Online Voting Integrity via Blockchain Hash Commitments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current internet-based voting systems face challenges in ensuring the integrity and validity of online votes due to the risk of hacking and corruption, which undermines confidence in election results, while traditional in-person and paper-based methods are inconvenient and lead to low voter participation.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented system for online voting that includes five steps: creating a digital ballot, casting it via the internet, validating the ballot for hacking or corruption, discarding compromised votes, informing voters of invalid submissions, and counting valid votes, ensuring the integrity and validity of online elections through encryption and blockchain technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If internet-based voting is implemented to increase voter participation, then convenience is improved, but security and integrity are worsened due to hacking risks
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating cryptographic hash commitments of votes before they are cast, and by pre-establishing the chain-of-custody verification mechanisms. The ballot commitment is generated and stored before the actual vote is submitted, allowing later verification without exposing the vote content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic hash functions and blockchain technology as intermediary layers between the voter and the vote counting system. These intermediaries enable verification of vote integrity without revealing vote content, and without requiring direct trust in the internet voting platform.
2Ease of operation
If mail-in ballots are used to increase voter participation, then convenience is improved, but chain-of-custody verification is worsened making it impossible to know if ballots were lost or tampered with
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where voters receive cryptographic proof that their ballot was successfully submitted and committed to the blockchain. This feedback loop provides continuous verification of the ballot's status from submission through counting, eliminating the information loss about chain-of-custody.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates cryptographic copies (hash commitments) of the ballot that are stored on the blockchain. These copies serve as verifiable records of the ballot's existence and integrity without containing the actual vote content, enabling chain-of-custody verification while maintaining voter privacy.
3Reliability
If traditional in-person voting is used to ensure vote integrity, then security is improved, but voter participation is worsened due to inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the voting process into distinct phases: ballot creation, ballot casting, commitment registration, and verification. This segmentation allows different security measures to be applied to each phase, combining the security of in-person voting with the convenience of remote access.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical verification processes of in-person voting (physical ballot handling, polling station supervision) with cryptographic verification mechanisms. This substitution maintains security while enabling remote voting, thereby increasing participation without sacrificing integrity.
4Reliability
If existing internet voting security measures are implemented to prevent hacking, then security is partially improved, but complete protection against vote corruption is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the security parameter from relying on system security (which can be compromised) to relying on cryptographic mathematical properties (which are provably secure). By transforming votes into cryptographic hash commitments, the system achieves security based on mathematical principles rather than system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method of online voting and of validating said votes that enables votes to access digital ballots on an internet enabled computing device, such as a mobile phone, tablet, or computer, and submit his/her votes in a secure manner that prevents ballot tampering, only counts validated ballots, and informs voters of whether or not their votes were validated and subsequently included in election results.