Blockchain technology has the ability to improve election results verification, boost the transparency of the e-voting process, and strengthen the security of voters’ personal data.
Votes can be manipulated after they are cast and before they are tallied, but this risk can be reduced by using e-voting systems supported by the security features of blockchain.
Elections have long been a social issue due to their effectiveness as a democratic decision-making process. Citizens are becoming more conscious of the importance of the voting system as more people vote in actual elections.
The right to vote is a fundamental right for citizens of democracies all around the world. It is important to make sure that citizens have a voice in choosing who represents them or how problems that affect them are resolved.
In the early days of voting, votes were typically cast orally or viva voce. Afterward, paper ballots replaced the voice votes used during the voting process. Democracies all over the world used paper ballots for a long time before switching to E-voting machines.
E-voting has improved the process efficiency and integrity when compared to traditional voting techniques because of its adaptability, ease of usage, and low cost.
Despite this, the essential fairness, privacy, confidentiality, anonymity, and openness of the voting process are limited by the potential of encountering excessive authority and manipulated facts. This is a concern that could hinder a transparent voting process because e-voting techniques are centralized and licensed by the crucial authority that regulates, measures, and monitors the process.
As a result, governments all over the world are looking into using blockchain to make general elections transparent and resistant to manipulation.
What is blockchain?
A blockchain is simply a network of computer systems that duplicates and distributes a digital ledger of transactions across the entire network. Each block on the chain comprises a number of transactions, and each participant’s ledger receives a copy of each new transaction that takes place on the blockchain.
Transactions on a blockchain are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature known as a hash. This implies that if one block in one chain was altered, it would be clear that it had been altered. Hackers would need to alter every block in the chain, across all of the distributed versions of the chain, in order to compromise a blockchain system.
What is E-voting?
E-Voting or Electronic voting is a voting method in which votes are recorded or counted electronically. The term “electronic voting” often refers to voting that is enabled by some electronic technology and software.
Compared to manual polling, electronic voting improves the accuracy of elections. Electronic voting is frequently used in many choices due to its adaptability, ease of use, and low cost compared to conventional elections.
How can blockchain be used to enhance E-voting?
The entire voting process is managed by a single controller in the electronic voting protocols. If the centralized authority (election commission) is dishonest, it can cause the selection process to go awry.
The blockchain could be utilized as a modern electronic voting tool to bypass central authority. Blockchain technology provides a decentralized node for online voting or electronic voting. With characteristics like decentralization, non-repudiation, and security protection, blockchain offers an intriguing alternative to traditional electronic voting methods.
Blockchain technology would address flaws in today’s election process by making the polling mechanism clear and accessible, preventing fraudulent voting, enhancing data privacy, and verifying polling results. The adoption of the electronic voting process on the blockchain is crucial because the blockchain can survive fraud and manipulation if the technology is applied properly. A Blockchain electronic voting system lowers the dangers associated with electronic voting and enables a tamper-proof voting system due to the distributed structure of the blockchain.
Voting on the blockchain will be a fully open, public, encrypted piece of data that is held throughout a distributed blockchain network as opposed to a single server. Each encrypted vote is verified by a blockchain consensus method, and each vote is recorded in the public ledger on distributed copies of the blockchain ledger. The government will keep track of how votes were cast and counted, but this data won’t just be used for policy.
Despite being decentralized and entirely transparent, the blockchain voting mechanism protects voters. Instead of being kept on centralized servers, votes would be disseminated to all network nodes and openly stored on the Blockchain. This indicates that anyone can use blockchain electronic voting to count the votes, but no one will know who cast a vote for whom. So, whether voters or candidates, everyone could check the votes and track the voting process.
Pros of a blockchain-based E-voting system
There are undoubtedly some intriguing advantages to the blockchain, which also create new possibilities for electronic voting. Let’s examine some of the benefits of a blockchain-based e-voting system in more detail.
- Protection against cyberattacks
- Records with immutable data
- Transparent history of transactions
- Voter privacy
- Timely and accurate results
Protection against cyberattacks
Due to the distributed nature of a blockchain, there is no single point of failure. As a result, blockchain-based voting systems are more likely to be resistant to attacks like denial of service and database deletion.
Records with immutable data
The fundamental tenet of blockchain technology is the immutability of data. On a blockchain, once a record is created, it is connected to both the previous and next blocks. The risk of tampering with voting results is eliminated because it is impossible to introduce any changes to a specific record without leaving a trail.
Transparent history of transactions
Any network participant can view transaction records that are recorded on a blockchain, and they cannot be modified once they are there. Blockchain-based e-voting technology is therefore said to be not only more secure than existing digital voting options, but also make it simpler to audit and validate election results.
Voter privacy
Using industry-standard techniques like multi-factor authentication (MFA), blockchain systems can authenticate voters. The ring signature technique can be used to guarantee voter anonymity. With the use of their private keys, a group of blockchain users can be brought together to form a compact circle, or “ring,” using this technique. While votes cast within a certain ring can be connected to that ring, an individual vote cannot be connected to a specific voter.
Timely and accurate results
Additionally, blockchain-based solutions can speed up the vote-counting process and lower the chance of fraud and human mistakes by minimizing human involvement in the voting procedure. The blockchain-based e-voting system would allow a faster vote count but also for accurate voting results.
Cons of a blockchain-based E-voting system
The use of the blockchain in voting, however, is also accompanied by a number of unsettling considerations, aside from any potential benefits. The following are some of the drawbacks of using blockchain for electronic voting:
- Reliance on technology and software
- Risks of voter disqualification
- Lack of public confidence
- Accessibility
Reliance on technology and software
A blockchain-based voting system is still reliant on the software and hardware used by voters, like many other digital alternatives. Before a vote is registered on the blockchain, hackers may employ software or hardware weaknesses to steal the data of a voter or change their vote.
Risks of voter disqualification
Unintentionally disqualifying a voter from voting can prevent them from taking part in a contest. For instance, the majority of existing ideas for blockchain-based voting systems rely on private keys to verify the validity of votes. However, because private keys cannot be recovered, if a voter misplaces their private key, they will not be able to cast a vote.
Lack of public confidence
Additional worries and fears are brought on by the absence of defined state-level laws for blockchain-based solutions, which affects both the users and the developers of such systems. Building reliable, trustworthy, and secure blockchain-based voting platforms would be easier if uniform norms and standards were established.
Accessibility
Not everyone has access to the internet. In fact, the majority of people in the world’s developing countries won’t be able to afford internet access. Problems can also arise because many individuals won’t know how to utilize and access the internet.
Conclusion
Since the commencement of the paper voting system, the secret voting model has been utilized to increase confidence in democratic institutions. E-voting was however adopted to increase the efficiency of the voting process.
Election-related controversy still surrounds the use of electronic voting. Some nations, including the Netherlands and Germany, have ceased using it because it has proven unreliable, whereas the Indian Election Commission encourages it. This is further complicated by the participation of a variety of parties, including businesses that produce these machines and political parties with a stake in the rigging.
E-Voting systems are subject to several security risks, including DDoS attacks, vote tampering, manipulation, malware assaults, etc.
However, the use of blockchains can improve a variety of e-voting platforms. A Blockchain-based E-voting solution lowers the risks associated with electronic voting and makes the procedure tamper-proof due to the distributed structure of the blockchain.
Blockchain-based electronic voting systems can be successfully adopted to enhance existing E-voting processes, however, they are unlikely to completely replace them.
