Definition Of Voting System Information Technology Essay

translation Of Voting System Information Technology undertakeUsing an electronic suffrager turnoutr turnout re mains has become much and more than popular worldwide and is replacing traditional study right to voteing methods. How invariably, with wider betrothal it has been increasingly criticized for non being secure enough and has had some lean every backside the fact that the voters need to put their imprecate in a purposement they vex no idea how works and is often closed(a) black box device. However, although examplers demand a transp argonnt and secure right to vote dodge, they also demand fast and reliable results, and that is something that and an electronic bal percentageing system abide provide. In the last decade m any(prenominal) organizations and governments live with started electronic bal hookinging. Some companies have also specialized in electronic voter turnout systems, and some of them have had a lot of criticism192 definition of s elect systema voter turnout system is not sound the equipment necessary to browse a vote. the suffrage system standards (VSS) has 2 definitions, subjoinressing the fleshly and functional comp angiotensin converting enzyments of a ballot system. the personal aspect delineates a voting system as comprising all told the computer hardwargon and parcel, procedures, manuals, and specifications .http//homepages.nyu.edu/tsc223/electronicVoting.pdfVoting system means, a method of stick outing and visualizeing votes that functions wholly or part by routine of electromechanical, or electronic apparatus or by call of constitution votings and includes, b bely is not limited to, the procedures for sorting and processing votes andthe programs, operate manuals, tabulating instrument panels, printouts and early(a) softw be necessary for the systems operation.A voting system consists of a configuration of specific hardw ar and software comp one(a)nts, procedures and expendab le supplies configured into a system which allows votes to be pealing and tabulated. No single component of a voting system, such as a precinct tabulation device, meets the definition of a voting system. Sufficient components essential(prenominal) be assembled to create a configuration, which forget allow the system as a whole to meet all the requirements described for a voting system in this openation.http//alternative.dos.state.fl.us/voting-systems/pdf/dsde101Form.pdfProperties of voting systemsResearchers in the electronic voting field have already reached a consensus pile of 4 core propertiesthat an electronic voting system should have (Cranor and Cytron 1997) verity (1) it is not potential for a vote to be altered, (2) it is not manageable for a validated vote to be bear a mannerd from the final tally, and (3) it is not affirmable for an invalid vote to be counted in the final tally.Democracy (1) it permits exactly eligible voters to vote and, (2) it en undisputables that eligible voters vote entirely once.Privacy (1) neither authorities nor anyone else can link any voting to the voter who cast it and (2) no voter can dig up that he voted in a particular way.Verifi big businessman anyone can independently verify that all votes have been counted correctly.Accuracy, land and verifiability are, in most cases of todays electoral systems, assured by the presence of representatives of diametrical parties. The privacy property is currently assured by the existence of insular voting booths, allowing voters to cast their votes in concealing.50Voting system life history cycleMany discussions of voting system security vulnerability deceive to consider the entire voting system. In addition to the hardware and software that make up the voting equipment, the system includes preference workers, voters, and is deployed in a conformation of physical environments. Election workers are often volunteers whose skill with engineering can vary widely. Simil arly, voting engineering science that assumes a level of scientific literacy on the part of the individual voter lead potentially be susceptible to delusion. A security assessment of election equipment that single considers hardware and software without examining its use in real contexts may conclude that the equipment is satisfactory. Considering the larger system including election workers and voters will require analysis of procedures with a localise on fair voting criteria anonymity, confidentiality, integrity, and audit ability.http//www.ejeg.com/volume-2/volume2-issue3/v2-i3-art4-lauer.pdfVoting PlacesVoting at polling places 8 The department can provide the reliable, no virus, and easy-handled voting machine in the polling places. The voters can be au consequentlyticated by the traditional protocol and the technological authentication of voters might not be necessary. It provides the highest security compared to other electronic voting place.Voting at home with vo ters computer 8 electors can cast their votes by victimization their own computers at home. It is hard to prevent the ternary partys advertisement appearing on the screen while voting. It is much more difficult to secure the voters computer from the attacks of hackers and virus.Voting at anyplace with busy devices 8 The voters can use their devices to get gateway to internet in any place and cast a vote through the electronic voting system. Not only can the laptop be utilize to vote, the PDA, cell phone, and any other mobile devices might also be utilize to vote in the future. But in that respect are many approximate lines need to overcome. The security is the most serious problem. It is vital to make sure that the computer and profit in which the voters get access is not monitored, intercepted, or tampered by any attackers.http//homepages.nyu.edu/tsc223/ElectronicVoting.pdfVoting in EgyptVoting in Egypt is give care any other country most of countries still using the c ourtly voting technique in government election, but now Egyptian government think to electronic voting system quite a that customary voting to exclude the problems they faced on it.There is a lot of problem in conventional voting in Egypt1- There is no good relationship between the government and popular, popular cant trust the government and depend on it, voter here is like a blind mortal that must rely on the other person to vote for him.2- Sometimes, government coerced and carries on the voters to vote for a particular candidate, and eliminate them from voting freely.3- Some candidates trying to win by buy the votes from the voters.4- governing can cheat by substitute the original ballot by derivative ones.So there must be other way to solve these problems or reduce it as executable, and give the voters the confidence to count of the system, form this point we think to use a new technology to improve the election by building a new system that is convenience for environme nt of our country Egypt.A novel in e voting in Egypthttp//docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache0tkjSklsJf0Jciteseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.96.19%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+electronic+voting+system+diagramhl=engl=ukpid=blsrcid=ADGEESg4A60cHXQU91yKcqMtBvIK_QDFE30y-uM9olPWwuYpBHDS3k8QAmQIPJ_Nrm_aeGkQIaxMoxq3mTREZsaEZvCCdW3GsOQGS61G15RFdCai5s2KbqO728FXRmPkFgmGU_UwQWHbsig=AHIEtbSKAxn_DBTwcaIIcGPif-nYac-epAHow voting worksIn the United States, voting is a local issue. The Federal government certainlyhas a lot of say about voting through the Federal Election Commission, butin the end, its state and local officials who administer elections. In moststates, the secretary of states office runs an elections office that sets rules andadministers statewide elections.The actual elections themselves are usually the sentiment of the county clerk.Moreover, counties and municipalities bear the majority of the cost ofmanaging elections. In 2000, the total county election expenditures wereestimated at over $1 billion, or about $10 per voter.Voting is more complicated than simply tallying votes. In fact, most of thework in an election occurs long before the voter ever steps into the booth.Voter enrolment requires large selective informationbases of voters, their addresses andgeographic calculation of precinct and partition information. Ballot preparationis a long process that is complicated by myriad rules and regulations. Theelection itself must be administered, usually with the help of a large,volunteer workforce that gets to practice session about once per year. All of theseactivities, in addition to vote tallying, are part of a voting system.http//www.extremedemocracy.com/chapters/Chapter%2011-Windley.pdfVoting systems design criteriaAuthentication plainly authorized voters should be able to vote.Uniqueness No voter should be able to vote more than once.Accuracy Voting systems should record the votes correctly. virtue Votes should not be able to be modifi ed without detection.Verifiability Should be potential to verify that votes are correctly counted for in the final tally.Audit ability There should be reliable and demonstrably authentic election records. reliability Systems should work robustly, even in the face of numerous failures.Secrecy No one should be able to train how any individual voted.Non- coercibility Voters should not be able to prove how they voted.Flexibility Equipment should allow for a signifier of ballot question formats.Convenience Voters should be able to cast votes with nominal equipment and skills.Certifiability Systems should be testable against essential criteria.Transparency Voters should be able to possess a general understanding of the whole process.Cost- forte Systems should be affordable and efficient.http//www.terena.org/activities/tf-csirt/ meet7/gritzalis-electronic-voting.pdf3 Definition of e-voting systemAn electronic voting (e-voting) system is a voting system in which the election data is reco rded, stored and processed primarily as digital information.Electronic voting is a means of having a rootless voting system.Electronic voting is a term used to describe any of some(prenominal) means of determiningpeoples collective intent electronically. Electronic voting includes voting by sales booth,internet, telephone, punch card, and optical scan ballot (a.k.a. mark-sense).Thefreedictionary.com 17An electronic voting system (on-line voting, internet voting) is an election system which uses electronic ballot that would allow voters to transmit their secure and secret voted ballot to election officials over the internet 2. With the prosperity of internet over the years, inventers start to make the use of electronic voting in order to make the voting process more convenient and raise the participation of the civic. From now on, engineers have repeatedly created new technology to improve the feasibility of electronic voting system.http//www.terena.org/activities/tf-csirt/meeting 7/gritzalis-electronic-voting.pdfelectronic voting refers to use of computer or computerized voting equipment to cast ballots in an election. this term, sometimes, is used more specifically to refer to voting that take place over the internet. electronic system can be used to narration voters, tally ballots, and record votes.http//profsite.um.ac.ir/kahani/doc/ejisdc05.pdf3.1 Type of e voting systemE-Voting is a type of voting that includes the use of a computer rather than the traditional use of ballot at polling centres or by postal mail. It encom sort outes various types of voting kiosks, the net income, telephones, punch cards, and marksense or optical scan ballots.http//jatit.org/volumes/research- publishers/Vol2No1/4vol2no1.pdfthere is two types of e-voting polling place voting and Internet voting.Polling place voting. In a polling place, both the voting clients (voting machines) and the physical environment are superintend by authorized entities. Depending on the type of polling place (precinct or kiosk 6), validation may be either physical (e.g. by election officials) or electronic (with some kind of digital identification). Casting and tallying are electronic the voting clients may be transport written text Electronic.Internet voting. The vote is cast over the Internet and the voting client is un administrate during voting (the voting client may be at home, at work, in a library, etc). Registration may be either physical (at the elections office) or electronic (with some form of digital identification). Validation, casting and tallying are electronic.I-voting requires a much greater level of security than e-commerce. While checking the eligibility of voters, and that no voter casts more than one vote, is no more difficult than meeting the security requirements of an e-commerce cover, ensuring this and meeting other requirements such as privacy, a universally verifiable audit trail and uncoercibility, has been difficult to achieve in a practical and affordable way.http//euro.ecom.cmu.edu/program/courses/tcr17-803/Burmeister.pdfAdvantageThe advocate of electronic voting claims that the convenience, mobility, tally speed, less cost, and flexibility are the main advantages. Following are the commentarys of the advantages.Convenience With the well-designed software and system, the voters can simply use his voting equipment with the minimal time and skill to finish the voting process 2.Mobility Voters can cast their votes at a specific polling place, home, or any place in which they can get access to the internet. People can even use the mobile device such as cell phone or PDA to vote. There is no restriction on the location 2. mate Speed 3 Once the voting time is over, the computer can this instant calculate the result of the election. It is much faster than the traditional ballot find out method operated by people.Less Cost 3 Compared to paper ballot voting, electronic voting saves money from reducing the personnel expense , expense for location perplexity and administration fee, etc. In the beginning, the investment expense of building up the electronic voting system would be very high. But later the system is built up, the total expense would be reduced to be much lower than paper ballot voting.Flexibility Electronic voting system can be designed to support a variety of ballot question formats 2. It can be used to collect in the public eye(predicate) opinions or election.Voter participation With convenience and mobility of the system, it would motivate people who are not interested in voting or unable to vote originally. It would increase the participation of voters.http//homepages.nyu.edu/tsc223/ElectronicVoting.pdf2.5 DisadvantageDe hurt the particular advantages to electronic voting system, critics of electronic voting argue about the security issue and the poor access chance to the internet are the main drag onbacks to the system.Inequality problemIt is apparent that the people with low sal ary might not be able to afford the equipment for electronic voting. And some people who are not able to use the computer facility might lose their privilege in voting.Vulnerable to Security The security issue is the main drawback of the electronic voting system. So far, there are still many kinds of attacks which are hard to prevent completely. The attacks might be happened from the webpage, network, to the extent of servers database.Denial of proceeds attack A denial of service is characterized by that an attacker prevents real users from using resources. An attacker may attempt to flood a network and thus reduce a legitimate users bandwidth, prevent access to a service, or disrupt service to a specific system or a user 4. Now it is very hard to completely avoid this kind of attack. Nevertheless, people can adopt some methods such as Filtering R outmosts, Disabling IP Broadcast, Disabling Unused Services, and Performing intrusion perception 4 to make the network more secure.Vi rus Virus such as Trojan horse would do great damage to the system. The server can be substantially protected from the attack of virus by using some specific kinds of operating system. But the client such as personal computers might not secure enough and are easily infected with virus. These viruses might attack computer fromhttp//www.vvk.ee/public/dok/Yldkirjeldus-eng.pdfE-voting system theoryThe e-voting concept is identical to the gasbag method used during advance canvasstoday to allow voting outside of polling place of voters residence* the voter identifies himself/herself to polling commission,* the voter fills the ballot and puts it in an inner envelope,* that envelope is put into another envelope on which the voters data is then written,* the envelope is transported to the voters polling station, the voters eligibility isverified, and if the voter is eligible, the outer envelope is opened and the anonymousinner envelope is put into the ballot box.The e-voting follows the same intention. E-voter creates during the voter procedures an inner envelope (which is essentially an encrypted vote) and an outer envelope (which is essentially a digital signature).The future(a) considerations speak in choose of the envelope method* simplicity and understand ability of the scheme, possibility to draw a parallel withtraditional elections* simplicity of system architecture the form of components and parties isminimal* full use of digital signature.http//www.vvk.ee/public/dok/Yldkirjeldus-eng.pdf2. Votes cannot be cognize before the official ballot reading3. Only registered voters will be able to vote4. to each one voter will have one and only one vote5. Vote secrecy is guaranteed it never will be possible to link a voter to his/her vote6. The voting website will resist any denial of service attack7. The voter will be protected against identity theft8. The number of cast votes will be equal to the number of received ballots9. It will be possible to prove tha t a accustomed citizen has voted10. The system will not accept votes outside the ballot opening period11. The system will be audible.Character of e-voting systemdiscusses the following characteristics of a good electronic voting system accuracy, democracy, privacy, verifiability, convenience, flexibility, and mobility.Each look includes the characteristic of accuracy, but the authors define accuracy in divergent ways.For example, Schneier defines accuracy as beam purpose from intent to counted vote. Standard defines accuracy as the extent to which a given measurement agrees with an accepted standard for that measurement and includes significant discussion of pleasurable error rates in the body of thedocument. For Cranor, A system is hi-fi if (1) it is not possible for a vote to be altered, (2) it is notpossible for a validated vote to be eliminated from the final tally, and (3) it is not possible for an invalid vote to be counted in the final tally. Combining these definition s produces An right voting system counts all valid votes with minimal processing error such that the intent of eligible voters is reflected in the final tally.Each account also discusses the requirement that voters be able to cast their vote in secret, without a link between the voter and the cast ballot. This characteristic is referred to as anonymity, confidentiality, or privacy.Both characteristics, accuracy and privacy, are essential in an standard voting system. Yet, it is a non-trivial matter to achieve both simultaneously. For example, how do we arrest that the intent of eligible voters is reflected in the final tally, without a back-channel to the voter after(prenominal) the vote has been counted but, wouldnt a back-channel to the voter compromise privacy.Each account also discusses the requirement that voters be able to cast their vote in secret, without a link.http//brahms.emu.edu.tr/rza/An%20Introduction%20to%20Electronic%20Voting.pdfcharacteristics, such as security, reliability, ease of use, and cost effectivenesshttp//www.gao.gov/new.items/d07576t.pdfBasic Principles of E-votingThe main principle of e-voting is that it must be as similar to regular voting aspossible, compliant with election legislation and principles and be at least as secure as regular voting. whence e-voting must be uniform and secret, only eligible persons must be allowed to (e-)vote, every voter should be able to cast only one vote, a voter must not be able to prove in favour of whom he/she voted. In addition to this the collecting of votes must be secure, reliable and accountable.According to Estonian election legislation e-voting takes place from 6th to 4th daybefore Election mean solar day and the following requirements are laid out(1) On advance polling days, voters may vote electronically on the web pageof the National Electoral Committee. A voter shall vote himself or herself.(2) A voter shall identify himself or herself using the certificate entered on hisor her i dentity card which enables digital identification.(3) after(prenominal) identification of the voter, the consolidated list of candidates in theelectoral district of the residence of the voter shall be displayed to the voter on theweb page.(4) The voter shall indicate on the web page the candidate in the electoraldistrict of his or her residence for whom he or she wishes to vote and shall averthe vote by signing it digitally using the certificate entered on his or her identity cardwhich enables digital signing.(5) A notice that the vote has been taken into account shall be displayed to thevoter on the web page.(6) Voter may change his or her electronic vote during the advance votingperiod from 6th to 4th day before Election Day1) by voting electronically2) by voting in polling station.http//www.vvk.ee/public/dok/Yldkirjeldus-eng.pdfE-Voting ProceduresIn this section we will describe in greater level the behaviour of the componentspresent in the general architecture of the system d uring different stages of e-voting.6.1. Key ManagementThe detect management procedures and the security scheme used are one of the mostcritical points of the system on which the close of the main requirements of thesystem (privacy and secrecy of voting) depends. What follows is not a finaldescription of the measures and procedures, but we will outline the main concept,main risks and possible solutions.The main tool to guarantee the secrecy of voting in the system is asymmetriccryptography. A system key pair is generated, the public component of which is compound into client software and is used to encrypt the vote. The occult component of the key pair is used in the Vote Counting Application to rewrite the vote. It is of utmost importance that the use of private key is possible only for counting the votes in the VCA (at 19.00 on election day and, if necessary, during recount). When the period for file complaints has expired, the private key will be destroyed The privacy and sec recy of an e-voter can be compromised by a simultaneous occurrence of two security hazards a party appears in the system (or outside the system) who has access to both the private key of the system as well as the digitally signed votes. Even though this data is separated in the system, the risk remains. A one and only private key is likely a lot easier to protect than the digitally signed e-votes the latter pass through several system components (Voter, VFS, VSS) and data transfer channels, consequently, the insecurity of leaked e-votes is higher. indeed for ensuring the security the main focus should be on key management.The private key is subject to two dangers* Compromise or becoming in public available. The occurrence of this wouldenable the parties in possession of digitally signed e-votes to determine who cast avote in favour of whom, thus compromise the privacy of the voter.* Corruption. The private key carrier may be destroyed, alienated or be corrupted because of a t echnical error. When this occurs it becomes impossible to trace the e-votes and all the electronically cast e-votes are lost. This is a critical danger and therefore two key pairs should be used simultaneously in the system.The key pair is generated in a Hardware Security mental faculty (HSM) in such a way thatthe private component never leaves the module. The generation of the key pair anduse of private key is well-kept by key managers, there should be several of them. A scheme N out of M is recommended, for National Electoral Committee fourmembers out of seven should be present in order to accomplish security criticaloperations. Key managers have physical (for example a keycard) as well asknowledge-based (PIN-code) authentication devices for communicating with the HSM.The procedures of key management, pith the generation of the key pair and PINs, delivery of the public component to the vender of client application, preservation of the private component, its backup and deliver y to the VCA must be subject to audit superintendence and should be described in a separate document.http//www.vvk.ee/public/dok/Yldkirjeldus-eng.pdfPaper voting systemPaper-based voting The voter gets a blank ballot and use a pen or a marker to indicate he want to vote for which candidate. Hand-counted ballots is a time and labour consuming process, but it is easy to manufacture paper ballots and the ballots can be retained for verifying, this type is still the most car park way to votehttp//crypto.nknu.edu.tw/publications/200805ICIM_eVoting.pdfIn paper voting, the conformation to these principles is achieved via voter identification, supervised voting and distributed counting procedures. People are admitted to the polling station only once, and they only get one opportunity to cast their vote. It is also hard to add invalid ballots to or remove valid ballots from the ballot box unseen. The paper system uses separate counting sessions in the different districts, and allows any ci tizen to attend the counting process, and therebyverify the result. Moreover, since voting is done under supervision of the election officials, you will be guaranteed a private voting environment. This is a warrant for the secrecy of your vote. Via these aspects, paper voting has acquired a large circulate of trust in the experience of citizens.Still, the ease with which this system has been replaced in the Netherlands advise that there are other factors involved as well. One may argue that the electronic voting machines currently in use have been accepted based on passivity rather than trust. When these machines were introduced in the Netherlands, there has not been much debate about the conformation to the aforementioned principles. Instead, their cornerstone has been more or less tacitly accepted in spite of decreased transparency which is typical of passivity.http//www.win.tue.nl/ipa/archive/falldays2005/Paper_Pieters.pdfPaper voting has bring in a large amount of trust in t he experience of citizens, partly due to the well organised social context. Progress in technology should not lead to problems with democratic progress in society, which may easily become the result of distrust in the election system. If voting technology mediates the relation between people and democracy in such a way that the experience of trust and stability is reduced, for whatever reason, the actions that are invited are political passivity on the one hand, and protest and obstruction on the other.http//www.win.tue.nl/ipa/archive/falldays2005/Paper_Pieters.pdfVoting by Paper BallotIn compound America, early voters substituted beans, kernels of corn, seashells, orrocks for the multi-colored balls used in Greece, as well as using a show of hands and voice to conduct elections (Rusk 313). In 1629, the first vote credited with using paper ballots took place in a Salem, Massachusetts church and by the Civil War only Kentucky and Virginia were still voting by voice.6 In 1800, the Nor thwest Territory enacted a law stating that elections should be held by ballot.http//josephhall.org/arnold_ca_vs_hist.pdfPaper-based E-voting systemIn a paper based e-voting system, a touch screen is used in voting. After the voter has finished casting his votes, the unit prints out a hardcopy of the ballot which the voter has to pass to the election officer in charge so that it can be counted in a centralized location. The ballots will then be counted through optical-scan voting systems.This system has the advantage of a paper trail as every persons votes are recorded on a piece of paper. However, holes that are not properly aligned in a punch card or stray marks on an optical-scan card may lead to a vote not being counted by the machine. Moreover, physical ballots can still be lost during or after transit to the counting stations.http//www.topbits.com/e-voting.htmlDirect recording electronic systemsA DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) voting system consists of a computer with a tou ch-screen monitor, a long-lasting storage medium such as a write-once memory card, software, and, in some systems, a ballot printer.The computer is much like a home computer. A touch-screen monitor allows the user to touch a tag spot on the monitor surface with his finger, thus entering data as if the screen were a keyboard you have seen one if you have ever used an Automatic Teller Machine.The software consists of two parts1) An operate System that supports the voting software and directly controls the monitor, the permanent storage, and any other device that forms part of the computer system.2) The voting system itself, which runs as an application on the Operating System. It manages the user interface, guards against certain user errors e.g., it refuses to accept a vote if the user votes for more candidates than there are offices to be fill up and records the vote of each user on the users command. The voting system also counts the votes and records the counts, or else coop erates with a central computer to produce these results.The ballot printer, if there is one, produces a document that may look like a ballot it shows the choices made by the user. After the user has examined it, he may direct the system to record his vote or he may want for another chance to vote. When the voter has made his choice, the system disposes of this document in one of a number of ways, which will be described later. around of the DRE systems installed in the United States today do not have these printers.Direct Recording Electronic Voting SystemsThis is essentially voting through a comput