National Voting Platform

A secure and responsive online voting platform where users can participate in national polls and discussions. Built with PHP, MySQL, and modern web technologies.

Features

• User Authentication System

  • Secure registration and login
  • Password hashing and validation
  • Session management
  • Role-based access control (Admin/User)

• Poll Management

  • Create and manage polls
  • Multiple choice options
  • Poll status control (Draft/Active/Closed)
  • Real-time vote counting
  • Prevention of duplicate voting

• Discussion System

  • Comment on active polls
  • Real-time updates
  • User attribution
  • Moderation capabilities

• Admin Dashboard

  • Create and manage polls
  • Monitor voting statistics
  • Manage user comments
  • View poll results

• Security Features

  • SQL injection prevention
  • XSS protection
  • CSRF protection
  • Secure session handling
  • Input validation and sanitization

Requirements

• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher
• Web server (Apache/Nginx)
• Modern web browser

Installation

1. Clone the repository to your web server directory:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/national-voting-platform.git

2. Create a MySQL database and import the schema:

   mysql -u your_username -p < database.sql

3. Configure the database connection:

   • Open config/database.php
   • Update the database credentials:

     define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
     define('DB_USER', 'your_username');
     define('DB_PASS', 'your_password');
     define('DB_NAME', 'voting_platform');

4. Set up the web server:

   • Configure your web server to point to the project directory
   • Ensure PHP has write permissions for session handling
   • Enable mod_rewrite if using Apache

5. Default admin credentials:

   • Email: admin@example.com
   • Password: Admin@123

Security Considerations

• Change the default admin password immediately after installation
• Use HTTPS for secure data transmission
• Regularly update dependencies
• Monitor server logs for suspicious activity
• Implement rate limiting for login attempts
• Use strong password policies

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For support, please open an issue in the GitHub repository or contact the development team.