Voting Device Hash Code Verification System
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging for election administrators to maintain control over actions taken by poll workers on voting devices at various polling locations, leading to potential unauthorized actions and delays, especially when extraordinary actions are required.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allows election administrators to generate and communicate a hash code for approval, ensuring that only authorized actions can be performed on voting devices by verifying the hash code entered by poll workers or users, thereby maintaining control and auditability of actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If poll workers are allowed to perform actions on voting devices without centralized control, then the voting process efficiency is improved, but the risk of unauthorized actions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the central election office receives notifications of requested actions, verifies authorization, and communicates approval or denial back to the polling location. This ensures that poll workers can perform actions efficiently while maintaining centralized authorization control through the hash code verification process.
2Reliability
If election administrators require centralized approval for all actions, then security is improved, but the voting process speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses hash codes that are generated in advance by the central election office and stored in the election management system. When an action is requested, the polling location system can quickly verify authorization by comparing the provided hash code against the pre-stored value, eliminating the need for real-time communication delays while maintaining security.
3Reliability
If poll workers need to contact the central election office for every action, then control is maintained, but time delays occur
Solution Approach 1:
The central election office generates and distributes hash codes to the polling location system in advance. These hash codes serve as cryptographic copies of authorization that can be verified locally without requiring continuous communication with the central office, thus maintaining control while eliminating time delays.
4Reliability
If a county employee is sent to perform extraordinary actions, then proper authorization is ensured, but voter waiting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The polling location system is equipped with the capability to independently verify authorization by checking hash codes against the pre-stored values in the election management system. This self-service verification eliminates the need to wait for a county employee to arrive and perform manual verification, thus ensuring authorization validity while reducing voter waiting time.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a system and method that allows a central election office to maintain control over actions taken on voting devices located at various polling locations. In an exemplary embodiment, a poll worker or other user contacts the central election office with a request to perform an action on a voting device. An election management system located at the central election office executes a hashing algorithm to generate a first hash code associated with the action. The central election office communicates the first hash code to the polling location, and the poll worker or other user inputs the first hash code into the voting device. The voting device executes the same hashing algorithm to generate a second hash code associated with the action, and compares the second hash code to the first hash code to verify the validity of the first hash code. If the validity of the first hash code is verified, the voting device permits the poll worker or other user to perform the action on the voting device.