Board elections your members can trust.
Know who is on the register. Let members vote on the PollGuard Android app or at a branch tablet. Finish with a result, and a record, you can put in front of your AGM.
Achieng SampleNakuru branch
Daudi SampleEldoret branch
Chebet SampleKisumu branch
face re-check passed
receipt 9f3c 7a12…
Officers see who has voted, never how.
- 01Verify the roll document and live selfie
- 02Vote on the app or a branch tablet
- 03Watch turnout branch by branch, results sealed on the wall
- 04Certify after the dispute period
The problem is rarely
the counting
SACCO elections fail long before the count: a register no one trusts, eligibility argued at the branch door, delegates chosen in a side room, ballot boxes on the road, and no evidence when the result is challenged. Each one has a fix.
Names that left years ago, members who never appear, and no way to show who is real.
Each member verifies once with their document and a live selfie. A named reviewer approves or declines every verification.
Who may vote is argued on the day, by whoever is at the table.
Each member sees their own eligibility in the app ahead of time, so questions are raised early, not at the door.
Branch delegates chosen in a room, with no list anyone can check afterwards.
Your branch structure on the register, and a branch vote for each delegate seat, on the record.
Boxes travel from branches to head office, and every kilometre is a question.
Ballots cast on the app or a branch tablet are stored encrypted. The count runs once, after the board closes the ballot.
When a result is challenged, the board answers from memory and minutes.
Who changed what and when, written as it happens. Each member can check their ballot is on record, never the choice.
The member’s phone.
The branch tablet.
Most members vote on the PollGuard Android app, installed directly from pollguard.africa, wherever they are. Members without a smartphone come to a branch and vote on its tablet, with an officer who is named in the record when they help. Ballots are never cast by SMS or on a web page.
- BEFORE THE DAYRoll verifiedMembers check their eligibility in the app.
- 07:30 · SAMPLETablets openedEach branch tablet opens on the record.
- 08:00 · SAMPLEBallot opensThe board opens it; turnout starts on the wall.
- ALL DAYMembers voteOn the app or a tablet. One ballot per position.
- 17:00 · SAMPLEBoard closes itThe count runs. Results go to the board.
- AFTERDisputes, then certifiedThen presented at the AGM.
was counted
Chebet SampleMember, Nakuru branch
A verified member roll
You import your register. Each member then proves who they are once, on their own phone or at a branch tablet: their identity document, a live selfie taken in the app with liveness prompts, and a face match. Software reads, checks and scores; a named reviewer approves or declines every verification under their own name, and borderline matches get the closest look. A clear mismatch fails the check, and the member can start again.
- The roll is yours. Imports and every edit are written to the record.
- Officers who assist a member are named.
- Images and check results are kept under the data-protection notice.
- No lookup in a government register. The check is the member’s own document against their own face.
Approved by a reviewer; ready to vote
In the review queue
Declined by a reviewer; the member can start again
Reminders, or the branch tablet
Your structure,
on the register
Put your society, regions and branches on the register, up to seven levels deep. Then run the election your by-laws describe: every member voting directly for the board, or branches electing delegates who vote at the AGM.
Direct or delegate
One member, one ballot for the board, or a branch vote for each delegate seat. Members only ever see the ballots for their own branch. Each position counts by first-past-the-post, approval, or ranked choice for a single seat.
Delegate list approval
The board approves the elected delegate list on the record before the AGM.
Delegate accreditation codes
A code for each delegate, checked by an officer at the AGM door.
Watch turnout build,
branch by branch
The board sees who is turning out, on the wall at head office, on a laptop, or in the officials’ app. The wall shows members, never candidates: while the ballot is open it carries no count, share or leader.
Grouped: three branches with fewer than 10 members each, shown together.
Members, never candidates
Turnout is counted in members who have voted. No candidate figure appears on the wall while the ballot is open.
Small branches grouped
A branch with fewer than 10 members is shown together with others, so no one can be singled out.
Released in batches
Activity is released in groups of three or more, so no ballot can be timed to a person.
Honest when it fails
Every panel names its source and time. A read that fails says so; it is never drawn as zero.
A result is final
when the board says so
Closing the ballot is not the end. The count runs, the board sees the results, a dispute period runs for the length your rules set, and only then does the board certify. Each step is written to the record with who and when.
- STEP 1The board closes the ballot
No more ballots. The close is on the record.
- STEP 2The count runs
Once, after the close, over the encrypted ballots.
- STEP 3Results to the board
By position and candidate, exported the same night.
- STEP 4 · [N] DAYSThe dispute period
Its length is your rules’ to set. The board hears each dispute before it certifies.
- STEP 5The board certifies
The result is final, with the certifying names on the record.
- STEP 6Presented at the AGM
With the record below to answer questions from the floor.
A record you can put in front of your AGM
When a member stands up and asks how the result was reached, the board answers from the record, not from memory. Here is what it holds today, and what is still being built.
What the board takes away
by [Secretary]
by [Reviewer]
by [Officer name]
by [Returning officer]
assisted by [Officer name] · choice never written
by [Returning officer]
by [Board members]
Against the hall
and the paper ballot
A paper ballot in a hall can be run well, and many are. This is a plain comparison of how each works, not a claim about any particular election.
| Question | Paper ballot in a hall | PollGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Who can vote | Members who can travel to the hall on the day. | Members on the Android app, wherever they are, or at a branch tablet. |
| Proving identity | A card shown at the door, judged by eye. | Document and live selfie once; a face re-check or the phone’s own biometric at the ballot. |
| Eligibility | Checked against a printed list at the table. | On the roll before the day; the member can see it in the app. |
| Voting twice | Prevented by ink, ticks on the list and watchful clerks. | A second ballot for the same position is refused. |
| Secrecy | A booth and a sealed box. | By roles: officers see who has voted, never how. Ballots are stored encrypted. Full separation of identity and choice is being built. |
| Moving ballots | Boxes carried from branches to the count. | Nothing to carry. |
| Counting | By hand, after the hall closes. | Runs after the board closes the ballot; results exported the same night. |
| Proof for the member | None once the paper is in the box. | A receipt code per position: on record, never the choice. |
| When it is challenged | Papers, tally sheets and the minutes. | The record: who did what, and when. |
| What it needs | A hall, printed ballots, boxes and clerks. | Android phones or branch tablets, a connection, trained officers, and a licence. |
Same vote, other members
Any body that elects its own leaders from a register of members runs the same way: a verified roll, a ballot on the app or a tablet, turnout by branch and a record.
Trade unions
Reach every member, wherever they work, from branch officials to the national executive.
Professional bodies
Retire the postal ballot and keep the credibility of a council election.
Universities & students
Student council elections, counted after the close and settled the same day.
NGOs & faith groups
Clean governance votes for boards and councils, without the drama.
Political parties
Party nominations and primaries have their own page.
Practise free.
Go live on a licence.
A SACCO usually runs on the Institutional licence. On top of it come the modules you switch on, verification per member, and an engagement fee quoted in writing after a briefing. Prices exclude VAT.
- Identity verificationKES 25 / member / election
- Polling centres & SmartBoxesKES 5,000 + 2,000 / branch
- Dispute resolutionKES 3,000 / election
- Live command centreKES 15,000 / election
Evaluation Sandbox
- 200 voters
- 1 election
- 1 branch
Rehearse your AGM with your own board before it counts.
Open a sandboxInstitutional
- Up to 250,000 voters
- 5 elections
- 3 branches
More branches than that? We size it with you in the briefing; the Federation licence covers ten.
See all pricingQuestions SACCOs ask us
Does every member need a smartphone?
No. Members with an Android phone vote on the app. Members without one vote on a branch tablet, and any officer who helps is named in the record. There is no iPhone app, and no voting by SMS or on a web page.
What if a member’s details are out of date?
The roll is yours, and every edit to it is recorded. Members see their own eligibility in the app before the day, so mistakes surface early. A member verifies against their own document, not a government register.
Can we run delegate elections?
Yes. Put your branches on the register and run a branch vote for each delegate seat. Board approval of the delegate list and accreditation codes for the AGM are being built.
Will this satisfy our regulator?
We make no claim that any regulator has approved PollGuard. Your by-laws and the law, including the Co-operative Societies Act, decide how you must vote, and you remain the returning authority; confirm your process with your own advisers and with SASRA where applicable. Bring them to a briefing and we will show you what the record holds, so you and your advisers can judge.
Is the ballot secret?
By roles, today: officers see who has voted, never how, and the receipt check never returns a choice. Full separation of identity and choice is being built. The trust page sets out the gaps plainly.
What does it cost?
An annual licence ($48,000 a year for Institutional), the modules you switch on, verification at KES 25 per member per election, and an engagement fee quoted after a briefing. The sandbox is free.
Bring us your next AGM.
Bring your register size, your branches and your by-laws. Practise first in the free sandbox with your own board, then go live with the licence, modules and fee in writing.