Voting Process Research Articles

Accessing the right to vote among system-impacted people

Recent efforts to dismantle felon disenfranchisement regimes have the potential to substantially expand electoral eligibility among people with criminal records; however, even among those with criminal legal histories who are eligible to vote, voting rates are often extremely low. Analyzing interview, focus group, and text message conversations among a multi-state sample around the November 2022 election, we identify and describe how administrative barriers to voting—including a lack of understanding about the voting process, confusion about legal eligibility, and perceived risks of rearrest of voting while ineligible—pose an access to justice issue among system-impacted people. These barriers are amplified by government mistrust, specifically the perception that barriers are intentionally constructed to suppress voting, and they are potentially mitigated by outreach by community organizations that are viewed as credible. The findings emphasize that legislative reforms repealing disenfranchisement laws must be accompanied by on-the-ground efforts to address administrative burdens to broaden access to the franchise.

Enhancing Electoral Integrity: Implementation of a Secure E-Voting Platform

This paper proposes the design and implementation of a secured e-voting system intended to innovate the electoral process, thereby improving voters' Technologies: I.INTRODUCTION participation in elections. Traditional methods of voting have a number of drawbacks regarding logistics inefficiency, accessibility to voters, and security issues. The proposed e-voting system will help solve these problems by offering a digital platform that will ensure secured, efficient, and accessible voting. The system has been developed in Java, JSP, and MySQL; it has a highly user- friendly interface, a robust backend processing system, and data managed safely. The system is secured to allow access only to the authorized voter by its OTP-based authentication mechanism via SMS gateway. In fact, such a model of two- factor authentication considerably reduces unauthorized access and hence enhances the security for the voting process. All votes are encrypted before storage to maintain confidentiality and integrity of data for the voters using the system. The architecture of the system is such that it is scalable, hence, capable of responding to simultaneous requests from a high volume of users with no degradation of performance. Extensive testing gives evidence of the system's reliability and efficiency in different scenarios, hence allowing it to suit all parameters that ensure a secure, as well as transparent, electoral process. Introducing contemporary technology into the context of voting, this e-voting system has great potential to revolutionize how elections are conducted and guarantee more participation while securing the integrity of the election outcome in the digital era. INDEX TERMS : Online Voting , Secure Voting Platform, Voter Authentication, OTP Verification, SMS Gateway, Encryption, Web Application Development, Voting Results , Election Management System

Designing a Robust Quantum Signature Protocol Based on Quantum Key Distribution for E-Voting Applications

The rapid advancement of internet technology has raised attention to the importance of electronic voting in maintaining democracy and fairness in elections. E-voting refers to the use of electronic technology to facilitate the casting and counting of votes in elections. The need for designated verification arises from concerns about voter privacy, auditability, and the prevention of manipulation. Traditional e-voting systems use cryptographic techniques for security but lack verifiable proof of integrity. Integrating e-voting with a quantum designated verifier could address these challenges by leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics to enhance security and trustworthiness. In light of this, we propose a quantum e-voting scheme that uses a designated verifier signature. To ensure the confidentiality and authenticity of the voting process, the scheme uses quantum features like the no-cloning theorem and quantum key distribution. The proposed scheme has security properties like source hiding, non-transferability, and message anonymity. The proposed scheme is resistant to many quantum attacks, such as eavesdropping and impersonation. Due to designated verification, the scheme minimizes the risk of tempering. This paper provides a detailed description of the proposed scheme and analyzes its security properties. Therefore, the proposed scheme is efficient, practical, and secure.

Refining Treatment Planning in STereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation: Benchmark Results and Consensus Statement From the STOPSTORM.eu Consortium

Background and purposeSTereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR) showed promising results in patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, clinical data is scarce and heterogeneous. The STOPSTORM.eu consortium was established to investigate and harmonize STAR in Europe. The primary goal of this benchmark study was to investigate current treatment planning practice within the STOPSTORM project as a baseline for future harmonization. MethodsPlanning target volumes (PTV) overlapping extra-cardiac organs-at-risk and/or cardiac substructures were generated for three STAR cases. Participating centers were asked to create single fraction treatment plans with 25 Gy dose prescription based on in-house clinical practice. All treatment plans were reviewed by an expert panel and quantitative crowd knowledge-based analysis was performed with independent software using descriptive statistics for ICRU report 91 relevant parameters and crowd dose-volume-histograms. Thereafter, treatment planning consensus statements were established using a dual-stage voting process. ResultsTwenty centers submitted 67 treatment plans for this study. In most plans (75%) Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy (IMAT) with 6 MV flattening-filter-free beams was used. Dose prescription was mainly based on PTV D95% (49%) or D96-100% (19%). Many participants preferred to spare close extra-cardiac organs-at-risk (75%) and cardiac substructures (50%) by PTV coverage reduction. PTV D0.035cm3 ranged 25.5-34.6 Gy, demonstrating a large variety of dose inhomogeneity. Estimated treatment times without motion compensation or setup ranged 2-80 minutes. For the consensus statements, strong agreement was reached for beam technique planning, dose calculation, prescription methods and trade-offs between target and extra-cardiac critical structures. No agreement was reached on cardiac substructure dose limitations and on desired dose inhomogeneity in the target. ConclusionThis STOPSTORM multi-center treatment planning benchmark study showed strong agreement on several aspects of STAR treatment planning, but also revealed disagreement on others. To standardize and harmonize STAR in the future, consensus statements were established, however clinical data is urgently needed for actionable guidelines for treatment planning.

시각장애인 유권자가 인식한 투표 개선 방안에 관한 탐색적 연구

This study aims to explore practical improvement measures by conducting focus group interviews with 14 totally blind residents of Seoul, delving deeply into the voting experiences of visually impaired voters and the improvement measures they perceive. The results revealed four categories and 11 subcategories, encompassing 31 units of meaning, related to the acquisition of electoral information, electoral materials, difficulties in the voting process, and the significance of the voting experience. Despite facing challenges throughout the process, from obtaining election information to managing electoral materials and participating in the voting process, the participants recognized voting as an essential means of exercising their rights. Additionally, the visually impaired voters identified improvement measures in three categories—provision of information, movement to and preparation at polling stations, and the actual marking of ballots—yielding seven subcategories and 20 units of meaning, confirming the need for improvements from the perspective of visually impaired voters. Based on these findings, this study proposes practical measures to enhance the accessibility of the voting process.

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.

Characterizing Neurobehavioral Dysregulation Among Former American Football Players: Findings From the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project.

Neurobehavioral dysregulation (NBD), a core clinical feature of traumatic encephalopathy syndrome, encompasses neuropsychiatric symptoms reported among individuals with a history of repetitive head impact exposure, including contact sport athletes. The objective of this study was to examine the construct and subconstructs of NBD through a series of factor and cluster analyses. Six clinician-scientists selected self-report questionnaire items relevant to NBD from seven available neuropsychiatric scales through a blinded voting process. These items were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of 178 former college and professional American football players and 60 asymptomatic individuals without a history of repetitive head impact exposure. All participants were enrolled in the Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Research Project. Factor scores were generated on the basis of the optimal expert-informed model for NBD. Construct validity was assessed with neuropsychiatric scales not included in generation of the factor scores. Cluster analyses with NBD factor scores were used to examine symptom profiles. Factor analyses confirmed that NBD was composed of four subconstructs: explosivity, emotional dyscontrol, impulsivity, and affective lability. Cluster analyses indicated four distinct symptom profiles of NBD in this group of former football players: asymptomatic (N=80, 45%), short fuse (N=33, 19%), high affective lability (N=34, 19%), and high NBD (N=31, 17%). These findings characterize NBD as a multifaceted clinical construct with a heterogeneous presentation, providing a foundation for empirical work on the diagnostic criteria for traumatic encephalopathy syndrome and research on the neurobiological underpinnings of NBD.

Framing and the Social Construction of Violence in Select Online News Discourse on the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria

Violence undermines the democratic character of elections, and the news discourse is a significant route through which such issue is socially constructed. This study investigates how the Vanguard and Arise News employed transitivity theory as an interpretive schema in framing the violence that marked the 2023 general elections in Nigeria to determine the impact of election violence on voters. Fourteen extracts (7 each from Vanguard and Arise News) as well as responses from 20 participants (5 each from the fields of Journalism, education, accounting and public relations) were purposively selected and analysed using mixed methods comprising descriptive content analysis and in-depth interviews. The findings unveil both news reports’ usage of material, verbal, and relational processes as frames to foreground shades of electoral violence such as the snatching of ballot boxes, disrupting of the voting process, intimidating of voters, disrupting of the collation of results, kidnapping of INEC officials, decimating of innocent citizens, vandalizing of polling units, assaulting of election observers, and carting away of electoral materials. Transitivity processes highlight power relations between groups as well as label certain groups positively and others negatively. The responses from the in-depth interview reveal that electoral violence have a detrimental influence on voters because it produces feelings of dissatisfaction, dread, and dejection in them thereby preventing them from wanting to vote in subsequent elections.

From Confidence to Convenience: Changes in Voting Systems, Donald Trump, and Voter Confidence

Abstract A growing body of research indicates that voters’ perceptions of the electoral system change when the means of administering elections change. As some electoral jurisdictions have moved to systems designed to increase voter convenience, little is known about whether convenience is achieved at the expense of confidence. Utah’s rollout of Vote by Mail (VBM) occurred county by county across five federal elections, and the three most populous counties adopted all VBM elections successively in 2014, 2016, and 2018. This meaningful variance in voter experience with VBM allows us to model the relationship between experience with VBM and voter confidence. We find that the switch to a more convenient system of voting came at the expense of diminished confidence in the voting process. However, experience with VBM is positively related to confidence such that the loss in confidence can be recouped over time. To capture this dynamic relative to other factors, we also estimate the effects of partisanship and the messages of political elites. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, the effect of partisanship on voter confidence changed compared to just two years earlier. Elite messages appear to be especially negative for Trump voters after 2020. More experience with VBM acts as a bulwark against those negative messages, almost completely attenuating the negative effects of Trump’s fraud claims among his voters with the highest levels of VBM experience.

Combining treat-to-target principles and shared decision-making: International expert consensus-based recommendations with a novel concept for minimal disease activity criteria in atopic dermatitis.

Current treat-to-target recommendations for atopic dermatitis (AD) may not include high enough treatment targets and do not fully consider patient needs. To develop recommendations for optimized AD management, including disease severity assessments, treatment goals and targets, and guidance for treatment escalation/modification. An international group of expert dermatologists drafted a series of recommendations for AD management using insights from a global patient study and 87 expert dermatologists from 44 countries. Experts voted on recommendations using a modified eDelphi voting process. The Aiming High in Eczema/Atopic Dermatitis (AHEAD) recommendations establish a novel approach to AD management, incorporating shared decision-making and a concept for minimal disease activity (MDA). Consensus (≥70% agreement) was reached for all recommendations in 1 round of voting; strong consensus (≥90% agreement) was reached for 30/34 recommendations. In the AHEAD approach, patients select their most troublesome AD feature(s); the clinician chooses a corresponding patient-reported severity measure and objective severity measure. Treatment targets are chosen from a list of 'moderate' and 'optimal' targets, with achievement of 'optimal' targets defined as MDA. Patient and expert insights led to the development of AHEAD recommendations, which establish a novel approach to AD management. Patients were not involved in the eDelphi voting process used to generate consensus on each recommendation. However, patient perspectives were captured in a global, qualitative patient research study that was considered by the experts in their initial drafting of the recommendations.

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.

Global challenges and microbial biofilms: Identification of priority questions in biofilm research, innovation and policy

Priority question exercises are increasingly used to frame and set future research, innovation and development agendas. They can provide an important bridge between the discoveries, data and outputs generated by researchers, and the information required by policy makers and funders. Microbial biofilms present huge scientific, societal and economic opportunities and challenges. In order to identify key priorities that will help to advance the field, here we review questions from a pool submitted by the international biofilm research community and from practitioners working across industry, the environment and medicine. To avoid bias we used computational approaches to group questions and manage a voting and selection process. The outcome of the exercise is a set of 78 unique questions, categorized in six themes: (i) Biofilm control, disruption, prevention, management, treatment (13 questions); (ii) Resistance, persistence, tolerance, role of aggregation, immune interaction, relevance to infection (10 questions); (iii) Model systems, standards, regulatory, policy education, interdisciplinary approaches (15 questions); (iv) Polymicrobial, interactions, ecology, microbiome, phage (13 questions); (v) Clinical focus, chronic infection, detection, diagnostics (13 questions); and (vi) Matrix, lipids, capsule, metabolism, development, physiology, ecology, evolution environment, microbiome, community engineering (14 questions). The questions presented are intended to highlight opportunities, stimulate discussion and provide focus for researchers, funders and policy makers, informing future research, innovation and development strategy for biofilms and microbial communities.

MODERNIZING COLLEGE VOTING SYSTEM

Abstract — In the modern era, the integration of technology into various aspects of our lives has become indispensable. One such area is the electoral process within academic institutions. The College Voting System is a digital platform specifically designed to manage and facilitate elections in colleges and universities. This system aims to replace traditional voting methods, which often involve paper ballots, manual counting, and physical polling stations, with a more efficient, secure, and accessible solution. The College Voting System is a digital platform designed to facilitate the electoral process within a college or university setting. This system aims to streamline the process of voting, making it more efficient, secure, and accessible for students, faculty, and administrative staff. By leveraging modern technology, the College Voting System reduces the need for paper ballots, manual counting, and physical polling stations, thus saving time and resources while ensuring the integrity of the election. This application provides an easy and simple way to both administrator and voters in the collect election process. In this application, voters can give their votes to college from anywhere and at any time Index Terms – Voting, SQL,Web-Based Application,Voting System,Authentication, college election.

International consensus on the management of large (≥20 mm) colorectal laterally spreading tumors: World Endoscopy Organization Delphi study.

There have been significant advances in the management of large (≥20 mm) laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) or nonpedunculated colorectal polyps; however, there is a lack of clear consensus on the management of these lesions with significant geographic variability especially between Eastern and Western paradigms. We aimed to provide an international consensus to better guide management and attempt to homogenize practices. Two experts in interventional endoscopy spearheaded an evidence-based Delphi study on behalf of the World Endoscopy Organization Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee. A steering committee comprising six members devised 51 statements, and 43 experts from 18 countries on six continents participated in a three-round voting process. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations tool was used to assess evidence quality and recommendation strength. Consensus was defined as ≥80% agreement (strongly agree or agree) on a 5-point Likert scale. Forty-two statements reached consensus after three rounds of voting. Recommendations included: three statements on training and competency; 10 statements on preresection evaluation, including optical diagnosis, classification, and staging of LSTs; 14 statements on endoscopic resection indications and technique, including statements on en bloc and piecemeal resection decision-making; seven statements onpostresection evaluation; and eight statements on postresection care. An international expert consensus based on the current available evidence has been developed to guide the evaluation, resection, and follow-up of LSTs. This may provide guiding principles for the global management of these lesions and standardize current practices.

Is E-Voting an Alternative to the Ballot Box? A Field Study in Gaziantep

Recent health risks and the high number of voters make it necessary to produce alternatives to the traditional ballot used in elections. For this purpose, new methods that facilitate the voting process and the advantages provided by technology are evaluated in terms of increasing democratic turnout. The aim of this study is to understand which of the two methods, e-voting and voting at the ballot box, voters would prefer as the dependent variable. Since the dependent variable in the study has two categories, Binary Logistic Regression analysis was applied. Data were collected from 475 respondents living in Gaziantep through a questionnaire on voting method preference. Among the dependent variables, age and gender were not statistically significant in determining the preferences for voting methods of the participants. A relationship was found between education level and voting preferences. It was also observed that the higher the level of education of the voter, the higher the rate of preference for e-voting. The questions measuring the level of political interest were developed in the light of the findings of previous studies. Individuals with high political interest are more likely to vote at the ballot box than via e-voting. Ideological differences also affect the preferences for voting methods of individuals. Considering the data obtained from the study; it can be assumed that e-voting as an alternative voting method will be preferred by voters in Türkiye in the future.

USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ANALYZE AND PREDICT ELECTORAL ACTIVITY IN BLOCKCHAIN VOTING SYSTEMS

This study explored the integration of artificial intelligence with blockchain technology to analyze and predict electoral activity in blockchain voting systems. The aim was to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and security of electronic voting by leveraging artificial intelligence 's predictive capabilities. The research focused on the application of machine learning algorithms to detect voting patterns, identify anomalies, and forecast voter turnout. By utilizing a combination of historical voting data and real-time blockchain records, the study demonstrated how artificial intelligence could provide valuable insights into voter behavior and election trends. The methodology included the use of an artificial intelligence model implemented on blockchain technology, the creation of synthetic data sets, data pre-processing, engineering functions and linear regression methods, machine learning models using random variables and neural networks. Model performance was evaluated using Mean Squared Error and R² Score. The implementation of artificial intelligence in blockchain voting systems was evaluated through a series of experimental simulations, highlighting the accuracy and reliability of predictions. The findings indicated that artificial intelligence -driven analysis could significantly improve the management and oversight of electronic elections, contributing to more robust and trustworthy voting processes. This paper presented a comprehensive methodology, discussed the results, and offered recommendations for future research and practical applications in the field of electoral technology.

Majority voting of doctors improves appropriateness of AI reliance in pathology

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) making advancements in medical decision-making, there is a growing need to ensure doctors develop appropriate reliance on AI to avoid adverse outcomes. However, existing methods in enabling appropriate AI reliance might encounter challenges while being applied in the medical domain. With this regard, this work employs and provides the validation of an alternative approach – majority voting – to facilitate appropriate reliance on AI in medical decision-making. This is achieved by a multi-institutional user study involving 32 medical professionals with various backgrounds, focusing on the pathology task of visually detecting a pattern, mitoses, in tumor images. Here, the majority voting process was conducted by synthesizing decisions under AI assistance from a group of pathology doctors (pathologists). Two metrics were used to evaluate the appropriateness of AI reliance: Relative AI Reliance (RAIR) and Relative Self-Reliance (RSR). Results showed that even with groups of three pathologists, majority-voted decisions significantly increased both RAIR and RSR – by approximately 9% and 31%, respectively – compared to decisions made by one pathologist collaborating with AI. This increased appropriateness resulted in better precision and recall in the detection of mitoses. While our study is centered on pathology, we believe these insights can be extended to general high-stakes decision-making processes involving similar visual tasks.

Transformasi Partisipasi Politik Masyarakat Desa melalui E-Voting dalam Pemilihan Kepala Desa di Desa Sibolangit, Kecamatan Merek

This study aims to examine the transformation of political participation in the village community through e-voting in the election of village heads in Sibolangit Village, Merek Subdistrict. The research method used is qualitative, employing data collection techniques such as interviews, observations, and document analysis. The research participants include village residents, election organizers, and local authorities. The findings reveal that the implementation of e-voting has significantly transformed political participation among the village community. E-voting has increased voter turnout, streamlined the voting process, and enhanced transparency and accountability in the election process. Additionally, it has empowered marginalized groups, such as women and youth, by providing them with easier access to participate in the electoral process. However, challenges such as digital literacy gaps and concerns over cybersecurity need to be addressed to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of e-voting. Overall, e-voting has the potential to democratize the electoral process and strengthen grassroots democracy in Sibolangit Village.

Decision Support System for Recruitment of General Election Committee using The Simple Additive Weighting

In the voting process in general elections, committee errors often occur in carrying it out. So the results of the number of votes took a long time to obtain due to the dynamics that existed during the process and the occurrence of counting errors. The purpose of this research is to build a system by applying the SAW method in determining the voting committee selection committee. The type of research used is Research and Development with the system development model using a prototype model with the stages of requirements gathering and analysis, quick design, building prototypes, user evaluation, implementing products and maintaining them, and requirements gathering and analysis. Then the data is analyzed using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method by providing certain types of criteria that have weights so that the final value obtained through ranking becomes the final decision. The application was built using the PHP language and a MySQL database. The results of members who pass are then reported to the sub-district voting committee as a research object. The data was calculated from 10 people from each electoral district where they served. So from those 10 people, 7 people will be selected.

Patient outcome quality indicators for older persons in acute care: original development data using interRAI AC-CGA

BackgroundA range of strategies are available that can improve the outcomes of older persons particularly in relation to basic activities of daily living during and after an acute care (AC) episode. This paper outlines the original development of outcome-oriented quality indicators (QIs) in relation to common geriatric syndromes and function for the care of the frail aged hospitalized in acute general medical wards.MethodsDesign QIs were developed using evidence from literature, expert opinion, field study data and a formal voting process. A systematic literature review of literature identified existing QIs (there were no outcome QIs) and evidence of interventions that improve older persons’ outcomes in AC. Preliminary indicators were developed by two expert panels following consideration of the evidence. After analysis of the data from field testing (indicator prevalence, variability across sites), panel meetings refined the QIs prior to a formal voting process.SettingData was collected in nine Australian general medical wards.ParticipantsPatients aged 70 years and over, consented within 24 h of admission to the AC ward.MeasurementsThe interRAI Acute Care – Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (interRAI AC-CGA) was administered at admission and discharge; a daily risk assessment in hospital; 28-day phone follow-up and chart audit.ResultsTen outcome QIs were established which focused on common geriatric syndromes and function for the care of the frail aged hospitalized in acute general medical wards.ConclusionTen outcome QIs were developed. These QIs can be used to identify areas where specific action will lead to improvements in the quality of care delivered to older persons in hospital.