VoteHost Elections
VoteHost Elections: A flexible election platform with strong ballot secrecy and audit exports. Ranked #5 of 31 in Online Voting Software by our editors (8.7/10); pricing: Free plan; best for self-hosted elections with strong audit exports.
At a glance
- Editor score8.7 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forSelf-hosted elections with strong audit exports
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Voter authenticationBasic
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Secret ballots separate voter identity from submitted ballots
- Supports IRV, STV, weighted voting, quorum tracking, and write-ins
- Exports CSV, XLSX, PDF, and anonymized JSON audit packages
Where it doesn't
- Voter authentication is limited to single-use email magic links
- Requires Linux-based self-hosted deployment and administration
- Platform integrations focus on hosting, networking, and email delivery
Our verdict on VoteHost Elections
VoteHost Elections is a self-hosted, open-source voting platform for organizations running board elections, member votes, referendums, and similar ballots. Administrators manage elections and voter rosters through a web interface, while voters receive single-use magic links by email without accounts or passwords. It runs on Linux-based hardware, including Raspberry Pi devices, mini PCs, VPS instances, and Proxmox LXC containers. The product is suited to organizations that want control over deployment and election records rather than a hosted voting service.
Its strongest area is election structure and auditability. Secret ballots keep voter identity separate from the submitted ballot, while ranked-choice counting supports both IRV and STV. Weighted voting can reflect shares, membership classes, or units, and administrators can configure quorum thresholds by percentage or fixed count. Write-in candidates, nomination workflows, per-voter deterministic candidate randomization, activity logging, and automated reminders and result announcements broaden its coverage for formal organizational elections. CSV, XLSX, PDF, and anonymized JSON audit-package exports support review and record keeping after an election.
Deployment flexibility comes with a narrower authentication model. VoteHost Elections integrates with SMTP and Resend for email, and with Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale Funnel, nginx, Caddy, and Traefik for access and routing. The published setup options fit teams comfortable maintaining Linux infrastructure and configuring email and network access. Organizations seeking secret ballots, ranked-choice methods, weighted participation, quorum tracking, and detailed exports should consider it. Teams that need more advanced voter authentication or prefer a fully managed election service should choose an alternative.
Questions about VoteHost Elections
What does VoteHost Elections run on? Web and Linux. It runs self-hosted and in the cloud.
What does VoteHost Elections integrate with? 7 integrations, including Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale Funnel, SMTP, Resend and nginx.
Who is VoteHost Elections built for? Small businesses and mid-market companies (our editorial estimate).
Your product? Our editors can test VoteHost Elections in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
VoteHost Elections pricing
VoteHost Elections fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Voter authentication | Basic |
| Ballot types | Ranked_choice |
| Anonymous ballots | Yes |
| Audit trail | Yes |
| Voter limit | Not verified |
| Election limit | Not verified |
| Result export | Csv |
| Deployment | Self-hosted, Cloud |
| Platforms | Web, Linux |
| Support | Community, Docs |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 7 integrations: Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale Funnel, SMTP, Resend, nginx, Caddy … |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | votehostelections.org |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
VoteHost Elections integrations
VoteHost Elections lists 7 integrations on its own site.
- Cloudflare Tunnel
- Tailscale Funnel
- SMTP
- Resend
- nginx
- Caddy
- Traefik
Alternatives to VoteHost Elections
- Simply VotingA strong fit for organizations running verified elections with ranked-choice ballots.9.4
- ElectionBuddyA flexible voting platform with broad ballot methods and pay-per-use plans.9.2
- BeleniosA free, self-hostable voting system with strong verification and a technical focus.9.0
See all VoteHost Elections alternatives →
VoteHost Elections vs the competition
- VoteHost Elections vs Simply Voting
- VoteHost Elections vs ElectionBuddy
- VoteHost Elections vs Belenios
- VoteHost Elections vs BigPulse
- VoteHost Elections vs POLYAS
- VoteHost Elections vs Voteer
Compare VoteHost Elections with any tool side by side →
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Featured on iTechGuides
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026
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