Voting

warning

This feature is currently in the experimental stage of development. Do not use it in production environments or presume it is secure. Expect breaking changes.

The MDIP protocol allows for near-endless forms of communication. This page covers the "group" and "poll" set of commands provided by the kc CLI tool, which demonstrate how MDIP can be used to perform secure voting.

In the examples below, we'll create a poll to decide the best flavor of ice cream.

Voting Groups

Groups are simply collections of identity DIDs that are allowed to cast votes in a poll.

Create a new group:

kc group-create icecream-tasters
did:mdip:klf75KJH6LKlh654LP4C7hexSVfDhFcSiZr8xfS1tg

Add members to the polling group using their DID:

kc group-add icecream-tasters did:mdip:z3v8AuzzXKfwrt4Y3AAbDaGqLNgyn1BDhP7wUFpEMEngmwYwjm8
{
  members: [
    'did:mdip:z3v8AuzzXKfwrt4Y3AAbDaGqLNgyn1BDhP7wUFpEMEngmwYwjm8'
  ],
  name: 'icecream-tasters'
}

Members can also be added using their aliased names:

kc group-add icecream-tasters alice
{
  members: [
    'did:mdip:z3v8AuzzXKfwrt4Y3AAbDaGqLNgyn1BDhP7wUFpEMEngmwYwjm8',
    'did:mdip:z3v8AuaZ6U4FwcfLA82aGf6n8qpwRtkKCStRMokvU4gSwHHHrzC'
  ],
  name: 'icecream-tasters'
}

If a member should be removed from a group, use kc group-remove with their DID or aliased name.

You can check to see if a DID is part of the group:
```
kc group-test icecream-tasters bob
false
```

Polls

Polls are DID objects that follow a provided template to provide options, and collect and summarize votes.

Create a JSON file to define the poll using the poll-template command:
```
kc poll-template > icecream-poll.json
```

Edit the poll file:

icecream-poll.json
{
    "type": "poll",
    "version": 1,
    "description": "Which flavor of ice cream is the best?",
    "roster": "did:mdip:klf75KJH6LKlh654LP4C7hexSVfDhFcSiZr8xfS1tg",
    "options": [
        "Chocolate",
        "Vanilla",
        "Strawberry",
        "Rocky Road",
        "Mint Chocolate Chip",
        "other"
    ],
    "deadline": "2024-04-23T18:26:58.675Z"
}

In the example above, the value of roster matches the DID of the group we created previously.

Using that file, create the poll:

kc poll-create icream-poll.json best-icecream-flavor

Anyone can now view the poll using the DID or an aliased name (if they create one locally):

kc poll-view best-icecream-flavor
{
    "description": "Which flavor of ice cream is the best?",
    "options": [
        "Chocolate",
        "Vanilla",
        "Strawberry",
        "Rocky Road",
        "Mint Chocolate Chip",
        "other"
    ],
    "deadline": "2024-04-23T18:26:58.675Z",
    "isOwner": true,
    "isEligible": true,
    "voteExpired": false,
    "hasVoted": false,
    "results": {
        "tally": [
            {
                "vote": 0,
                "option": "spoil",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 1,
                "option": "Chocolate",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 2,
                "option": "Vanilla",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 3,
                "option": "Strawberry",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 4,
                "option": "Rocky Road",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 5,
                "option": "Mint Chocolate Chip",
                "count": 0
            },
            {
                "vote": 6,
                "option": "other",
                "count": 0
            }
        ],
        "ballots": [],
        "votes": {
            "eligible": 2,
            "received": 0,
            "pending": 2
        },
        "final": false
    }
}

Members of the group can cast their vote using poll-vote:

kc poll-vote best-icecream-flavor 5
did:mdip:z3v8AuaYFc3SZXkXyYxBxdGb1EuC5hV2BcjfMhemYMg56ztyAJx

Once vote DIDs are collected, the poll controller can add them to the poll results with poll-update, using only the vote's (not the voter's) DID:
```
kc poll-update did:mdip:z3v8AuaYFc3SZXkXyYxBxdGb1EuC5hV2BcjfMhemYMg56ztyAJx
OK
```
The controller of the poll can publish the results with poll-publish:
```
kc poll-publish best-icecream-flavor
OK
```
This will publish the results without revealing the ballots. Anyone can resolve the poll's DID to view the results.
To make the votes in a poll public use poll-reveal:
```
kc poll-reveal best-icecream-flavor
OK
```
Now when anyone resolves the DID of the poll, each ballot will be included.

warning
Once the ballot DIDs are public, the DID which cast that vote is also revealed to the public.

Voting Groups​

Polls​

Voting Groups

Polls