8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
1/12
2011
Group members
WAGUDI
12/5/2011
E-VOTING SEMINAR DOCUMENT
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
2/12
2
1.Electronic Voting (e-voting)1.1 Definition
Electronic voting (also known as e-voting) is a term encompassing several different types of
voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting
votes. Electronic voting technology can include punched optical scan and specialized voting
kiosks (including self-contained direct, or DRE). It can also involve transmission of ballots and
votes via telephones, private computer, or the Internet. In general, two main types of e-Voting
can be identified:
e-voting which is physically supervised by representatives of governmental or independentelectoral authorities (e.g. electronic voting machines located at polling stations);
remote e-Voting where voting is performed within the voter's sole influence, and is notphysically supervised by representatives of governmental authorities (e.g. voting from one's
personal computer, mobile phone, television via the internet (i-voting).
1.2 Overview
Electronic voting systems for electorates have been in use since the 1960s when punched
card systems debuted. Their first widespread use was in the USA where 7 countries switched to
this method for the 1964 presidential election. The newer optical scan voting systems allow a
computer to count a voter's mark on a ballot. DRE voting machines which collect and tabulate
votes in a single machine are used by all voters in all elections in Brazil and India, and also on a
large scale in Venezuela and the United States.
They have been used on a large scale in the Netherlands but have been decommissioned after
public concerns. Internet voting systems have gained popularity and have been used for
government elections and referendums in the United Kingdom, Estonia and Switzerland as wellas municipal elections in Canada and party primary elections in the United States and France.
There are also hybrid systems that include an electronic ballot marking device (usually a
touch screen system similar to a DRE) or other assistive technology to print a voter verified
paper audit trail, and then use a separate machine for electronic tabulation.
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
3/12
3
Electronic voting technology can speed the counting of ballots and can provide
improved accessibility for disabled voters. However, there has been contention, especially in
the United States, that electronic voting, especially DRE voting, could facilitate electoral
fraud.
2.Voting Machines2.1 Punched Card
A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that
contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined
positions. Now an obsolete recording, punched cards were widely used throughout the 19th
century for controlling textile looms and in the late 19th and early 20th century foroperating fairground organs and related instruments. They were used through the 20th century
in unit record machines for input, processing, and data storage. Early digital computers used
punched cards, often prepared using keypunch machines, as the primary medium for input of
both computer programs and data. The punch card system has been extensively used in the USA and
has recently been put under close scrutiny at the Presidential election in Florida. Also Some voting
machines use punched cards.
Figure 1 Punched card of the type most widely used in the 20th century.
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
4/12
4
2.2 Optical Scan voting system
An optical scan voting system is an electronic voting system and uses an optical scanner to read
marked paper ballots and tally the results. An advantage of these systems is that the voters don't
have to learn to use a voting machine. Physically able voters can simply use pen and paper to
mark their intent. Some disabled voters could use a machine to print a voted ballot, which can
then be fed into the optical scanner along with all the other ballots, thus preserving the secrecy of
their ballot.
Optical scan voting systems can allow for manual recounting of ballots. Statistically relevant
recounting can serve as a tool to detect or deter malfunction or fraud. Once an error in the
counting process is suspected a full recount can determine the proper results.
An advantage compared to DRE voting machines is that even if the optical scanner fails, voters
can still fill out their paper ballot, and leave it to be scanned when the machine is fixed or replaced
with a spare.
2.3. Touch screens
This option would involve electors casting their vote using touch screen computers located at
polling places. A computer application would be developed that would enable the voter to cast
their vote by selecting candidates in the order of preference. For example, the first candidate
name touched would be their first preference, the second candidate name touched would be
their second preference, and so forth.
2.4. Paper-based electronic voting system
Sometimes called a "document ballot voting system", paper-based voting systems originated
as a system where votes are cast and counted by hand, using paper ballots. With the adventof electronic tabulation came systems where paper cards or sheets could be marked by hand, but
counted electronically. These systems included punched card voting, mark sense and later digital
pen voting systems.
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
5/12
5
Most recently, these systems can include an Electronic Ballot Marker (EBM) that allows
voters to make their selections using an electronic input device, usually a touch screen system
similar to a DRE. Systems including a ballot marking device can incorporate different forms
of assistive technology.
2.5. Direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting system
Figure 2, DRE Electronic voting machine
A direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machine records votes by means of a ballot display
provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter
(typically buttons or a touch screen); that processes data with computer software; and that
records voting data and ballot images in memory components. After the election it produces a
tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy. The
system may also provide a means for transmitting individual ballots or vote totals to a central
location for consolidating and reporting results from precincts at the central location. These
systems use a precinct count method that tabulates ballots at the polling place. They typically
tabulate ballots as they are cast and print the results after the close of polling.
2.6. Public network DRE voting system
A public network DRE voting system is an election system that uses electronic ballots and
transmits vote data from the polling place to another location over a public network. Vote data
may be transmitted as individual ballots as they are cast, periodically as batches of ballots
throughout the Election Day, or as one batch at the close of voting. This includes Internet voting
as well as telephone voting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Urna_eletr%C3%B4nica.jpeg8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
6/12
6
Public network DRE voting system can utilize either precinct count or central count method. The
central count method tabulates ballots from multiple precincts at a central location. Internet
voting can use remote locations (voting from any Internet capable computer) or can use
traditional polling locations with voting booths consisting of Internet connected voting systems.
3.Analysis of electronic voting
Figure 3, a machine designed specifically to be used by voters with disabilities.
Electronic voting systems may offer advantages compared to other voting techniques. An
electronic voting system can be involved in any one of a number of steps in the setup,
distributing, voting, collecting, and counting of ballots, and thus may or may not introduce
advantages into any of these steps. Potential disadvantages exist as well including the potential
for flaws or weakness in any electronic component.
It has been demonstrated that as voting systems become more complex and include software,
different methods of election fraud become possible. Others also challenge the use of electronic
voting from a theoretical point of view, arguing that humans are not equipped for verifying
operations occurring within an electronic machine and that because people cannot verify these
operations, the operations cannot be trusted. Furthermore, some computing experts have argued
for the broader notion that people cannot trust any programming they did not author.
Under a secret ballot system, there is no known input, nor any expected output with which to
compare electoral results. Hence, electronic electoral results and thus the accuracy, honesty and
security of the entire electronic system cannot be verified by humans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Topvoter2.jpg8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
7/12
7
Critics of electronic voting, including security analyst Bruce Schneier, note that "computer
security experts are unanimous on what to do (some voting experts disagree, but it is the
computer security experts who need to be listened to; the problems here are with the computer,
not with the fact that the computer is being used in a voting application)...DRE machines must
have a voter-verifiable paper audit trails... Software used on DRE machines must be open to
public scrutiny to ensure the accuracy of the voting system. Verifiable ballots are necessary
because computers can and do malfunction, and because voting machines can be compromised.
3.1 Electronic ballots
Electronic voting systems may use electronic ballots to store votes in computer memory.
Systems which use them exclusively are called DRE voting systems. When electronic ballots are
used there is no risk of exhausting the supply of ballots. Additionally, these electronic ballots
remove the need for printing of paper ballots, a significant cost. The advantage with respect to
ballots in different languages appears to be unique to electronic voting.
3.2 Accessibility
Figure 4, DRE voting machine with jelly buttons for people with manual dexterity disabilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jellybuttons.jpg8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
8/12
8
Electronic voting machines can be made fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
Punched card and optical scan machines are not fully accessible for the blind or visually
impaired, and lever machines can be difficult for voters with limited mobility and
strength. Electronic machines can use headphones, sip and puff, foot pedals, joy sticks and other
adaptive technology to provide the necessary accessibility.
3.3Cryptographic VerificationElectronic voting systems can offer solutions that allow voters to verify their vote is
recorded and tabulated with mathematical calculations. These systems can alleviate concerns of
incorrectly recorded votes.
One feature to mitigate such concerns could be to allow a voter to prove how they voted,
with some form of electronic receipt, signed by the voting authority using digital signatures. This
feature can conclusively prove the accuracy of the tally, but any verification system that cannot
guarantee the anonymity of voter's choice, can enable voter intimidation or vote selling.
Some cryptographic solutions aim to allow the voter to verify their vote personally, but not to a
third party. One such way would be to provide the voter with a digitally signed receipt of their
vote as well as receipts of other randomly selected votes. This would allow only the voter to
identify their vote, but not be able to prove their vote to anyone else. Furthermore, each vote
could be tagged with a randomly generated voting session id, which would allow the voter tocheck that the vote was recorded correctly in a public audit trail of the ballot. Other Security
voting systems technologies such as antiviral software, firewall, biometrics and smart cards are
used to secure the electronic voting system.
3.4 Voter intent
Electronic voting machines are able to provide immediate feedback to the voter detecting such
possible problems as under voting and over voting which may result in a spoiled ballot. This
immediate feedback can be helpful in successfully determining voter intent.
3.5 Transparency
It has been alleged by groups such as the UK-based Open Rights Groupthat a lack of testing,
inadequate audit procedures, and insufficient attention given to system or process design with
electronic voting leaves "elections open to error and fraud".
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
9/12
9
In 2009, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany found that when using voting machines
the "verification of the result must be possible by the citizen reliably and without any specialist
knowledge of the subject." The DRE Nedap-computers used till then did not fulfill that
requirement. The decision did not ban electronic voting as such, but requires all essential steps in
elections to be subject to public examinability.
The Mechanics Of E-voting
All current e-voting machines or DRE systems work in similar fashion. Voters make their ballot
choice using an input device such as a touch screen or keypad and a machine records their votes.
Election officials or polling place workers then transfer the voting record to a central database or
storage system that tabulates the votes. A few DRE models are equipped with a modem or other
data communication device that can transmit the results to the central system.
Some voting machines have an attached printer, which many e-voting experts, most notably
computer scientist Rebecca Mercuri, contend is one of the most vital components of an e-voting
system. "Fully electronic systems do not provide any way that the voter can truly verify that the
ballot cast corresponds to that being recorded, transmitted, or tabulated," according to Mercuri.
With a printer, the machine can document a voters selections on slip of paper resembling a cash
register receipt, which the voter can then view and check for accuracy. The piece of paper, also
known as a voter-verified paper trail (VVPT) or voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), then
goes into a secure ballot box, used to tally votes in the event that the results from a DRE machine
are determined to be flawed.
4.Challenges of e-votingAn electronic voting system, like other automated information systems, can be judged on
several bases, including how well its design provides for security, accuracy, ease of use, and
efficiency, as well as its cost.
For example, direct recording electronic systems(DRE) offer advantages in ease of use
because they can have features that accommodate voters with various disabilities, and they
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
10/12
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
11/12
8/2/2019 Seminar E-Voting Complete
12/12
12
Electronic voting systems are primarily involved in the last two stages, during which
votes are cast and counted. However, the type of system that a jurisdiction uses may affect earlier
stages.
For example, in a jurisdiction that uses optical scan systems, paper ballots like those used
on Election Day may be mailed in the absentee voting stage. On the other hand, a jurisdiction
that uses DRE technology would have to make a different provision for absentee voting.