballot lists each team’s speakers in speaking order. If a name is wrong, raise it with the tab team before the debate starts rather than working around it on the ballot.
During the debate
The timer
The timer is set from the tournament’s speaking times — you do not configure it. Start it as each speaker begins.
- A chime sounds at the protected time boundaries, when points of information may begin and must stop.
- A second chime sounds when the speaker reaches time.
- The timer keeps running if your screen locks or you switch apps.
Taking notes
The Notes tab is yours alone. Nothing you write there is shown to the speakers, their school, or the tab team. It exists so your reason for decision is grounded in what actually happened rather than what you remember afterwards.
Notes save continuously. If your phone dies mid-debate, reopening the ballot restores exactly what you had written.
Scoring
Enter marks on the Scoring tab, one team at a time. Each speaker takes three numbers — Style, Content, Strategy — plus an optional points-of-information adjustment.
See WSDC Scoring for what the numbers mean and which values are allowed.
Your marks save as a draft as you type. The Save draft button confirms when the last save happened. You can close the ballot and come back to it.
Declaring the winner
On the Winner tab, choose the team that won and write your reason for decision. The RFD is required and must be at least a couple of sentences — see Writing Your Reason for Decision.
The ballot will refuse to submit if:
- any speaker is missing a score
- a score is outside its band, or uses a finer step than a half mark
- the team you declared the winner has the lower total
- the two teams have equal totals
- the reason for decision is too short
Each of these is reported specifically, so you know what to fix.
After you submit
Once submitted, the ballot becomes read-only to you. If you spot a genuine error, contact the tab team — a coordinator can reopen it, and the change is recorded with who made it and why.
Panels
On a three-judge panel, the result is decided by majority once all three ballots are in. A split decision is flagged for the tab team to look at; it is never quietly averaged away.
If a panel has an even number of judges and they tie, the chair’s ballot decides.