Electronic Voting System Research Articles

Design and implementation of an electronic voting system for optimal electoral process

Electronic voting is a tool for increasing the credibility and efficiency of elections in several democracies around the world. In Nigeria, many elections have conducted sub-optimally due to the manual methods employed in voting and transmission of election results. In such cases, electoral officials have been accused of colluding with politicians to alter election results while the results are being transmitted from polling units to results collation centres. To address this problem, this paper proposes and presents a framework for electronic voting and transmission of election results. The proposed system is designed and implemented using a C++-based Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and a MATLAB/Simulink application. This setup allowed for the simulation of the voting process, encryption of voting data, transmission of voting results and decryption of election results. The simulation-based results obtained for the proposed system was compared with that of the existing system. The results indicate that for sample sizes ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 voters, the proposed system accurately accredited an average of 85% of voters, compared to 73% for the existing system. Specifically, for 2,500, 4,000, 5,500, and 7,000 accredited voters, the existing system had 684, 1,095, 1,505, and 1,916 failed voters respectively. In comparison, there was a significant reduction in the number of failed voters for the proposed system and this stood at 364, 582, 801, and 1,019 respectively. Additionally, the quality of verified feedback for 3,000, 4,500, 6,000, and 7,000 accredited voters showed that the proposed system had quality scores of 0.362, 0.138, 0.019, and 0.000, compared to 0.549, 0.197, 0.024, and 0.001 for the existing system. In conclusion, the proposed system has proven to be highly effective, credible, secure, and transparent in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process and it is therefore recommended for hardware implementation in subsequent general elections.

The impact of monitoring on politicians’ attendance: Evidence from the Swiss Upper House

In 2014, the Swiss Upper House switched from voting by show of hands to an electronic voting system, where individual decisions on specific exogenously defined vote types are published automatically. We leverage this update in monitoring technology for select votes to identify the impact of monitoring on politicians’ attendance within a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences methodology. Relying on video recordings of all sessions of the 49th Upper House legislature (2011–2015), we determine pre- and post-reform attendance rates during all votes and compare the change in attendance between votes affected and unaffected by the reform. Monitoring has a positive and significant effect on attendance particularly among legislators running for reelection, as compared to those retiring at the end of the term.

The Impact of the 2022 Electoral Reform on the Credibility of the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria

Over the years, Nigeria has faced serious election fraud, leading many Nigerians to lose confidence in the electoral process. In 2022, the new Electoral Act was introduced, creating more opportunities for the integration of technologies like BVAS and IREV to improve voter accreditation, result transmission, and real-time election viewership for all stakeholders. This development was welcomed by many Nigerians who hoped the Act would restore voter confidence in the country. However, the outcome of the elections, particularly the presidential elections, indicated that the Act failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians. This study therefore examined the Electoral Act 2022 and the election credibility of the 2023 elections. It explored why the Act failed to mitigate insecurity and ensure effective transmission and viewing of election results, which are key to free and fair elections. Using a mixed research approach to data collection and analysis, the study drew on direct responses from voters and stakeholders, scholarly literature, media reports, and findings from election observer groups. The results indicate that while the Act provides a legal framework for stronger elections in Nigeria, it has not sufficiently ensured a free and fair election in the presidential polls. The study concludes that the Act alone cannot guarantee transparent elections due to poor implementation by stakeholders and certain grey areas in the Act that were exploited for election manipulation. The researcher recommends revisiting or strengthening these grey areas to prevent manipulation by elites and ensuring effective implementation by all stakeholders. Specifically, the study suggests the integration of technological advancements, such as blockchain for secure voting, electronic voting systems to enhance accessibility, geospatial technology for better logistics management, and secure mobile applications for real-time results transmission, to further bolster election credibility and transparency in Nigeria.

Blockchain Based E-voting System

An electronic voting (e-voting) system must prioritize security to prevent duplicate votes and ensure full transparency, participants. unreliability, all while safeguarding the privacy of Traditional voting systems suffer from lacking assurance that cast votes remain unaltered before being counted. Additionally, there is a lack of transparency between voters and the system. In response to these challenges, we propose leveraging blockchain technology as a foundational element in the voting system. The primary goal is to establish a decentralized architecture that supports an open, fair, and independently verifiable voting scheme. Within this framework, we introduce a novel e-voting protocol that harnesses blockchain as a transparent ballot box.

Guiding the implementation of data privacy with microservices

Privacy by design is nowadays recognized as essential in bringing data privacy into software systems. However, developers still face many challenges in reconciling privacy and software requirements and implementing privacy protections in software systems. One emerging trend is the adoption of microservices architectures—they bring in some qualities that can benefit privacy by design. The main goal of this study is to adapt privacy by design to the qualities brought by microservices. The main focus is at the architectural level, where the main structural decisions are made. A systematic literature review is adopted to identify a set of privacy models that underscore significant differences in software systems’ protection using microservices. From the literature review, a decision framework is developed. The decision framework provides guidance and supports design decisions in implementing data privacy using microservices. The framework helps select and integrate different privacy models. An illustration of using the framework, which considers the design of an electronic voting system, is provided. This study contributes to closing the gap between regulation and implementation through design, where decisions related to data privacy are integrated with decisions on architecting systems using microservices.

DECENTRALIZED ELECTRONIC VOTING WITH ETHEREUM BLOCKCHAIN IN DEMOCRATIC AND POLITICAL ELECTIONS

The Ethereum blockchain-based electronic voting (e-voting) systems can emerge as a viable strategy in this era of contemporary democracies to revolutionize political elections and augment the efficacy of the electoral process. There are myriad advantages that the Ethereum blockchain has to offer, from fairness to increased voting rates. Unlike traditional voting protocols, the Ethereum blockchain can assure substantial cost savings and eliminate the necessity for electoral intermediaries. The use of the Ethereum blockchain in political contexts also ensures that elections are held with integrity while preserving the voters’ privacy. Due to its popularity, provision of smart contracts logic, and various promising advantages, this systematic review aims to examine the potential deployment of decentralized e-voting systems integrated with Ethereum blockchain technology for democratic political elections. A systematic literature review (SLR) and the PICO approach, which stands for population, intervention, control, and outcomes, were adopted in this study to systematically analyze the existing literature. Key technological approaches identified in the voting system include the hybrid blockchain and privacy-preserving score voting. Among the noteworthy findings are the following: while adoption and complexity remain challenges across numerous e-voting frameworks, scalability, end-to-end security, enhanced efficiency, and effectiveness are key benefits. An exploration into the prospective future innovations, such as the integration of artificial intelligence and big data analytics into the Ethereum blockchain, was also included to further improve the reliability of the e-voting systems. It is believed that the Ethereum blockchain has a promising transformative impact on electoral politics and democratic processes, presenting a ray of hope for future elections.

Development of an Electronic Voting System using Blockchain Technology and Deep Hybrid Learning

Democratic people cannot function properly in today's sophisticated societies (where voting is a prominent issue) without electronic voting technologies. This study explores the use of hybrid learning algorithms for biometric authentication of voters, and blockchain technology for secure electronic voting. The thorough analysis includes a collection of more than 50,000 fingerprint samples using custom Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), VGG16, VGG19, Xception, and Inception. The algorithms are evaluated using F1-score, recall, accuracy, and precision. By combining Random Forest with a specially designed CNN, a novel hybrid learning algorithm is developed for authentication purposes. This blended model provides the best outcome in terms of accuracy (99.32%) and precision (99.32%). In addition, a web application was developed. This application integrates blockchain technology for electronic voting using Flask, HTML, and Solidity. By using blockchain, tampering and unauthorized access are prevented. It also ensures impartial voting and secure storage. The tabular presentation of the results provides a clear summary of each candidate's total votes.

DemocracyGuard: Blockchain‐based secure voting framework for digital democracy

AbstractOnline voting is gaining traction in contemporary society to reduce costs and boost voter turnout, allowing individuals to cast their ballots from anywhere with an internet connection. This innovation is cautiously met due to the inherent security risks, where a single vulnerability can lead to widespread vote manipulation. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution to address these concerns and create a trustworthy electoral process. Blockchain offers a decentralized network of nodes that enhances transparency, security, and verifiability. Its distributed ledger and non‐repudiation features make it a compelling alternative to traditional electronic voting systems, ensuring the integrity of elections. To further bolster the security of online voting, we propose DemocracyGuard platform on the Ethereum blockchain, which incorporates facial recognition technology to authenticate voters. By leveraging these advancements, DemocracyGuard aims to provide a secure and resilient platform for online voting, paving the way for its broader adoption and revolutionizing the electoral landscape.

A Tension: Fortifying Usability While Safeguarding Voter Independence in Military Voting Solutions

Absentee voting presents a unique challenge for U.S. uniformed service members, as they often struggle to request and return absentee ballots while deployed, sometimes stationed far from their registered voting area. This research evaluates the usability of a proposed absentee voting system for military voters, which allows instant ballot requests and enables voters to verify their own votes, focusing on whether the user interface supports effective use among military personnel. Our evaluation revealed that military voters frequently relied on external assistance to navigate the electronic voting system, revealing opportunities for its improvement and design recommendations to facilitate absentee voting for U.S. military personnel.

Secured and decentralized system for e-voting with hybrid cryptography and Blockchain

Electronic voting is an efficient way of conducting the voting process, which has the characteristics of real-time data and massive data and demands high security. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for electronic voting that utilizes decentralized network architecture with Blockchain and Hybrid cryptography techniques. Our system aims to address the challenges faced in administering EVMs and ensuring high security in strong rooms, which can lead to privacy and security flaws in the voting system. Our proposed model utilizes a wireless mesh topology to enlist vote details and modernize the chain of blocks, resulting in improved data confidentiality and reduced human resources. A customized UDP packet structure is designed to avoid port scanning and network traces, while the use of port numbers is eliminated for increased security. We also incorporate a three-layer encryption stack for secure key exchanges, which ensures perfect forward secrecy and an uncompromised state of the packet. By reducing the number of threads needed for Transport layer Protocol (TCP) connections; our proposed model improves the speed and security of the existing architecture. Overall, our approach offers a highly secure and efficient electronic voting system that meets the demands of secrecy, accuracy, and neutrality in the process of voting and counting. Our proposed system has the potential to prevent poll rigging by trespassers, ensuring a fair and trustworthy electoral process.

Enhancing Institutional Elections: A Case for Electronic Voting Systems at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the possible advantages of establishing an EVS at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC). With an emphasis on increased voter trust, lower expenses, and increased efficiency, the research seeks to assess the viability and benefits of implementing an EVS for KIMC elections. Methodology: Using a case study methodology, this study will examine the material that has already been written about EVSs and interview important KIMC stakeholders to learn about their present voting procedures and difficulties. Findings: The system of voting ought to be fast in terms of casting votes as well as tallying to eliminate long queues and anxiety of voters waiting for result. System voting is more preferred choice as opposed to the use of papers and boxes. Ballots are more expensive since they are bought every time election is conducted. System voting is more comfortable and done at ease with fewer resources in terms of money and time. On other hand manual system is inefficient, insecure, incorrect and expensive. A need therefore arises to develop System voting to manage voting process efficiently and effectively. Electronic voting systems, or EVSs, present a strong substitute for conventional paper-based ballots, guaranteeing improved electoral efficiency, security, and transparency. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This research will contribute to the ongoing discussion on the role of EVSs in promoting democratic processes within institutions. The findings will provide valuable insights for KIMC administrators in making informed decisions regarding the adoption and implementation of an EVS. This study can inform policy discussions on the broader application of EVSs in Kenyan institutions.

A Distributed Self-Tallying Electronic Voting System Using the Smart Contract

A Distributed Self-Tallying Electronic Voting System Using the Smart Contract

Enhancing the Security of Digital Voting Systems: A Blockchain-Based Decentralized Approach for Future Electronic Voting Systems

Enhancing the Security of Digital Voting Systems: A Blockchain-Based Decentralized Approach for Future Electronic Voting Systems

Blockchain-based e-voting system in a university

The blockchain-based electronic voting (e-voting) system, offers universities a safe, easy-to-use platform that enhances accuracy and integrity. Despite that, it is challenging to integrate the blockchain-based e-voting system with current platforms and private data. Managing latency is another requirement during the blockchain transactions (votes/elections). In this work, we suggested a novel system that uses smart contracts on the consortium blockchain to address these constraints. The voters and electors in a university can vote and elect respecting the rules established in smart contracts. The miners validate transactions using proof of work (PoW) and proof of stake (PoS). Data integrity and voter validity are ensured via the SHA-256 hash algorithm and the ECDSA signature. The implementation results demonstrate that the suggested method works better than the state-of-the-art. exceeds the state-of-the-art in terms of gas cost and execution time.

Analysis of research on the implementation of Blockchain technologies in regional electoral processes

Implementation of Blockchain technologies in online voting system is becoming increasingly popular in modern society and has significantly efficiency in governance. This article explores how Blockchain technologies can boost government operations, making them more transparent and effective. It focuses on an in-depth analysis of current research and methods on Blockchain-based electronic voting systems. The aim of this study is investigated and analysis the potential contributions of Blockchain technology to e-voting by drawing insights from global best practices. According to literature review and case studies of Blockchain implementation in government are conducted to identify existing systems and methods of e-voting, identifying their strengths and weaknesses by analyzing European countries and preparing the ground for future alternatives. Additionally, it examined the role of public education in fostering trust and understanding of Blockchain technology and analyzed the legislative landscape in neighboring jurisdictions to solidify Blockchain’s role in decision-making processes. The results of the study provide a comprehensive perspective, and the findings emphasize the relevance of the study, its contribution to understanding the problems and prospects of introducing Blockchain into electoral processes at the regional level.

Towards Secure and Transparent Elections: A Review of Electronic Voting Integrated with Blockchain Technology

Abstract: This paper provides an in-depth examination of the integration of blockchain technology with electronic voting (evoting) systems, aimed at ensuring the security and transparency of electoral processes. While prior research predominantly focused on the technical aspects of e-voting, recent efforts have acknowledged the intricate socio-technical dynamics at play. Drawing on conceptualizations and principles that view e-voting as complex socio-technical frameworks, this paper explores avenues for enhancing accessibility, efficiency, and integrity. Blockchain technology emerges as a transformative solution, offering cryptographic assurances to address vulnerabilities like data manipulation and centralization. Through blockchain integration, e-voting systems can uphold crucial principles such as verifiability, anonymity, fairness, and transparency, thus fostering trust in electoral procedures. The proposed systems leverage cryptographic techniques and smart contracts to protect voter anonymity, ensure data integrity, and enable end-to-end verification. Furthermore, the paper advocates for decentralized architectures to mitigate risks associated with centralized databases. By emphasizing the pivotal role of blockchain technology, this paper contributes to the advancement of e-voting systems towards secure and transparent elections.

Blockchain-based e-voting systems: Enhancing security, transparency and trust

Electronic voting (e-voting) systems have garnered significant interest due to their potential to streamline the voting process, increase accessibility, and improve overall efficiency in electoral processes. However, traditional e-voting systems often face challenges related to security, transparency, and trustworthiness. In response to these challenges, blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution, offering inherent features such as immutability, transparency, and decentralization. This paper explores the implementation of a blockchain-based e-voting system, discussing its architecture, functionalities, and the potential benefits it offers in enhancing trust, security, and transparency in electoral processes.

ENSURING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC VOTING IN UKRAINE: PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

Introduction. The article focuses on the advantages of e-voting and the insufficient study of human rights aspects in this process. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to identify public policy strategies for the successful implementation of e-voting in Ukraine, taking into account international experience and ensuring human rights and freedoms in the electoral process. Summary of the main research results. The main findings of the study point to the relevance of introducing e-voting in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges. An e-voting system can ensure compliance with international electoral and human rights standards, such as privacy, accessibility, non-discrimination, information, and verification of votes. The experience of foreign countries, in particular Estonia, confirms the success and benefits of e-voting, the analysis of which is important for other countries, including Ukraine, in implementing their e-voting systems. Switzerland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, India, and Brazil have also used e-voting, with varying degrees of success and challenges related to security and privacy. For example, in Switzerland, e-voting was used experimentally in some cantons but faced significant security issues, while in India, EVMs have become standard in most polling stations, increasing public confidence in the electoral process. However, recent events in Brazil and the United States show that unscrupulous politicians can challenge the operation of any electronic voting system, which can lead to mass protests and unrest. The Council of Europe and the Venice Commission have formulated principles and standards for the use of information and communication technologies in electoral processes, which include security, transparency, and respect for fundamental human rights. Ukraine is actively preparing for the introduction of electronic voting, as evidenced by the large number of draft laws that have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine but have not yet been adopted, although this indicates an awareness of the need to use digital technologies to ensure citizens' voting rights. Conclusions. The experience of foreign countries confirms the popularity of e-voting due to the development of information and communication technologies. Ukraine, with its high scientific and technical potential, has prospects for introducing e-voting. However, the successful application requires comprehensive preparation, including software certification, pilot projects, personal data protection, strengthening cybersecurity, and the adoption of a special law on the use of e-voting at various levels and the introduction of e-voting as an alternative method along with traditional voting.

SECURE & VERIFIABLE E VOTING USING BLOCKCHAIN

In response to the persistent challenges surrounding the aspect of security, verifiability of electronic voting (e-voting) systems, this paper proposes an innovative approach. By incorporating blockchain technology into face recognition authentication, our solution aims to fortify the integrity and transparency of the voting process. Blockchain offers a distributed and immutable ledger, ensuring data integrity, while face recognition authentication offers an additional layer of security. This integrated system establishes a secure and transparent platform for casting and verifying votes, offering a promising solution to the vulnerabilities of traditional e-voting systems. Key Words- Electronic voting, Blockchain technology, Face recognition, Security, Verifiability, Authentication, Transparency, Trust, Democracy.

Aadhar Based Biometric Electronic Voting System

Flawless voting is guaranteed through the use of Electronic Voting Machines. It is crucial for citizens to have confidence in the security of their votes and to prevent any fraudulent activities. The primary objective of this initiative is to create a secure Electronic Voting Machine that utilizes fingerprint identification technology. To access fingerprints, the AADHAR card database is utilized. During elections, the authentication process for e-voting involves finger vein sensing, which allows voters to cast their votes after electronic ballot reset. Furthermore, the voting data and details of voters can be transmitted to the nearby Database Administration unit via WIFI. The fingerprint scanning feature is implemented to ensure security and prevent issues like fake or repeated voting. This system not only improves accuracy but also enhances the speed of the voting process