How Housing Societies Made Their Election Digital
The Sisirkunja Association of Apartment Owners, Kolkata had always followed the traditional method of holding offline elections – ballot boxes, paper ballots and voting booths. But in 2025, for the first time ever, they made a bold move: they decided to conduct their entire election online.
This wasn’t just about using technology. It was about solving a problem that many residential societies face today. How to make elections more inclusive, efficient, and transparent.
The Challenge: Reaching Every Voter, Everywhere
As the association started planning, they ran into a familiar yet tricky problem. Many apartment owners were living abroad or in different parts of India, making it difficult for them to vote in person.
In offline elections, this meant low participation. Even if someone wanted to vote, they couldn’t travel just for that. This raised a big question: How can we make sure that everyone, no matter where they are, gets the right to vote easily and securely?
The Solution: Right2Vote Online Election Platform
To solve this, the association reached out to Right2Vote eVoting team, an Indian government-certified online voting platform known for secure and remote elections.
They explained their situation to the Right2Vote team, that voters living outside India, the need for transparency, and a desire to increase turnout.
Right2Vote quickly provided a solution tailored to their needs. The answer was clear: conduct the election fully online, using their platform.
Key Features That Made It Work Smoothly
Right2Vote came with a host of smart, user-friendly features that made the online voting process smooth and secure for everyone.
Invite & Reminder Notifications
Every voter got timely notifications via email or SMS informing them about the election schedule. If someone hadn’t voted yet, they got reminder messages. This helped in making sure nobody missed out.
Secure Login with OTP
To vote, each member had to log in using a one-time password (OTP) sent to their registered mobile or email. This ensured that only eligible voters could access the ballot, preventing any misuse or fraud.
Secret Ballot System
Just like traditional elections, every vote was cast anonymously. No one could see who voted for whom. This allowed voters to vote freely and without pressure, ensuring fairness.
Audit Trail for Transparency
Each vote cast was logged with a timestamp, IP address, and the identity of the voter; however, the voter’s vote preference was not logged to maintain a secret ballot. This created a secure, verifiable trail that could be audited if needed, bringing full transparency to the process.
Voter Receipt Confirmation
Once a vote was cast, the voter got a digital receipt as confirmation. This message was sent via email or SMS and proved that their vote was successfully recorded. It worked like a digital VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail).
Multiple Voting for Multi-Flat Owners
Some people owned more than one flat in the society. Right2Vote’s system allowed such voters to cast separate votes for each flat, just like in offline voting.
Instant Result Declaration
Once voting ended, the system automatically calculated the results. There was no need for manual counting, eliminating human error and speeding up the process.
Additional Security: Voter Selfie & Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Since elections involve sensitive decisions, the association opted for extra layers of security to keep everything foolproof.
Voter Selfie Feature
Before voting, each member had to click a selfie, which the system recorded for identity verification. Only after this step could the voter proceed to the ballot. This helped verify that the right person was voting.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Instead of a single OTP, voters received two OTPs, one on their primary mobile/email and another on a different ID. Only after entering both could they access the ballot page. While it took a few extra seconds, it added strong protection against identity misuse and is especially useful for sensitive elections.
Mock Voting & Easy Guide for All Members
Knowing that not everyone is comfortable with technology, the association organized a mock election before the real vote. This gave members a chance to practice the process and ask questions.
In addition, they shared a voter guide that explained everything in simple steps with pictures and FAQs. This ensured that every member, young or old, could vote confidently.
Increase Voter Turnout
One of the biggest wins from the online election was the massive increase in voter turnout.
In previous offline elections, turnout barely reached 47–55%. But in 2025, with online voting, turnout jumped to 84%.
People could vote from their home, office, or even while travelling. It was convenient, secure, and took just a couple of minutes. Plus, the overall cost was much lower compared to setting up booths, printing papers, and hiring staff for offline voting.
Why Sisirkunja Trusted Right2Vote
One of the key reasons the association chose Right2Vote was the platform’s credibility, transparency, and government certifications.
Right2Vote eVoting platform is:
- Certified by STQC (Standardization Testing and Quality Certification) Directorate under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)
- Approved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified for top-notch data security
- Audited regularly by CERT-IN empanelled agencies for network and application security
These certifications ensure that Right2Vote follows international standards for privacy, transparency, and data protection. With this level of validation, no one could question the legitimacy of the election.
Added to the certification, Right2Vote has a proven track record. Right2Vote has been providing technology to manage online elections for more than 10 years and conducts more than 3000 elections every year. Major housing societies across India and abroad, including projects by Tata Housing, Godrej, Mahindra, Prestige, and Embassy, regularly use Right2Vote’s online voting technology for conducting elections in various housing societies.
Conclusion
Sisirkunja’s 2025 election is proof that technology can make voting easier, safer, and more inclusive.
From voter selfies to instant results and record-breaking turnout, the transition to online voting was a complete success.
If your society, housing board, or organization is still relying on paper-based voting, maybe it’s time to follow in Sisirkunja’s footsteps and switch to Right2Vote because the future of voting is online.
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