VoteHost Elections is a free, open-source platform for running organizational elections on infrastructure you manage. It supports single-choice, multiple-choice, ranked-choice voting using IRV or STV, and open-text comments. Votes can be weighted by shares, membership class, or unit while preserving ballot anonymity. The site says ballots are stored without a link to voters, so database access does not reveal individual choices. Election tools include write-in nominations, quorum tracking, candidate-order randomization for each voter, reminders, and results emails. Voters use a unique email magic link and need no account or password. Results can be exported as CSV, XLSX, or PDF, with an anonymized JSON audit package also available. Email integrations include standard SMTP providers and Resend. Deployment options include a Raspberry Pi, mini PC, VPS, or Proxmox LXC. Requirements include Linux, Docker Engine, and Docker Compose v2; the minimum is 2 GB RAM and 12 GB disk, with 4 GB RAM and 20 GB disk recommended. The listed Free plan is 0.00 USD per free.
Who it is for
VoteHost Elections suits organizations that want to run elections on infrastructure they manage, including HOAs, co-ops, unions, clubs, nonprofits, and student governments. It may also suit groups needing weighted or ranked-choice ballots.
What is good
- Ballots are recorded without a link to voters.
- Supports single, multiple, ranked, and open-text ballots.
- Voters need no account or password.
- Exports include CSV, XLSX, PDF, and anonymized JSON.
- Free and open source.
What to know first
- Requires Linux, Docker Engine, and Docker Compose v2.
- Minimum requirements include 2 GB RAM and 12 GB disk.
- Organizations must manage their own deployment.
Verdict
VoteHost Elections provides varied ballot formats, anonymous voting, and election tools for organizations running their own deployment. Its technical requirements and self-hosted setup are important considerations.
VoteHost Elections plans and pricing
All plansCompared on online voting software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Voter authentication
- basic
- Ballot types
- ranked_choice
- Anonymous ballots
- Yes
- Audit trail
- Yes
- Result export
- csv
