Private by design
The option you pick is designed never to be a readable field in a transaction or a database. Receipts are hashes, designed so they don't show how you voted.
Open source · Not for profit · Self-hostable
Ballots designed so nobody can read them.
ZK-Voting lets any group run its own elections and polls. When creating one, the operator chooses a poll or a vote and whether re-voting is allowed. That setting can't be changed afterward. Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule for both kinds. A poll also publishes per-choice counts on that schedule once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or at the scheduled end, whichever comes first. A vote publishes choices only at the deadline. Zero-knowledge proofs are designed to show that only eligible people voted, each one once, and that the published tally matches the ballots (tests currently use a mock verifier). Individual choices are designed not to be published.
- 0choices published
- 1counted ballot per voter
- 100%of the tally checkable by anyone
- $0to voters: no token, no fees
The big picture
Many civic L2s, one shared record on Ethereum
Anyone can run a civic L2 for their own elections. Each one batches votes and settles them to Ethereum L1, so the record outlives any single operator.
Macro view
- Anyone can run a civic L2, and there's no limit on how many exist.
- Each L2 can hold any number of elections.
- Every L2 settles its vote batches to Ethereum L1, keyed by
hash(L2 ID, election UUID). - Results can be rebuilt from the L2's data or from the L1 record.
L2 view: one election team
- Voters at the edge vote for free.
- Only pre-approved voters are accepted. The prover rejects everyone else. (with the mock verifier in tests, this check is not yet enforced)
- The sequencer and prover batch the votes.
- The operator's minimally funded L1 key pays to submit each batch to L1.
- The L2 ID is bound to the operator key plus a salt, and election UUIDs are unique within the L2.
Why it matters
Most elections still ask voters, candidates and courts to trust a few operators: who is on the roll, who was turned away, whether a ballot was counted, whether the result matches. ZK-Voting turns those claims into things anyone can check.
Publicly verifiable
Registrations and disqualification codes are public. Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule for both kinds. A poll also publishes per-choice counts on that schedule once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or at the scheduled end, whichever comes first. A published hourly block is designed to stay as first published. A vote's choices stay sealed until the deadline. An independent auditor is designed to be able to rebuild a published result without the operator's private database.
One person, one vote
Every ballot carries a proof that the voter is on the frozen roll and not disqualified. The operator decides at creation whether re-voting is allowed, and that setting can't be changed afterward. If it is allowed, the last ballot before the deadline counts. If not, a second ballot is rejected.
Built to resist coercion
Nothing a voter is given is designed to prove their choice to someone pressuring them. Choose a vote when a running choice count would add pressure. Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule, as in a poll. A poll also publishes per-choice counts on that schedule once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or at the scheduled end, whichever comes first. The choices stay encrypted until the deadline. If the operator allowed re-voting at creation, a voter can replace their ballot until then.
Due process for disqualification
Barring someone is a public, coded, on-chain change with a stated reason, not a silent database flag.
No vendor lock-in
AGPL-licensed, run at cost, built to be forked and rebranded. Your group owns the node, the roll and the record.
Who it's for
Any body that needs a roll, a ballot and a result people will accept.
Cities, counties and districts
Run civic elections and referendums with nested districts, measures and articles. Observers follow turnout while the election is open and the choices after the deadline.
Unions and member associations
Hold leadership elections and contract ratification votes where members trust the count without trusting the officers.
Cooperatives and boards
Take board votes and member polls, including weighted and ranked-choice ballots, with an auditable outcome report.
Schools and campuses
Run student government and faculty votes with passkey sign-in and a ballot that's accessible on any device.
Communities and clubs
Quick yes/no, single-choice or multiple-choice polls for any group that wants a private ballot and an honest show of hands. Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule for both kinds. A poll also publishes per-choice counts on that schedule once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or at the scheduled end, whichever comes first.
Observers and auditors
Follow registrations and disqualification codes on the public explorer, and verify an outcome report once that contest is allowed to show it. Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule for both kinds. A poll also publishes per-choice counts on that schedule once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or at the scheduled end, whichever comes first. A vote publishes choices only at the deadline.
How it works
Zero-knowledge proofs let the system check facts about a voter without putting the ballot in the clear. What anyone can see, and when, depends on the kind the creator chose.
Poll vs Vote
The creator chooses a poll or a vote. A poll publishes per-choice counts hourly, with a 30-minute delay, after a gate. A vote keeps choices sealed until the deadline. Both end with one final batch, a challenge window, and the final tally.
Poll
Hourly per-choice counts, 30 minutes delayed, after the gate.
- Counts stay hidden until 100 voters have cast their first ballot or the scheduled end arrives, whichever comes first.
- After that gate, per-choice counts publish for each hourly block, 30 minutes after the hour closes.
- An hour with fewer than 10 ballots merges forward until a block has at least 10.
- Published hourly blocks never change: each block is designed to stay as first published. Replacement ballots, if re-voting is allowed, show up only in the final tally.
Vote
Choices stay sealed until the deadline.
- Choices stay sealed until the deadline.
- They are designed to be decrypted only as an aggregate, by k-of-n guardians. The design gives the operator no key share.
- Choices are encrypted to a public key posted on the L2.
- The matching private key is split among the guardians with Shamir secret sharing, designed so no single party, including the operator, can decrypt early.
- There are no interim per-choice counts.
Both
- The operator decides at creation whether re-voting is allowed, and that setting can't be changed afterward. If it is allowed, the last ballot before the deadline counts. If not, a second ballot is rejected.
- Every ballot, including a re-vote, gets a receipt.
- Turnout is published on a delayed hourly schedule, with no padding.
- Ballots batch hourly while open, one final batch goes to L1 at the deadline, and one supplementary batch is posted before the tally.
- A challenge window, which must be longer than zero, comes before the final tally.
How a ballot moves
A poll publishes hourly results after the batch. A vote stays sealed and shows turnout only. The deadline, the challenge window, and the final tally are shared.
- 1
Register
Members sign up with a passkey, wallet, email or ID. The roll stores an identity commitment, never an address or document number.
- 2
Freeze the roll
Officials commit the eligible set and any disqualifications for the election.
- 3
Vote with a proof
Each ballot proves eligibility. The operator decides at creation whether re-voting is allowed, and that setting can't be changed afterward. If it is allowed, the last ballot before the deadline counts. If not, a second ballot is rejected.
- 4
While it is open
A poll publishes per-choice counts once 100 voters have cast their first ballot, or the scheduled end arrives, whichever comes first. Each hour publishes 30 minutes after it closes. An hour with fewer than 10 ballots merges forward until a block has at least 10. A vote publishes turnout on the same delayed hourly schedule and keeps choices sealed.
- 5
After the closing date
No more ballots are accepted. A poll's published hourly blocks are designed to stay as first published. If re-voting was allowed, replacement ballots show up only in the final tally. A vote's choices are designed to be decrypted only as an aggregate by k-of-n guardians. One final batch goes to L1 at the deadline, then a challenge window, then the final tally. Anyone can check that the published totals match the accepted ballots.
Run it yourself
Your group runs its own node with Docker Compose, Coolify, Dokploy or CapRover, optionally kept private behind a Tailscale sidecar. Every node serves its self-hosting guides at /docs.
Day-to-day activity lands on the ZK-Voting L2, a purpose-built civic sequencer and prover that settles to Ethereum. Final tallies can be mirrored on Ethereum mainnet.
# run your own node
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d --build
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:3000/health
Honest status
ZK-Voting is under active development. Tests use a mock verifier, the first proving path is in progress and the trusted-setup ceremony hasn't happened yet. Don't use it for a binding election today.
Passing a vote never auto-executes anything. Outcomes are verifiable; acting on them stays with the people.
community.zk-voting.org
Talk about how your group could use it
The community forum is where people discuss real use cases, ask questions about running a node, and shape what gets built next.