One vote per person (as best as tech allows)
Session tokens, rate limits, and IP hashing work together to keep repeat voting in check without storing raw IPs.
Trust & Integrity
Community input only matters if it’s protected from abuse and handled honestly. Here’s exactly how voting and surveys work on the STX Vets Campus platform — no black boxes, no surprises.
Why We Built Our Own System
Off-the-shelf polling tools hide the mechanics and leave room for manipulation. We built our own voting and survey stack so participation is fair, transparent, and verifiable — and so we can show our work when questions come up.
Safeguards That Run on Every Vote
Hashed identifiers
Client signals (IP, user agent, device hints) are salted and hashed. No raw IP addresses are kept in storage.
Flood detection
Spikes or unusual patterns automatically trigger tighter controls and can pause result visibility until reviewed.
Adaptive CAPTCHA
Most people never see a challenge. It only appears when traffic looks automated or abusive.
Quarantine & Audit Trail
If activity crosses a risk threshold, votes can be quarantined. They are not discarded — they are flagged for review.
- Quarantined votes stay out of public results until an admin reviews them
- Release or discard actions require an admin and are fully logged
- Every moderation action leaves an audit record for accountability
Transparency by Design
Clear rules on every poll
Eligibility, duration, and visibility are stated up front so participants know how their input will be used.
Result visibility options
Polls can display live results, reveal after closing, or stay admin-only. The setting is visible to participants.
Admin actions are traceable
Any change — publishing, pausing, releasing quarantined votes — is logged with who did it and when.
What This Is — and Isn’t
Our system is built to gather honest community input and sentiment. It is not a formal election system or a replacement for legal governance processes. Technology helps, but trust comes from clear rules and public accountability.
If we ever change how voting works, we will state it clearly, publicly, and ahead of time. Trust isn’t claimed — it’s earned.