SOME CONDITIONS FOR ELECTRONIC VOTING

Abstract

The critique of electronic voting tends to stem from two primary factors: technical concerns about the security of electronic voting, and the level of technical understanding voters must be presumed to have in order to trust electronic voting methods. In this paper I will show that the issue of security regards guaranteeing two features: unlinkability and verifiability. I will address some of the conditions required to guarantee unlinkability and verifiability, show why they have never coexisted in any voting system, electronic or otherwise; and propose conditions which, if met, should guarantee simultaneous unlinkability and verifiability. In order to do that, I shall attempt to demonstrate that unlinkability and verifiability are necessary and sufficient conditions, given a practical definition of security. Finally, I will try to address how a system implemented in such a way need not be technically incomprehensible to a reasonable voter.