Secret ballot elections and public-key cryptosystems

Abstract

This article outlines a secret balloting system satisfying the following requirements: (1) only the voter knows the voting strategy he/she adopts, (2) only legitimate voters may vote, (3) each legitimate voter may vote only once, and (4) the voting may take place in a computer network. The system is based on modern mathematical cryptography and, more specifically, on public-key cryptosystems.