Every stage recorded, not just the vote.
An election is a sequence of decisions, and most challenges target the decisions rather than the count. PollGuard moves an election through defined stages and keeps the record at each one.
The stages
An election advances through these states, and the system records who moved it and when.
- 01
Draft and publish
Set up the election, its positions, its rules and its timeline, then publish it to your members.
- 02
Nominations and vetting
Aspirants apply and submit documents. Officials clear or reject each one against your eligibility rules, and every decision is attributable.
- 03
Gazettement and campaigns
Publish the cleared candidate list, run the campaign period, and freeze the candidate register.
- 04
Voting
Open and close the poll on your schedule, with live turnout while it runs.
- 05
Tallying and results
Ballots are tallied per position using the configured method, with statistical anomaly checks available for review.
- 06
Disputes and certification
A defined dispute window lets challenges be filed and resolved on the record, before results are certified and the election is archived.
What the record does and does not prove
You will be able to show, for any decision in the cycle, what was decided, by which official, and when. That is a materially stronger position than a paper process, and it answers most challenges.
It is not, however, a cryptographic proof. Our activity log is an operational record: it is not currently hash-chained or digitally signed, so it should be presented as a system record rather than as tamper-evident evidence. We would rather you knew that before you rely on it in a hearing. See our security page for the full position.
Planning a full election cycle?
Bring us your timeline and rules and we will map them onto these stages with you.