Electronic secret voting system using decentralized technologies developing principles

Abstract

The paper reveals the prospects of using electronic trust services, in particular electronic signature services, for building voting systems. The advantages of such systems are described, as well as problematic issues related to the implementation of remote voting systems in practice. The most famous existing electronic voting protocols based on classical principles are analyzed. Their shortcomings and difficulties in implementation are highlighted. We present new principles for building an electronic voting system. In particular, the paper proposes a two-level architecture of a decentralized electronic voting system, which consists of a decentralized public key infrastructure that combines trusted certification authorities and a decentralized voting system that integrates the distributed representative offices of an electronic voting agency. Also, an adapted protocol of electronic voting is proposed. Unlike the analyzed protocols, the new approach is based on a decentralized public key infrastructure. The paper shows how, using DLT technology, it is possible to ensure that the necessary requirements for system stability are met without introducing significant redundancy into the interaction protocol of all interested parties. Deploying a decentralized electronic voting system based on a decentralized public key infrastructure allows voters to use existing key pairs. The proposed electronic voting protocol is a modification of the Nurmi-Salom-Santin protocol without the need for special bodies to form voter lists. It also allows preserving the anonymity of voters without the use of blind signatures.