OVS 2.0 - Online Voting System using Blockchain

A secure, transparent, and decentralized online voting system built with blockchain technology to ensure vote integrity and prevent tampering.

🚀 Features

• Blockchain-based Security: Custom blockchain implementation with SHA-256 hashing and proof-of-work consensus
• Email OTP Verification: Secure user registration with email-based OTP verification
• Admin Panel: Token-based administrative interface for managing organizations and voting sessions
• Organization Management: Dynamic addition and removal of participating organizations
• Real-time Vote Tracking: Live vote counting with blockchain verification
• Tamper-proof Results: Immutable vote records stored on blockchain
• Web Interface: User-friendly web interface for voting and administration

🏗️ Architecture

The system consists of several key components:

Core Components

• FastAPI Server (main.py): Main application server handling voting logic
• Blockchain Engine (blockchainfolder/chain.py): Custom blockchain implementation
• User Registration (Varified_gmail_and_password/): Flask-based OTP verification system
• Web Interface (templates/, static/): HTML/CSS frontend

Data Storage

• User Database: JSON-based user storage with encrypted passwords
• Organization Config: Text-based configuration for participating organizations
• Blockchain Data: In-memory blockchain with persistent vote records

📋 Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Gmail account for OTP email service (or SMTP server)
• Internet connection for email verification

🛠️ Installation

Quick Setup (Recommended)

Linux/macOS:

git clone https://github.com/Akashbht/OVS_2.O.git
cd OVS_2.O
./setup.sh

Windows:

git clone https://github.com/Akashbht/OVS_2.O.git
cd OVS_2.O
setup.bat

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Akashbht/OVS_2.O.git
   cd OVS_2.O

2. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure email settings

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your email credentials

4. Set up configuration files

   cp config/organizations.example.txt config/organizations.txt
   cp Varified_gmail_and_password/users.example.json Varified_gmail_and_password/users.json

🚀 Usage

Starting the Application

1. Start the main voting server

   python main.py

   The server will start on http://localhost:8000

2. Start the registration server (optional, for new user registration)

   cd Varified_gmail_and_password
   python server.py

   Registration server will start on http://localhost:5000

Admin Operations

1. Access Admin Panel

   • Navigate to http://localhost:8000/admin
   • Use the admin token displayed in the console

2. Managing Organizations

   • Add new organizations via the admin panel
   • Delete organizations using the admin interface

3. Controlling Voting

   • Start voting session: POST to /admin/start with admin token
   • Stop voting session: POST to /admin/stop with admin token

Voting Process

1. User Registration (if not already registered)

   • Visit registration portal
   • Provide email, name, age, and password
   • Verify email via OTP

2. Casting Vote

   • Navigate to the main voting page
   • Enter user credentials
   • Select organization using organization code
   • Submit vote (creates blockchain entry)

3. View Results

   • Access /getvotes for total vote count
   • Access /getvotesbyorg for organization-wise results (after voting ends)

🔧 API Endpoints

Voting Endpoints

• GET / - Main voting interface
• POST /voter/vote - Cast a vote
• GET /getOrgDetail - Get organization details

Admin Endpoints

• GET /admin - Admin panel interface
• POST /admin/login - Admin authentication
• POST /admin/start - Start voting session
• POST /admin/stop - Stop voting session
• POST /admin/add_organization - Add new organization
• POST /admin/delete_organization - Remove organization

Results Endpoints

• GET /getvotes - Get total vote count
• GET /getvotesbyorg - Get votes by organization

🔐 Security Features

• Blockchain Integrity: Each vote creates a new block with cryptographic hash
• Proof of Work: Mining difficulty ensures computational cost for tampering
• User Authentication: Email verification and password protection
• Admin Security: Token-based administrative access
• Vote Immutability: Once cast, votes cannot be modified or deleted

📁 Project Structure

OVS_2.O/
├── main.py                          # Main FastAPI application
├── requirements.txt                 # Python dependencies
├── Procfile                        # Heroku deployment configuration
├── blockchainfolder/
│   └── chain.py                    # Blockchain implementation
├── Varified_gmail_and_password/
│   ├── server.py                   # Flask registration server
│   ├── otp.py                      # OTP generation and email
│   ├── users.json                  # User database
│   └── templates/                  # Registration templates
├── templates/                      # Main app HTML templates
│   ├── item.html                   # Voting interface
│   ├── confirm.html               # Vote confirmation
│   ├── admin_login.html           # Admin login
│   └── admin_panel.html           # Admin dashboard
├── static/                         # CSS and static files
│   ├── style.css                   # Main styling
│   └── confirm.css                 # Confirmation page styling
├── config/                         # Configuration files
│   ├── organizations.txt           # Organization data
│   └── token.txt                   # Admin token
├── dbfolder/
│   └── userdata.py                 # Additional user data
├── utils.py                        # Utility functions
├── user_data.py                    # User data management
├── otp.py                          # OTP utilities
└── test.py                         # Blockchain testing

🧪 Testing

Run the blockchain test to verify functionality:

python test.py

🌐 Deployment

The application is ready for deployment on platforms like Heroku:

1. Ensure Procfile is configured correctly
2. Set environment variables for email configuration
3. Deploy using your preferred platform

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🛡️ Disclaimer

This is an educational project demonstrating blockchain concepts in voting systems. For production use, additional security measures and extensive testing would be required.

👥 Authors

• Akashbht - Initial work - Akashbht

🔗 Links

• Repository
• Issues
• Pull Requests