Follow My Vote, Inc.

What Follow My Vote, Inc. does

Follow My Vote, Inc. was a Blacksburg, Virginia-based private company founded around 2014 that developed open source, end-to-end verifiable blockchain-based voting software. Its core technology combined elliptic curve cryptography with distributed ledger architecture, first integrating with the BitShares blockchain in October 2016 to deliver stake-weighted voting alongside approval and one-person-one-vote configurations. All code was released under GPLv3 or MIT licenses, and in January 2021 the company released its patent-pending voting architecture as a 'gift to humanity,' formally forfeiting any proprietary exclusivity.

The company's product surface targeted multiple segments: government-sponsored federal, state, and local elections (primary), homeowner associations, collegiate student governments, and proxy voting. Distribution was anchored on a self-serve open source model via GitHub, augmented by an optional fully managed, subscription-based hosted offering for non-technical buyers. In January 2021 the company pivoted toward smaller-scale deployment with Pollaris, a community polling application intended to validate the underlying platform, while continuing to pursue the elections-grade system. Marketing was content- and community-led, relying on thought-leadership blog content, podcast appearances, conference panels (notably Politicon 2016), and earned media coverage in Forbes, Nasdaq, and Network World.

The only known capital raised was approximately $71,366 across a 2016 Kickstarter ($21,366 from 137 backers supporting a Parallel Presidential Election Experience) and a small February 2016 round of undisclosed investors. The company never disclosed revenue, pricing, or paying customer counts, and operated with a 1-10 person team led by co-founder and CEO Adam Ernest and CTO Nathaniel Hourt. In September 2025, Follow My Vote announced the end of its effort to build an elections-grade blockchain voting system, effectively winding down the company's core mission.

Name

Follow My Vote, Inc.

Legal name

Follow My Vote, Inc.

Website

https://followmyvote.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Follow My Vote, Inc. developed open source, end-to-end verifiable blockchain voting software integrated with BitShares for government elections, HOAs, and student governments. The Blacksburg, VA company ceased primary operations in September 2025 after pivoting to community polling.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Voting Software

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

On-Chain Voting & Proposal Systems (FSAPAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Delegation, Representation & Voting Power Markets (FSAPAHAG), Governance Analytics, Reporting & Transparency Dashboards (FSAPAHAI), Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Blockchain voting software
• Online election platform
• Verifiable voting system
• Community polling app
• Open source governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Blacksburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Voting System Software: The company develops blockchain-based voting software intended for government-sponsored elections, HOAs, collegiate student governments, and proxy voting. Revenue model not explicitly stated as the company has pivoted away from elections-grade blockchain voting.
2. Pollaris Polling Application: Simple polling application for communities to establish consensus. Follow My Vote offers a fully supported and hosted option for customers who lack technical expertise or desire to manage their own instance.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Follow My Vote develops open-source, end-to-end verifiable blockchain voting software using elliptic curve cryptography and the BitShares distributed ledger, intended for government-sponsored elections, HOA voting, collegiate student government elections, and proxy voting. The company also offers Pollaris, a community polling application available as both a self-hosted open source product and a fully managed hosted service.

Product overview

Follow My Vote, Inc. is a Public Benefit Corporation developing blockchain-based voting and polling solutions. The core offering is an end-to-end verifiable blockchain voting platform that provides cryptographically secure, transparent online elections. The company also developed Pollaris, a polling application for communities such as HOAs and collegiate student governments. The flagship blockchain voting software was integrated with the BitShares blockchain. All software is developed as fully open source solutions with both self-hosted and company-hosted deployment options. The company pivoted from its initial elections-grade blockchain voting system goal in 2025, acknowledging that current technologies are inadequate to support full-scale government elections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blockchain Voting Platform End-to-end verifiable blockchain-based voting software designed for secure online government-sponsored elections, HOA voting, collegiate student government elections, and proxy voting. Uses distributed ledger technology and elliptic curve cryptography for transparency, immutability, and cryptographically secure voting.
• Stake-Weighted Voting Software Blockchain-based voting software integrated with the BitShares blockchain that implements stake-weighted voting mechanisms for organizational and shareholder decision-making.
• Pollaris Polling Application Simple polling application for communities to establish consensus on issues and gain insight into member sentiments. Offered as fully open source with both self-hosted and company-hosted (managed) deployment options for customers who lack technical expertise. Features self-describing software, a built-in tutorial mode, and integrated live support.

Quantifiable outcome

• First company to develop and launch blockchain voting software integrated with the BitShares blockchain
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Blacksburg PartnershipminorOthersLocal non-profit economic development organization focused on projects attracting visitors and prospects to the Blacksburg area. Follow My Vote sponsors community events organized by the Partnership including the Virginia Cheese Festival 5K Rat Race and Brew Do beer festival.
• Montgomery County Chamber of CommerceminorOthersFollow My Vote sponsored the 5th annual Bocce Ball Tournament hosted by MCCC. One-third of proceeds went toward the Chamber's Teacher of the Year fund, Career and Technical Education Sponsorship, and Mary T. Tutle Scholarship.
• Delta Sigma Pi at Virginia TechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the nation's largest coed professional business fraternities. Follow My Vote met with the organization to host a professional event on following your passion and starting your own business, with CEO Adam Ernest as the main speaker.
• Free and Equal Elections FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNon-partisan political organization that hosted the 'Are U.S. Elections Rigged?' panel at Politicon 2016. Follow My Vote CEO Adam Ernest participated as a panelist alongside other voting and political thought leaders.
• NuSparkminorOthersAn entrepreneurship space in Blacksburg, Virginia. Follow My Vote received press attention along with NuSpark from WSLS 10 news coverage in 2015.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Swarm: Decentralized governance platform named alongside Follow My Vote in Venture Radar's Top 25 non-financial blockchain startups; comparable governance/dispute-resolution use cases with a European footprint.
• Bitnation: Decentralized governance and 'virtual nation' platform previously co-acknowledged with Follow My Vote in blockchain-governance rankings; comparable focus on alternative governance models.

Emerging players

• Aragon: DAO governance and voting framework on Ethereum; comparable in providing on-chain voting and proposal systems but focused on Web3 organizations rather than public elections.
• Snapshot: Off-chain gasless voting platform widely used by DAOs; comparable on-chain-style governance functionality for decentralized communities, intersecting with Follow My Vote's governance focus.
• Tally: On-chain DAO voting and governance dashboard; comparable governance-analytics and transparency functionality relevant to Follow My Vote's governance-reporting features.
• Democracy Earth: Open-source, blockchain-based governance and liquid-democracy protocols; overlaps with Follow My Vote's governance and stake-weighted voting concepts but is positioned more as a Web3 civic infrastructure layer.

Direct peers

• Voatz: Blockchain/mobile-based remote voting platform targeting government elections; directly comparable mission to Follow My Vote in applying distributed-ledger technology to official public-sector voting.
• Polys: Blockchain-based online voting system from Kaspersky Labs targeting elections, boards, and community decisions; similar architecture and customer segments to Follow My Vote.
• Votem: Mobile and blockchain-enabled voting platform for associations, governments, and proxy voting; directly comparable to Follow My Vote's use cases (government, HOA, proxy).
• Horizon State: Blockchain-based decision-making and voting platform for organizations and governments; directly comparable technology stack and end-to-end verifiability claims.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FollowMyVote
• GitHubgithub.com/followmyvote
• YouTubeyoutube.com/followmyvote
• Facebookfacebook.com/FollowMyVote
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/follow-my-vote-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/followmyvote

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Follow My Vote, Inc.