Digital Innovation in Organizational Elections: A Medical Student’s Journey from Idea to Implementation

Abstract

What began as an attempt to replace a paper-based election became an unexpected journey into technology, teamwork, and problem-solving. As a medical student with no formal background in software development, I used Google Apps Script and artificial intelligence to turn an idea discussed with the election commission into a functional digital voting system that verified voters, generated unique tokens, and provided access to a digital ballot. After days of testing, the system met the reality of election day, with voter-record discrepancies, confusion over handwritten tokens, and a brief system overload. More than a coding exercise, the experience taught me that building a system and making it work under pressure are two very different things. It also taught me the value of preparation, adaptability, collaboration, and staying calm when there is no immediate Plan B.