AnonVote is a privacy-preserving voting platform where:

• No voter is linked to their ballot – Cryptographically enforced, not by policy
• Results are blockchain-verified – Anchor to Stellar for independent verification
• No accounts required – Voters only need a link and their identifier
• Multiple voting schemes – Standard, weighted, ranked-choice, delegated voting
• Fully open source – MIT licensed, self-hostable

• Voter identifiers hashed before storage
• Tokens cryptographically unlinked from votes
• Votes encrypted with AES-256-GCM
• No voter PII on-chain

• Immutable audit trail on Stellar
• Smart contract verification via Soroban
• Independent result verification
• No need to trust AnonVote's servers

• Standard – One vote per token
• Weighted – Tokens with vote weight > 1
• Ranked-Choice – Preference ranking
• Delegated – Vote delegation chains

• TypeScript throughout
• REST API with clear contracts
• Shared crypto library (@anonvote/crypto)
• Extensively documented codebase

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│    React Frontend (Vite)                │
│  Ballot creation, voting, results view  │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │ REST API
                  ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│    Express Backend (Node.js)            │
│  • Ballot management                    │
│  • Token issuance                       │
│  • Vote encryption & tallying           │
│  • Audit logging                        │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │
          ┌───────┴────────┐
          ▼                ▼
    ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐
    │  PostgreSQL  │  │ Stellar Chain  │
    │              │  │                │
    │ • Ballots    │  │ • Audit Trail  │
    │ • Votes      │  │ • Verification │
    │ • Tokens     │  │ • Governance   │
    │ • Results    │  │ (Soroban)      │
    └──────────────┘  └────────────────┘

# Clone the main repository
git clone https://github.com/AnonVote/core.git
cd core

# Backend setup
cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run prisma:migrate
npm run dev

# Frontend setup (new terminal)
cd ../frontend
npm install
npm run dev

# Visit http://localhost:5173

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL 14+
• (Optional) Rust + Stellar CLI for smart contract work

📖 See core/README.md for full setup instructions

Admin creates a ballot with options, deadline, and eligibility list

• Voter enters identifier (email, employee ID, etc.)
• System verifies eligibility
• One-time random token generated
• Token sent via email; original never stored in DB

• Voter uses token to submit vote choice
• Vote encrypted with AES-256-GCM
• Encrypted payload stored; vote content never visible
• Event recorded on Stellar

• Admin closes ballot at deadline
• System decrypts votes and counts them
• Result published to PostgreSQL + Stellar + Soroban
• Consistency verified: tokens_issued == votes_cast

Anyone can verify the result by checking the Stellar transaction ID or querying the Soroban contract

Voter Identifier → SHA-256 hash → stored only as hash
                                    ↓
                    Generate cryptographic token
                                    ↓
Token → SHA-256 hash → stored only as hash
        (original token → given to voter, discarded)
                                    ↓
Vote Option → AES-256-GCM encrypt → stored encrypted
              (decrypted only at tally)

Result: No link between voter identity, token, and ballot choice exists anywhere.

✅ JWT authentication for organizations
✅ Rate limiting on token requests
✅ Duplicate attempt tracking (audit events only)
✅ Vote consistency verification
✅ M-of-N governance for critical operations
✅ 48-hour timelock on smart contract upgrades
✅ Immutable audit trail on Stellar

• Corporate governance – Board elections, shareholder votes
• Academic institutions – Student government, faculty voting
• Nonprofits – Member voting, annual elections
• DAOs – Decentralized autonomous organizations
• Public polls – Surveys with privacy guarantees
• Team decisions – Agile retrospectives, sprint planning

• React 18, Vite, TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS, Radix UI
• Axios for HTTP

• Express.js 4.18, Node.js
• TypeScript
• Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL
• JWT authentication
• stellar-sdk v12

• Rust, Soroban SDK
• WebAssembly (wasm32-unknown-unknown)
• Stellar blockchain
• M-of-N governance

• SHA-256 (identifier/token hashing)
• AES-256-GCM (vote encryption)
• CSPRNG (token generation)

We'd love your help! Areas for contribution:

• Frontend – React components, UX/UI improvements
• Backend – API enhancements, performance optimization
• Smart Contracts – Rust/Soroban contract work
• Crypto – @anonvote/crypto enhancements
• Documentation – Guides, tutorials, specs
• Testing – Unit tests, integration tests, property-based tests
• Security – Audits, vulnerability reports

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

AnonVote is designed for transparency and auditability:

• Open source – All code publicly available
• No black boxes – Every component auditable
• Formal privacy model – Published whitepaper
• Blockchain verified – Independent verification possible

Please email security@anonvote.app (do not post publicly)

• Core Docs – Setup, API reference, deployment
• Crypto Docs – Cryptographic primitives
• Contract Docs – Smart contract guide
• Whitepaper – Formal specification

Q: Do voters need an account?
A: No. Voters only need the ballot link and their identifier (email, employee ID, etc.).

Q: Is my vote really private?
A: Yes. Cryptographically. Your identifier → hashed. Token → hashed. Vote → encrypted. No joins exist.

Q: Can the admin see how I voted?
A: No. Votes are encrypted. Admins see only aggregate results.

Q: How do I verify the results?
A: Check the Stellar transaction ID on Stellar Expert. Query the Soroban contract. Independent verification is the whole point.

Q: Can I self-host AnonVote?
A: Yes! It's open source. See DEPLOYMENT.md.

Q: Is it free?
A: Yes, open source MIT licensed. Only costs are Stellar testnet (free) or mainnet (tiny XLM fees).

AnonVote uses the Stellar blockchain for:

• ⛓️ Immutable audit trails
• 🔐 Decentralized verification
• 💰 Low-cost transactions
• 🚀 High throughput
• 🌐 Global network

Learn more about Stellar

• Discord – Join our community
• Email – hello@anonvote.app
• Security – security@anonvote.app
• Issues – GitHub Issues
• Discussions – GitHub Discussions

AnonVote is MIT licensed – free to use, modify, and distribute.

View License