Project Report: Election Portal

Date: 2025-12-05 Status: Operational / Development Python Version: 3.13.2

1. Project Overview

The Election Portal is a Django-based web application designed to manage candidate registrations for an election. It currently features a public-facing registration form that collects candidate details, validates eligibility (age), and stores the data in a MongoDB database.

2. Technology Stack

• Backend Framework: Django 5.2.9
• Database: MongoDB (Database name: election_portal_db)
• Database Connector: django-mongodb-backend (Modern connector compatible with Django 5+ and Python 3.13)
• Language: Python 3.13
• Frontend: Django Templates (HTML/CSS)
• Encryption: cryptography library (Fernet symmetric encryption)

3. Application Structure

The project consists of a main project folder election_portal and one application candidates.

Core Components

• candidates/models.py: Defines the Candidate data model.
  • Uses ObjectIdAutoField for MongoDB compatibility.
  • Fields: NIC, Name, Sinhala Name, DOB, Nomination Type, Party, Symbol (Image).
  • Validation: Enforces a minimum age of 35 years.
• candidates/views.py: Handles the logic.
  • register_candidate: Renders the form and handles POST submissions.
  • registration_success: Displays a success message.
• candidates/forms.py: ModelForm for the Candidate model.
• voting/models.py: Defines the Vote model.
  • Stores encrypted preferences.
• voting/views.py: Handles voting logic.
  • index: Renders the voting interface.
  • submit_vote: Encrypts and saves votes.
  • results: Decrypts and counts votes.
• election_portal/settings.py: Project configuration.
  • Configured for MongoDB.
  • Note: Django Admin and Auth apps are currently disabled to ensure compatibility with the non-relational MongoDB backend without complex user model customization.

4. Database Configuration

The project is configured to connect to a local MongoDB instance.

• Engine: django_mongodb_backend
• Host: localhost
• Port: 27017
• Database Name: election_portal_db

5. Recent Updates & Fixes

Issue: MongoDB Connection & Python 3.13 Compatibility

Problem: The project initially failed to connect to MongoDB because the djongo connector is outdated and incompatible with Python 3.13 and Django 5.x. Solution:

1. Migrated dependencies to django-mongodb-backend.
2. Updated settings.py to use the new engine.
3. Modified the Candidate model to explicitly use ObjectIdAutoField for primary keys (required for MongoDB).
4. Disabled conflicting Django contrib apps (admin, auth, messages) to resolve AutoField and context processor errors.

Issue: 500 Internal Server Error

Problem: The templates tried to access user and messages context variables, which were unavailable because the respective apps were disabled. Solution: Removed auth and messages context processors from settings.py.

Feature: Voting System Integration

Goal: Integrate the standalone vote.py interface into the Django app. Implementation:

1. Created voting app.
2. Ported Tkinter UI to HTML/CSS.
3. Implemented Vote model with encryption.
4. Added cryptography dependency and configured ENCRYPTION_KEY.
5. Exposed interface at /voting/.

6. How to Run

1. Activate Virtual Environment:

   .\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

2. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Start MongoDB: Ensure MongoDB Compass or the MongoDB service is running locally.
4. Run Server:

   python manage.py runserver

5. Access App:
   • Registration: http://127.0.0.1:8000/
   • Voting: http://127.0.0.1:8000/voting/
   • Results: http://127.0.0.1:8000/voting/results/

7. Known Limitations & Future Work

• Admin Panel: The built-in Django Admin is disabled. To manage data, you will need to use MongoDB Compass or build custom management views.
• User Authentication: The default Django User model is disabled. If login functionality is needed, a custom User model compatible with MongoDB will need to be implemented.