Open-source, blockchain-based direct democracy for communities.
VoteBoxApp is a mobile governance platform built on Cardano and IPFS that enables communities to create proposals and vote on them transparently — one person, one vote, no token-weighting, no corporate platform dependency.
- Features
- Tech Stack
- Project Structure
- Getting Started
- Roadmap
- Sustainability
- Funding
- Contributing
- License
- Background
- Contact
- One person, one vote — no token-weighting, no wealth advantage, ever
- On-chain proposals — proposal hashes recorded permanently on Cardano
- IPFS content storage — decentralised, censorship-resistant proposal data
- Free voting — proposal creation costs a small ADA fee; voting is always free
- Biometric authentication — Expo LocalAuthentication for secure, private access
- 15-language support — i18next internationalisation via DeepL API
- Offline-capable — failed operations queued locally, no data loss
- Low-bandwidth design — targets 2G connectivity on low-end Android hardware
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Mobile | React Native + Expo SDK 54 (TypeScript) |
| Blockchain | Cardano (preprod testnet → mainnet at launch) |
| Smart Contracts | Aiken (Cardano validator language) — in development |
| Content Storage | IPFS via Storacha REST API |
| Chain reads | Blockfrost API |
| Auth | Expo LocalAuthentication + expo-secure-store |
| i18n | i18next + DeepL API (15 languages) |
| Notifications | Expo Notifications |
VoteBoxApp/
├── src/
│ ├── components/ # Reusable UI components
│ ├── hooks/ # Custom React hooks
│ ├── screens/ # Screen-level components
│ ├── services/ # Blockchain, IPFS, auth, discussion services
│ └── utils/ # Shared utilities
├── contracts/ # Aiken smart contracts (in development)
├── assets/ # Images and fonts
├── App.jsx # Application entry point
├── app.json # Expo configuration
└── package.json
git clone https://github.com/Archaico/VoteBoxApp.git
cd VoteBoxApp
npm install
npx expo startAndroid (device): Enable USB Debugging, connect your device, then:
npx expo start --android- Navigation: Splash → Auth → ProposalList → Voting → CreateProposal → Discussions
- Biometric authentication
- IPFS proposal storage (Storacha REST API)
- Discussion service architecture
- Fix auth persistence, proposal cache, comment bleed, cross-device sync
- Complete Cardano wallet integration
- Wire Blockfrost API for chain reads
- Aiken smart contract: proposal fee validator with immutable founder fee constant
- On-chain proposal submission transaction
- On-chain vote transaction
- Blockfrost-based vote verification
- i18n wiring (15 languages live)
- Discord discussion integration
- Skeleton loaders, haptics, safe area polish
- SBT reputation system (Soulbound Tokens on Cardano)
- DAO treasury governance
VoteBoxApp funds ongoing development through a protocol fee embedded in the on-chain smart contract. A small ADA fee is required to submit a proposal; voting is always free.
A fixed percentage of each proposal fee is allocated as a Perpetual Founder Fee (PFF) to fund the original developer, with the remainder flowing to the DAO community treasury. This allocation is an immutable constant in the Aiken validator — publicly auditable by anyone on the Cardano blockchain, and unchangeable without full community visibility.
Revenue is generated by the protocol, not by proprietary code. The entire codebase is AGPLv3 open source.
VoteBoxApp has applied for funding from:
- NLnet NGI Zero Commons Fund — open internet infrastructure grant
- Intersect MBO (Cardano ecosystem grants) — rolling applications
If you would like to support the project directly:
- Patreon — Life Ground Community
- Cardano ADA donations: contact lifegroundcommunity@gmail.com
Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. All contributions are automatically licensed under AGPLv3.
All source code in this repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3).
This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute this software — including for commercial purposes — provided that any modified version offered as a network service is also published under AGPLv3.
See LICENSE for the full legal text.
See LICENSE-EXCEPTIONS.md for documentation licensing
and protocol fee transparency notes.
VoteBoxApp is the technical realisation of The Seed — Blueprint for a Better Society, a framework for community-led governance written by the project founder.
Robert Rothe — Founder, Life Ground Community
Email: lifegroundcommunity@gmail.com
Website: voteboxapp.com
X: @TheLifeGround