Online Voting In Cooperative Housing Societies
There are more than 10 lakh cooperative housing societies in India. It is referred to by several names including Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS) / Association of Residents (AOR) / Association of Homeowners (AOH) / Apartment owners Association (AOA) / Housing Society / Resident's Welfare Association (RWA) etc. There might be small difference between incorporation structure of these housing societies but more or less it is very similar. These housing societies are managed by members who are democratically elected at regular intervals. Each society is supposed to hold its elections every 1-3 years depending on the state and the governing Cooperative Society Act.
Challenges Faced by Societies
The cooperative housing society management faces several challenges:
- Lack of full-time members in the management committee
- Limited funds and varying financial capacity of members
- Difference of opinion and internal disputes
- Vested interests controlling the management
- Litigation with builders or members
Right2Vote's online voting platform for cooperative housing societies
Right2Vote Infotech Private Limited is a government of India approved eVoting platform. Right2Vote is tested and certified by Standardization Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC) under Ministry of Electronics and Information technology (MeitY), Government of India.
Right2Vote is also approved eVoting agency by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India.
Link to relevant certificates: Government Approval and Certificates
Experience in Managing Elections Across the Country
Right2Vote has successfully conducted elections for several housing societies across India.
Maharashtra
- Apex Association of Lavasa Property Owners, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Skyvillas, Pune, Maharashtra
- Blossom CHSL, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Tasgaonkar Blossom, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Maitri Park CHSL, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Lok Housing and Constructions Limited, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Godrej Nurture Association, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Karnataka
- Embassy Pristine Apartment Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Association of Owners of Embassy Boulevard, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Prestige Ozone Home Owners' Welfare Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Prestige Augusta Golf Village Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Prestige Misty Waters Apartment Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Prestige Tranquility Apartment Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Bren Edge Waters Apartment Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Spectra Palmwoods Apartment Owners Welfare Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Springfields Welfare Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Godrej Irismark, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Godrej Royale Woods, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Ramanashree California Gardens Residents Welfare Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Salarpuria Sanctity Apartments Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Adarsh Palm Retreat Villa Owners Welfare Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Apartment Owners Association of Raj Lake View, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Aquila Heights Apartments Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Jade Garden Plot Owners Association, Bangalore, Karnataka
NCR (Delhi, Haryana, UP)
- Earth Copia Owners Society, Dwarka, Delhi
- Luxuria Estate, Aditya World City, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
- Golf Avenue Welfare Association, Gurgaon, Haryana
- Sare Grand Welfare Association, Gurgaon, Haryana
- Bharat City Phase - 2 Buyers Welfare Association, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
- La Tropicana Residents Association, North Delhi
- Lotus300 Apartment Owners Association, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
- Stellar Sigma Apartment Villa Association, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
- Iris Court Mahindra World City, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Casagrand Aristo Owners Welfare Association, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
- Estancia Flat Owners Association, Vallancherry, Tamil Nadu
- IRIS Court Flat Owners Association, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu
- Jains Saagarika Apartment Owners' Association, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Golden Opulence Owners Association, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Jains Westminster Owners Welfare Association, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Clover Fields Residents Welfare Association, Sevaganapalli, Tamil Nadu
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
- HiRise PVR Owners Welfare Association, Hyderabad, Telangana
- Hill County Villas Owners Association, Medchal, Telangana
- Welfare Association of Raintree Park, Hyderabad, Telangana
- My Home Avatar Welfare Association, Rangareddy, Telangana
- My Home Vihanga Welfare Association, Rangareddy, Telangana
- Sankalp HomeOwners Association, Sangareddy, Telangana
- Maple Town owners Society, Hyderabad, Telangana
West Bengal
- Godrej Prakriti, Godrej Properties Limited, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Kolkata Uniworld City Apartment Owners' Association, Kolkata, West Bengal
- South City Apartment Owners Association, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Aurus Owners Association, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Galleria Owners Association, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Merlin Waterfront Association of Apartment Owners, Howrah, West Bengal
- Residency Apartment Owners Association, Kolkata, West Bengal
Others
- Tata Ariana, Bhubaneswar, Orissa
- Kings Avenue Residents Welfare Association, Dehradun, Uttrakhand
- Sai Peace and Prosperity Apartment Buyers Association, Kottivakkam, Kerala
- Kendriya Vihar Resident Welfare Association, Khurda, Odisha
- Kent Mahal Owners Association, Ernakulam, Kerala
Feature-Rich Online Voting Platform
Our platform offers numerous features tailored to society elections:
- Secret ballot
- Audit trail
- Voter receipts
- Result post poll close
- Team elections
- Multiple post in single poll
- Candidate picture on the ballot
Security Features
- End-to-end encryption
- Otp-based login
- Two-factor authentication
- Geo tagging
- Voter selfie
- Unique IP address
Ease of Use Features
- Vote via website, app (iOS/Android)
- OTP based login
- Individual personalized invite and reminders
- Voting from anywhere in less than a minute
- Automated counting and instant result in PDF and excel format
Charges
Right2Vote eVoting software is also very cost effective. The charges starts from Rs. 10,000 only for up to 200 voters, plus Rs. 25 for each voter above 200 voters. Please contact Right2Vote team at Contact@right2vote.in for more details.
Use Cases
The Right2Vote's online voting solution specializes in election management but it is also very useful for:
- Voting on resolutions in Annual General Meeting (AGM)
- Voting on other resolutions in Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM) and monthly meetings
- Voting in cases of disagreements and disputes
- Election of Committee Members
FAQs
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Is online voting allowed as per Indian laws/ state laws?
As per model bylaws provided in Cooperative housing society Act which has been adopted by most states, voting is compulsory at regular intervals. It does not mention whether voting needs to be via paper or online. Hence both the methods are permitted and there is no restriction on paper or online voting.
Many states including Maharashtra have specifically advised housing societies to opt for online voting to ensure that homeowners who are not resident in the society are also able to vote. Also, due to COVID and social distancing requirements, most governments and cooperative commissions are asking housing society managements to opt for online voting.
The State Cooperative Election Authority (SCEA) of Maharashtra has also approved fund to create eVoting website for Housing society election. Recently the West Bengal high court ruled that online voting in housing societies is allowed through the Government of India approved eVoting agencies.
The Government of India recognizes online voting as an important empowerment tool and has made it mandatory under certain Acts including The Companies Act. Government has made it mandatory for companies to provide online voting options to shareholders to empower small shareholders. The Government of India has also recognized Right2Vote as the approved online voting agency.
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Housing societies are regulated by central government or state government?
Cooperative society is a state subject. Housing societies come under regulation of respective state governments. Most state governments have created a cooperative commission to regulate the cooperatives. Most state governments have adopted the model Cooperative Housing Society Act which is more or less similar.
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What is the meaning of voting in person'?
Most of the standard bye laws of the housing society provides that voter need to vote in person'. This means that the voter is not allowed to vote via proxy. Vote in person' should not be confused with paper voting at booth. The requirement is that voter should vote himself and not allow anybody else to vote on his behalf. If the voter votes himself via mobile or computer, that also is vote in person'.
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Is voting by post allowed?
Most of the model bylaws allows vote via post also. This means the makers of model bylaws wanted to ensure right to vote to voters who are not resident in the society. This shows remote voting was always allowed and the objective was to ensure maximum participation.
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What is Secret ballot?
Most bylaws provide for secret ballot. This is to avoid any kind of coercion. Secret Ballot means that individual voters vote preference is not known to anybody including the election committee. The election committee only gets the vote count of each candidate.
To know more about Right2Vote's election technology, please refer:
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