Trusted third party charter

Purpose

This charter sets out what Condorcet.Vote undertakes when it acts as the trusted third party of an election and, just as importantly, what it does not undertake. It supplements the terms of use and the terms of sale, which prevail in the event of a contradiction. The undertakings in the "Official offer" section apply only to elections marked Official.

What "trusted third party" means here

We hold the ballot box in the organizer’s place, while remaining outside their organization and their candidates. That position rests on two verifiable things: the public register lets no one link a ballot to a voter, and it lets anyone recount the result without us. To be plain about it: this is neither an accreditation, nor a certification issued by an authority, nor a label. No public body has approved the platform. What we bring is a position of exteriority, demonstrable technical properties, and the written undertakings below.

What is guaranteed on every election, free ones included

These four guarantees do not depend on your offer: they are in the product.

Ballot secrecy

The ballot is signed in the voter’s browser. The public register lets no one link a ballot to a voter: that rests on the protocol, not on our good faith. On our side, we store no link between the two. Only non-anonymous voting, which the organizer deliberately enables, publishes that link.

Public register

The signed ballots, the attendance record and the result are published as hash-chained, signed blocks, open to every voter.

Independent recount

The count can be redone from the register with software that is not ours. A result that did not match the published ballots would show.

Neutrality

We take no part in the content of an election, in its result, or in arbitrating a dispute between the organizer and their voters.

What the Official offer adds

On an election marked Official, we further undertake to produce the following and to assist you if the result is challenged.

Attestation

A document signed by us, describing the election as the platform ran it.

Register export

The election’s full register in a usable format, together with the digests needed to verify its integrity.

Detailed technical note

A written note answering the specific questions a challenge raises: what the register proves, what it does not, and how to check it.

Exchanges with your counsel

We answer the technical questions of your lawyer or expert, in writing or in a meeting.

Written statement

Where relevant, a written statement of the technical facts known to us, intended to be produced.

What the attestation says, and what it does not

The attestation covers technical facts: the identity of the election, its dates, the tally method used, the number of registered voters and of ballots collected, the digests of the published blocks and the key that signed them. It passes no judgment on the legal soundness of the election: we do not know whether your quorum was met under your bylaws, whether your notice of meeting was valid, or whether your electoral roll was the right one. Those questions belong to the organizer and, where applicable, to a court.

How assistance works

Write to contact@condorcet.vote naming the election concerned. We acknowledge it and answer on the substance within three business days. Assistance is provided up to eight hours of work per election; beyond that we agree a quote together, rather than letting the undertaking quietly thin out. It stays open for twelve months from the close of the election.

The limits of this undertaking

A credible undertaking is a bounded one. Here is what this charter does not cover.

No legal advice

We are not lawyers and give no legal opinion. We explain technical facts; legal strategy belongs to your counsel.

No representation

We do not represent you before a court, an authority or a meeting.

No guarantee of outcome

We do not guarantee the outcome of a challenge, nor that an election will not be annulled. An election can be annulled for reasons that have nothing to do with the platform.

No indemnity for an annulment

The consequences of an annulment (a fresh election, costs, postponed decisions) are not indemnified under this charter. Liability remains governed by the terms of use.

No audit of your organization

We do not review your bylaws, your internal process or the composition of your electoral roll, and we do not attest to their compliance.

Our independence, in practice

Being a third party is only worth something if it also holds against whoever pays. So we apply the same rule to every side: the technical material we produce describes the election as it was run, with no favourable framing. If a voter or a challenger asks us about an election, we tell them how to verify the register themselves, exactly as we would tell the organizer. And we do not withdraw or alter an already-published register at an organizer’s request: that would destroy the very guarantee they bought.

If the mistake is ours

In the event of a technical incident affecting an election, we inform the organizer, describe what happened and what it affects, and record it. If the incident touches the integrity or the availability of a published register, we publish a technical note: a verifiable register whose flaws were concealed would be worth nothing.

Scope and governing law

This charter is a contractual undertaking by Condorcet.Vote towards the organizer of an Official election; it creates no right for voters or third parties. It is governed by French law; the courts of Paris have jurisdiction, subject to the mandatory rules of jurisdiction applicable to consumers.