Electronic Voting Research Articles

Analysis of approaches of electronic voting systems implementation

The work examines modern approaches to building electronic voting systems, such as blockchain, which promises to revolutionize the process due to its immutability and decen-tralization properties, as well as traditional cryptographic methods, including homomorphic encryption, which allows vote counting without the need to decrypt each individual vote. Blind signatures ensure the ability to confirm a vote without disclosing the user's identity, and zero-knowledge proofs allow voting without interacting with the server. The goal of the work is to select an approach for building electronic voting systems based on a comparative analy-sis of their key characteristics. The solved tasks include reviewing the requirements, general-ized structures, and main procedures of electronic voting systems; analyzing the existing types of electronic voting systems and their comparative characteristics. During the work, existing systems and other literature were thoroughly analyzed. The article provides a de-tailed analysis of the advantages and limitations of these technologies, as well as their suit-ability for different electoral systems, considering important aspects such as scalability, effi-ciency, and protection against potential threats. Throughout the work, a list of requirements for electronic voting systems was compiled, the main procedures present in electronic voting systems were outlined, a set of actors in typical electronic voting systems was defined, and the generalized structures of their main types were presented. A comparative analysis of the types of electronic voting systems based on compliance with the requirements was conducted. An approach was chosen for further system development.

The results of the 2024 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan and the modernization of electoral processes

The purpose of this study is to analyze the specifics of the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 2024 in the context of ongoing political reforms and democratization of the country, with an emphasis on assessing the effectiveness of the new mixed electoral system, the level of political competition, civic participation, and transparency of the electoral process. Special attention is given to the introduction of a mixed electoral system that combines proportional and majoritarian representation, reflecting a significant shift from previous electoral frameworks. This mixed system aims to balance the representation of diverse political interests while maintaining stability within the government. Furthermore, the adoption of technological innovations like electronic voting and optimized ballot designs is discussed. Positive changes aimed at increasing transparency in the electoral process are also highlighted, particularly the enhanced involvement of women and ethnic minorities in politics. The efforts to ensure that various societal groups are represented in the parliament are a crucial aspect of these elections, as they signify a move towards a more inclusive political culture. Initiatives designed to encourage civic participation, such as public forums and awareness campaigns about the electoral process, demonstrate a commitment to engaging citizens in governance. At the same time, key challenges are identified, including limited political competition, deficiencies in civic election monitoring, and strict restrictions on campaign activities. The study concludes with the necessity for further improvements to the electoral system to strengthen democratic institutions, foster political pluralism in electoral processes. It is imperative that the government addresses these challenges by promoting a freer political landscape, ensuring the integrity of election monitoring, and protecting the rights of candidates to campaign effectively. Only through these measures can Uzbekistan move towards a truly democratic society where the voices of all citizens are heard and valued in the political arena.

A safety checklist for apnoeic oxygenation using high-flow nasal oxygen for laryngotracheal surgery in adults: An international Delphi consensus.

Apnoeic oxygenation using high-flow nasal oxygen is becoming a commonly used technique in adult patients undergoing laryngotracheal surgery. Despite widespread adoption, there are no best practice guidelines governing its safe delivery. To develop a checklist for use during laryngotracheal surgery to guide the safe delivery of apnoeic oxygenation using high-flow nasal oxygen. Recognised experts in the field of apnoeic oxygenation were invited to participate in a Delphi process to establish essential items for inclusion in the safety checklist. An online Delphi survey platform was used to facilitate this process. A panel of 36 experts was assembled from 11 countries. They participated voluntarily in an 8-week Delphi process that included one preliminary round, two electronic voting rounds and a final virtual roundtable discussion. A small steering group was responsible for leading the Delphi process, collating the electronic voting responses, analysing the results and compiling the final checklist. The consensus threshold for inclusion/exclusion of items in the safety checklist was set at at least 80% for the first and second electronic voting rounds. The consensus threshold was set at 70% for the final roundtable discussion. The final checklist comprises 19 items, sub-divided into pre-procedure, peri-procedure and post-procedure aspects of patient care. The Delphi process was well attended, with an expert attrition rate of only 6%. A number of items reached more than 90% consensus, including the requirement to establish patients' suitability for the technique in advance of surgery and preparedness for the immediate implementation of an agreed individualised rescue oxygenation strategy. A Delphi process involving international experts has formulated a 19-item checklist for guiding the safe delivery of apnoeic oxygenation using high-flow nasal oxygen in adult patients undergoing laryngotracheal surgery. Further studies are required to assess the effects of this checklist on patient safety and outcomes.

More Efficient Lattice-Based Electronic Voting from NTRU

In recent years, there has been much focus on developing core cryptographic primitives based on lattice assumptions, driven by the NIST call for post-quantum key encapsulation and digital signature algorithms. However, more work must be conducted on efficient privacy-preserving protocols based on quantum-safe assumptions. Electronic voting is one such privacy-preserving protocol whose adoption is increasing across the democratic world. E-voting offers both a fast and convenient alternative to postal voting whilst further ensuring cryptographic privacy of votes and offering full verifiability of the process. Owing to the sensitivity of voting and its infrastructure challenges, it is crucial to ensure security against quantum computers is baked into e-voting solutions. We present an e-voting scheme from quantum-safe assumptions based on the hardness of the RLWE and NTRU lattice problems, providing concrete parameters and an efficient implementation. Our design achieves a factor 5.3 × reduction in ciphertext size, 2.5 × reduction in total communication cost, and 2 × reduction in total computation time compared to the state-of-the-art lattice-based voting scheme by Aranha et al. (ACM CCS 2023). We argue that the efficiency of this scheme makes it suitable for real-world elections. Our scheme makes use of non-ternary NTRU secrets to achieve optimal parameters. In order to compute the security of our design, we extend the ternary-NTRU work of Ducas and van Woerden (ASIACRYPT 2021) by determining the concrete fatigue point (for general secrets) of NTRU to be q = 0.0058 · σ 2 · d 2.484 (above which parameters become overstretched) for modulus q , ring dimension d , and secrets drawn from a Gaussian of parameter σ . We consider this relation to be of independent interest and demonstrate its significance by improving the efficiency of the (partially) blind signature scheme by del Pino and Katsumata (CRYPTO 2022).

Blockchain Based Cryptographic Algorithm for Data Protection in Electronic Voting System

The development of digital world created advancement of technology, by which the data services are electronically transacted. Electronic voting is used to improve the election system in several ways. But technical issues associated with protection of data, is considered as a major concern leading to illegal activities and threats. Some of the conventional methods used in securing e-votes are matching finger prints of individual, control unit accessibility, which provides decreased capability of attaining proper authenticity and security. Even several cryptographic methods are used for data security, but produced limited accuracy. So, to improve the reliability and accuracy of data protection in e-voting, combination of AES (Advanced Encryption System) and RSA (Rivest, Shamir, Adleman) combined with blockchain technology is implemented. AES uses larger key size which makes the data privacy robust. But encryption and decryption time produces decreases computational speed. So, AES is combined with RSA, as it uses shorter key length and easy to implement with block-chain algorithm, it is deployed to decrease encryption and decryption time, thus producing highly sensitive data security. The performance of the system is validated by calculating the encryption and decryption time, block size and verification time of original data with output data.

Enhancing Democratic Processes: A Survey of DRE, Internet, and Blockchain in Electronic Voting Systems

Enhancing Democratic Processes: A Survey of DRE, Internet, and Blockchain in Electronic Voting Systems

Blockchain-Based E-Voting System: A Decentralized Approach on the Ethereum Private Network

The e-voting system, which is based on blockchain technology, greatly improves the security, transparency, and integrity of electronic voting. This is achieved by using a decentralized ledger system that distributes the recording of votes, allows for public verification, and maintains voter anonymity through cryptographic methods. This resilient method guarantees that once a vote is submitted, it is securely recorded and cannot be changed without the agreement of network members, thereby protecting the integrity of elections. Built on the private Go Ethereum (Geth) network, this study implements an e-voting system that features validator nodes for transaction verification, user-friendly mobile applications for voter interaction, and comprehensive smart contract capabilities that define the voting process rules. The mobile application guides users from launching the app and authenticating their identity to selecting candidates and securely recording their votes, ensuring seamless connectivity to the blockchain and incorporating essential verification steps. Furthermore, the implementation process includes meticulous setup of Ethereum nodes, smart contract development, and thorough testing for functionality, performance, and security. The evaluation focuses on aspects like maintaining data transparency, user authentication, and resilience against unauthorized access, demonstrating high user satisfaction with the app's performance. Ultimately, this blockchain-based system addresses modern electoral challenges, ensuring a secure, transparent, and reliable voting experience that fosters trust among all stakeholders involved.

E-Voting in Vietnam - Prospects and Suggestions from Experiences of the United States and European Countries

The right to vote is one of every citizen's most fundamental political rights. However, traditional voting methods have demonstrated several inherent limitations in past elections. This article examines the limitations of traditional voting and explores the potential of electronic voting (e-voting) systems as a means to address these challenges and enhance electoral processes in Vietnam. Drawing from the US and some European research on the application of e-voting systems, the article addresses some experiences and proposes recommendations for establishing an e-voting framework in Vietnam

AI Integrated E-Voting Hub: An Online Secure Voting System

The emergence of technology has changed the way we operate with our governing bodies and democratic structures. Traditional voting, involving paper ballots and physical polling locations, increasingly occurs alongside online voting systems (e-voting) that allow remote participation. The paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of Internet voting with an emphasis on security issues, accessibility for voters and the increase of turnout. The study purports to determine the suitability and future of online voting systems through an appraisal of available literature, a proposed architecture of the conceptual online voting system, as well as, data flow diagram. It ends with the conclusion that although online voting is a promising prospect for increasing democratic engagement, it is vital that security and privacy as well as the proper technology are taken into account before the nationwide implementation of such a system. Keywords: : AI, Architecture, Blockchain Database, Cybersecurity, Online, Transaction

Multi party confidential verifiable electronic voting scheme based on blockchain

The current electronic voting system ensures the confidentiality of the ballot but does not explicitly address the anonymity of the voter’s identity. The voting process is entirely managed by smart contracts, which diminishes the efficiency of contract execution and poses challenges for achieving large-scale voting. There is a lack of comprehensive explanation regarding the voting process and the verifiability of ballot information. This article introduces a multi-party secure verifiable electronic voting scheme based on blockchain technology. The solution uses IPFS distributed file system to alleviate the problem of limited block storage. The task allocation and vote counting processes are managed separately through management and computation contracts to improve efficiency. Ring signature technology is used to ensure the anonymity of voting identities. The vote counting process uses a key-sharing system to ensure the privacy of the votes, and the calculation results are encrypted and uploaded to the blockchain, making them verifiable. Finally, a security proof and performance analysis of the scheme were conducted.

Sustainable Development, Digital Democracy, and Open Government: Co-Creation Synergy in Ukraine

Abstract The article examines the interplay between the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital democracy, and open government in Ukraine in 2018 and 2020. The authors employ a mixed methods exploratory approach combining desk research with expert interviews. The study finds that during public consultations in Ukraine, the SDGs served as discussion themes, while the Open Government Partnership provided an executable platform. These e-consultations helped collect policy ideas, e-discussions facilitated policy drafting, and non-binding internet voting assisted in prioritising open government draft policies. The Agenda for Sustainable Development framework introduced policies with an education, youth, inclusion, and gender focus to open government. Public consultations increased awareness about the SDGs in Ukrainian civil society and prompted authorities to implement them. The combination of real-life, online, and hybrid consultation formats enabled elements of participatory, direct, and consensus democracy in post-revolutionary and pre-full-scale invasion Ukraine.

Political participation and digital communications of Russians after the start of the SMO: features and main forms

The article is devoted to identifying key changes in the practices of political participation of Russian citizens during the period of a Special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, caused, among other things, by the transformation of public political discourse and the digital environment. Analyzing the phenomenon of social consolidation in the conditions of ITS, key models of political participation and changes in media consumption of Russians over the past two years, the author concludes that after February 24, 2022, a certain transformation of public discourse and structure of media consumption, as well as related practices of political participation of Russians, took place in Russia. There is a differentiation of the socially active part of the population into two unequal groups: on the one hand, a dissenting protest minority, whose main form of political participation and "statements" were emigration or spontaneous protests; on the other hand, a consolidated patriotic majority expressing support for the activities of the country's leadership through traditional as well as new forms of participation: charity, volunteering, "pro-government" electoral behavior, information and campaigning work. It is also noted that the prevailing practices of political participation due to the use of digital technologies today are volunteer activities (including "virtual volunteering"), protest political participation, as well as conventional practices of electoral participation using remote electronic voting technologies.

Consensus Guideline for Care of Patients in the Prehospital and Aerospace Settings with Exposures to Hydrazine and Hydrazine Derivatives

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES Hydrazine (HZ) and Hydrazine Derivative (HZ-D) exposures pose health risks to people in industrial and aerospace settings. Several recent systematic reviews and case series have highlighted common clinical presentations and management strategies. Given the low frequency at which HZ and HZ-D exposures occur, a strong evidence base on which to develop an evidence-based guideline does not exist at this time. Therefore, the aim of this project is to establish a consensus guideline for prehospital care of patients with exposures to HZ and HZ-Ds. METHODS A modified Delphi technique was used to develop clinical questions, obtain expert panel opinions, develop initial patient care recommendations, and revise the draft into a final consensus guideline. First, individuals (Emergency Medical Services (EMS) physicians and hazardous materials technicians) with experience in management of HZ and HZ-Ds identified relevant clinical questions. An expert panel was then convened to make clinical recommendations. In the first round, the panel voted on clinical care recommendations. These recommendations were drafted into a guideline that expert panel members reviewed. After review, additional unanswered questions were discussed electronically by expert panel members, and electronic votes were cast. Ultimately, patient care recommendations were condensed into a concise, consensus guideline. RESULTS Eight clinical questions regarding treatment of patients with HZ and HZ-D exposures were identified. These questions were reviewed by the expert panel which included 2 representatives from: aerospace medicine, military medicine, EMS medicine, paramedicine, pharmacy, and toxicology. Draft patient care recommendations generated three additional questions which were discussed electronically and voted on. These recommendations were then formatted into a guideline outlining recommendations for care prior to decontamination, during decontamination, and after decontamination. CONCLUSIONS The consensus guideline for clinical care of patients with exposure to HZ/HZ-Ds is as follows: Prior to decontamination, use appropriate personal protective equipment, and when necessary, support ventilation using a bag-valve-mask and administer midazolam intramuscularly for seizures. After decontamination, provide supplemental oxygen; consider selective advanced airway management when indicated; administer inhaled beta-agonists for wheezing; and, for seizures unresponsive to multiple doses of benzodiazepines that occur during pre-planned, high-hazard activities, such as spacecraft recovery, consider intravenous or intraosseous pyridoxine.

SRFACS: A secure and robust framework for anonymous communication systems.

Anonymous communication is crucial for preserving user privacy in various applications, such as anonymous browsing, secure online payments, and electronic voting. However, current systems face significant challenges related to robustness, fault tolerance, and efficient communication management. This paper introduces SRFACS (Secure and Robust Framework for Anonymous Communication Systems), designed to address these issues by integrating advanced cryptographic techniques with a structured communication framework. Traditional anonymous communication systems usually lack sufficient fault tolerance, making them vulnerable to node failures, especially in asynchronous environments. In order to overcome these limitations and ensure that the system can keep running in the event of node failure (especially in an asynchronous environment), SRFACS integrates an improved asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (ABFT) protocol. We use this protocol to expand the traditional single communication node into a structured node group, and handle up to (n - 1)/3 faulty nodes in these groups, so as to enhance fault tolerance and maintain continuous operation. To efficiently manage inter-group communication, SRFACS utilizes leader nodes to coordinate and streamline the communication processes. To mitigate the risks associated with leader failures, we have implemented an efficient leader change protocol that promptly replaces defective leaders, ensuring uninterrupted system performance. Additionally, to prevent erroneous leader actions from compromising the system, we have introduced an advanced multi-signature scheme. This approach secures communication by requiring multiple signatures for verification processes. Furthermore, we have implemented a reputation incentive mechanism to encourage nodes to maintain optimal performance and avoid malicious behavior. This mechanism evaluates nodes according to their past activities and reliability to achieve dynamic updates of SRFACS node groups. We have conducted rigorous security analyses and component performance evaluations of SRFACS, further confirming its potential as a promising secure communication solution.

Electronic voting system using Blockchain technology

Abstract This paper presents an application for a voting system that uses blockchain technology. As is known, blockchain technology has a wide range of applications. What makes it suitable for a voting system is that it can prevent fraud. Another advantage of using blockchain technology for a voting system is that it offers unlimited system availability: the system’s operation is not affected by certain factors, such as power outages, updates or network connection.

Fingerprint-Authenticated Voting System with Real- Time Data Sharing via Android Application

Abstract: This system presents a novel electronic voting solution tailored for college-level elections, integrating biometric authentication with real-time data transmission. The system is built around an ESP32 microcontroller, a fingerprint sensor for secure user authentication, and an OLED display for interaction. Upon successful authentication, the ESP32 activates Bluetooth to connect seamlessly with an Android application, providing users with a simple interface for voting, polling, or submitting feedback. This system improves security and transparency by ensuring only authorized individuals can vote, while real-time data transmission fosters immediate result processing and accountability. By combining biometric security, ease of use, and instantaneous communication, the system promotes an inclusive and participatory governance environment within educational institutions

An efficient and versatile e-voting scheme on blockchain

Voting plays a vital role in democratic societies. Adopting electronic voting can effectively increase voter participation and significantly reduce the financial burden on the organizers. In recent years, with the prevalence of blockchain technology, numerous blockchain-based electronic voting schemes have emerged. Compared with traditional electronic voting schemes, they have more favorable security features. However, existing schemes generally suffer from inefficient voting procedures, limited functionality, and dependence on specific blockchain platforms, making them challenging to deploy in diverse voting scenarios. This paper proposes an efficient and versatile electronic voting scheme on blockchain that addresses these problems using our proposed smart contract-based aggregated blind signature, zero-knowledge proofs, and threshold encryption scheme. In the paper, the scheme’s various features, including security, are analyzed in detail, and the scheme is deployed and tested on the Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum blockchain platform. The experiment results demonstrate that the voting scheme satisfies the security requirement, and it has outstanding advantages in performance.

Lattice-Based Zero-Knowledge Proofs in Action: Applications to Electronic Voting

This paper studies several building blocks needed for electronic voting in order to prepare for the post-quantum era. In particular, we present lattice-based constructions for a generic zero-knowledge (ZK) proof of ballot correctness, a ZK proof of ballot correctness applicable for the homomorphic tallying scenario, and a ZK proof to achieve cast-as-intended verification during the vote casting period. We implement and benchmark our ballot correctness proofs, giving concrete estimations comparing the performance of homomorphic tallying and mix-net based e-voting systems in case of our lattice-based constructions.

Blockchain for securing electronic voting systems: a survey of architectures, trends, solutions, and challenges

AbstractElectronic voting (e-voting) systems are gaining increasing attention as a means to modernize electoral processes, enhance transparency, and boost voters’ participation. In recent years, significant developments have occurred in the study of e-voting and blockchain technology systems, hence reshaping many electoral systems globally. For example, real-world implementations of blockchain-based e-voting have been explored in various countries, such as Estonia and Switzerland, which demonstrates the potential of blockchain to enhance the security and transparency of elections. Thus, in this paper, we present a survey of the latest trends in the development of e-voting systems, focusing on the integration of blockchain technology as a promising solution to address various concerns in e-voting, including security, transparency, auditability, and voting integrity. This survey is important because existing survey articles do not cover the latest advancements in blockchain technology for e-voting, particularly as it relates to architecture, global trends, and current concerns in the developmental process. Thus, we address this gap by providing an encompassing overview of architectures, developments, concerns, and solutions in e-voting systems based on the use of blockchain technology. Specifically, a concise summary of the information necessary for implementing blockchain-based e-voting solutions is provided. Furthermore, we discuss recent advances in blockchain systems, which aim to enhance scalability and performance in large-scale voting scenarios. We also highlight the fact that the implementation of blockchain-based e-voting systems faces challenges, including cybersecurity risks, resource intensity, and the need for robust infrastructure, which must be addressed to ensure the scalability and reliability of these systems. This survey also points to the ongoing development in the field, highlighting future research directions such as improving the efficiency of blockchain algorithms and integrating advanced cryptographic techniques to further enhance security and trust in e-voting systems. Hence, by analyzing the current state of e-voting systems and blockchain technology, insights have been provided into the opportunities and challenges in the field with opportunities for future research and development efforts aimed at creating more secure, transparent, and inclusive electoral processes.

Trust in electronic voting: the Estonian case

The article is devoted to researching the problem of creating and using such a transparent and secure voting technology, which would not only have a high level of trust, but also the potential to strengthen the legitimacy of constitutional orders, using the example of the 2023 Estonian parliamentary elections. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that for Ukraine the use of electronic election technologies, in particular electronic voting itself, especially now, is the most discussed near future. It is organically connected with amendments to the election and referendum legislation of Ukraine. The subject of the study is electronic voting, establishing its results and the procedure for contesting them in Estonian electoral practice. The purpose of the article is to refute or confirm the thesis about the ability of electronic voting to have such a support and level of trust that it can completely replace the traditional way of voting, using the example of the Estonian experience. The research uses the method of analysis and synthesis of scientific information, empirical and dialectical methods of scientific knowledge. The model of electronic voting, counting of votes and their appeal was studied. It has been established that the legislation lays the foundation for falsifications with the use of broad discretionary powers of the electoral process administration bodies. The main factors that can undermine confidence in the institution are analyzed. Among them are the questionable constitutionality of the powers of the central administrative bodies, the lack of independent observers of the internal work of the electronic voting system, and significant shortcomings in the procedure for contesting the results. Special attention is paid to analytical studies, judicial practice is analyzed. It was found that in order to increase the transparency of the elections, it is necessary to use end-to-end verification methods and ensure quality audit at all critical stages of determining the results of online voting. An interim conclusion was made about the impracticality of completely replacing the traditional paper method of voting with a remote one, at least in the near term, due to insufficient security guarantees.