e voting dissertation

• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33244-9_4
• Corpus ID: 39605651

Trust in e-Voting Systems: A Case Study

• J. Nogueira , Filipe de Sá-Soares
• Published in Mediterranean Conference on… 8 September 2012
• Computer Science, Political Science

10 Citations

Trust in ict for the public sector : e-voting in brazil’s 2014 election, remote e-voting: more than a technical challenge, implementation of e-voting system for student union government elections, a secure framework for e-voting using blockchain, multistage voting model with alternative elimination, blockchain based e-voting system: a proposal, e-voting: an investigation of factors that affect public trust in kingdom of bahrain, a systematic review of challenges and opportunities of blockchain for e-voting, electronic government and the information systems perspective: 9th international conference, egovis 2020, bratislava, slovakia, september 14–17, 2020, proceedings, political parties and internet voting system adoption in ghana, 28 references, principles and requirements for a secure e-voting system, a trust-centered approach for building e-voting systems, policy mechanisms for increasing transparency in electronic voting, electronic vote tabulation checks and balances, a deeper look: rebutting shamos on e-voting, a better ballot box, information security culture: the socio-cultural dimension in information security management, e-voting security: e-voting security: hope or hype, sensus: a security-conscious electronic polling system for the internet, an integrative model of organizational trust, related papers.

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Trust in e-Voting Systems: A Case Study

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• João Palas Nogueira 9 &
• Filipe de Sá-Soares 9  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 129))

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• Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems

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The act of voting is one of the most representative of Democracy, being widely recognized as a fundamental right of citizens. The method of voting has been the subject of many studies and improvements over time. The introduction of electronic voting or e-voting demands the fulfillment of several requirements in order to maintain the security levels of the paper ballot method and the degree of trust people place in the voting process. The ability to meet those requirements has been called into question by several authors. This exploratory research aims to identify what factors influence voters’ confidence in e-voting systems. A case study was conducted in an organization where such a system has been used in several elections. A total of 51 e-voters were interviewed. The factors that were found are presented and discussed, and proposals for future work are suggested.

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Palas Nogueira, J., de Sá-Soares, F. (2012). Trust in e-Voting Systems: A Case Study. In: Rahman, H., Mesquita, A., Ramos, I., Pernici, B. (eds) Knowledge and Technologies in Innovative Information Systems. MCIS 2012. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 129. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33244-9_4

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Policy Mechanisms for Increasing Transparency in Electronic Voting

In the early years of the American republic, only white male landowners could vote, and then typically by expressing their preferences in a public setting, for all to witness. Our electoral system has changed drastically since that time; now almost all Americans cast votes with the assistance of computerized equipment. While much good stems from the use of computerized equipment in elections—notably increased efficiency, enfranchisement and flexibility—unintended consequences of this mechanization have left us with complicated, insecure and opaque voting systems.

My PhD thesis focuses on the issue of transparency in evoting; that is, what public policy mechanisms can serve to make our voting systems less opaque? After exploring what we mean by “electoral transparency”, I examine the question of evoting transparency on three fronts. I analyze the role of disclosed and open source software in election systems and conclude that, while fully disclosed source code is a valid goal, limited disclosure to experts serves many of the same goals in the short term while preserving vendor trade secrecy. I investigate how contractual provisions between local election jurisdictions and voting system vendors serve to frustrate transparency and find that election officials need to be more careful in these negotiations. Finally, I turn to the question of auditing black box elections systems; that is, since we cannot know how these systems work in the full disclosure (“white box”) case, possibly because of contractual provisions that limit investigation, what methods and procedures can we use for “checking the math” behind our elections?

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Dissertations

A novel e-voting system with diverse security features.

Haijun Pan , New Jersey Institute of Technology

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

Degree name.

Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering - (Ph.D.)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Second advisor.

Nirwan Ansari

Third Advisor

John D. Carpinelli

Fourth Advisor

MengChu Zhou

Fifth Advisor

Vincent Oria

Internet-based E-voting systems can offer great benefits over traditional voting machines in areas, such as protecting voter and candidate privacy, providing accurate vote counting, preventing voter fraud, and shortening the time of vote counting. This dissertation introduces, establishes and improves Internet-based E-voting systems on various aspects of the voting procedure. In addition, our designs also enable voters to track their votes which is a very important element in any elections.

Our novel Internet-based E-voting system is based on the following realistic assumptions: (1) The election authorities are not 100% trustworthy; (2) The E-voting system itself is not 100% trustworthy; (3) Every voter is not 100% trustworthy. With these three basic assumptions, we can form mutual restrictions on each party, and secure measurements of the election will not be solely determined and influenced by any one of them. The proposed scheme, referred to as Time-lock algorithm based E-voting system with Ring signature and Multi-part form (TERM), is demonstrated to achieve the goal of keeping votes confidential and voters anonymous, as well as reducing the risk of leaking the voters’ identities during the election. In addition, TERM can prevent any possible clash attack, such as manipulating voting results or tampering voters’ original votes by malicious election authorities or hackers. The security performance analysis also shows that TERM provides outstanding measurements to secure the candidates’ manifest on each type of ballots during the whole election duration. TERM provides a roadmap for future fair elections via Internet.

Recommended Citation

Pan, Haijun, "A novel e-voting system with diverse security features" (2017). Dissertations . 8. https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/dissertations/8

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Smartmatic's suit against Newsmax over 2020 election reporting appears headed for trial

A lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 presidential election appears headed to trial in Delaware

DOVER, Del. -- A lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer that was targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election appears headed to trial, following a Delaware judge's ruling Thursday.

Florida-based Smartmatic is suing Newsmax, claiming the cable network’s hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements after the election implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results, and that its software was used to switch votes.

Newsmax, also based in Florida, argues that it was simply reporting on serious and newsworthy allegations being made by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.

Attorneys for both sides asked Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to rule in their favor without holding a trial, which is scheduled to start Sept. 30. On Thursday, Davis granted partial summary judgment to each side but said a jury must decide several key issues.

"Statements regarding Smartmatic software or voting machines altering the results of the election are factually false,” wrote Davis, who noted that Smartmatic did not provide any election machines or software used in the 2020 election outside of Los Angeles.

However, the judge said that not every allegedly defamatory statement published by Newsmax, including statements about Smartmatic’s ties to Venezuela and its late president Hugo Chavez, has been shown to be materially false.

“Therefore, the court will allow Newsmax to contest falsity as to Smartmatic’s connections with Venezuela,” he wrote.

In court papers, Newsmax has described Smartmatic as “a struggling election technology company with a checkered history” that is using a legally baseless and unconstitutional theory of liability to try to obtain a massive windfall.

Last month, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted three current and former executives of Smartmatic in a scheme to pay more than $1 million in bribes to put its voting machines in the Philippines. Prosecutors allege that Smartmatic’s Venezuelan-born co-founder, Roger Piñate, colluded with others to funnel bribes to the chairman of the Philippines’ electoral commission using a slush fund created by overcharging for each voting machine it supplied authorities.

In a favorable ruling for Newsmax, Davis rejected Smartmatic’s claim that the news outlet acted with “express malice” under Florida law, meaning that its primary motivation was to injure Smartmatic.

“There is no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent towards Smartmatic,” the judge wrote.

Davis previously ruled that Smartmatic is a “limited public figure” for purposes of defamation and must show that Newsmax acted with “actual malice” by knowingly and recklessly disregarding the truth. On Thursday, he said actual malice is an issue for a jury, and that a jury also must decide whether Smartmatic is entitled to damages.

In another blow to Smartmatic, Davis said Newsmax can argue that it is protected from liability under Florida’s “neutral reporting privilege," which extends to “disinterested and neutral reporting” on matters of public concern. Newsmax argues that the privilege applies because many of the allegedly defamatory statements were made by third parties appearing as guests, or were rebroadcast after being made by third parties on non-Newsmax platforms.

“With these facts, a reasonable jury could find Newsmax was reporting on a matter of public concern without endorsing the allegations surrounding the election,” he wrote, adding that a jury could also find that Newsmax's reporting was not neutral.

Davis also said Newsmax could assert a “fair reporting privilege” regarding reporting by White House correspondent Emerald Robinson about a whistleblower affidavit filed in a Georgia lawsuit challenging the election results. The affidavit involved claims by Powell that Smartmatic had colluded with the Venezuelan government in that country’s 2013 presidential election.

Newsmax argues that Florida’s fair reporting privilege applies to accurate reporting on judicial proceedings, including court records, and that Robinson was reporting on the contents of an affidavit filed in federal court. Smartmatic contends that the affidavit was not signed or sworn, and therefore not an official document. Davis said a jury must decide whether the fair reporting privilege applies to Robinson, who erroneously reported that the affidavit was sworn.

The Delaware lawsuit, which takes issue with 24 Newsmax reports over a five-week period in late 2020, is one of several stemming from reports by conservative news outlets following the election. Smartmatic also is suing Fox News for defamation in New York and recently settled a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against the One America News Network, another conservative outlet.

Dominion Voting Systems similarly filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s loss. Last year, in a case presided over by Davis, Fox News settled with Dominion for $787 million.

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Alaska high court lets man serving a 20-year sentence remain in US House race

The Boney Courthouse, where the Alaska Supreme Court hears cases in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, is shown Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a man currently serving a 20-year prison sentence can remain on the November ballot in the state’s U.S. House race.

In a brief order, a split court affirmed a lower court ruling in a case brought by the Alaska Democratic Party; Justice Susan Carney dissented. A full opinion explaining the reasoning will be released later.

Democrats sued state election officials to seek the removal from the ballot of Eric Hafner, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges of making threats against police officers, judges and others in New Jersey.

Hafner, who has no apparent ties to Alaska, is running as a Democrat in a closely watched race featuring Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican Nick Begich. Hafner’s declaration of candidacy listed a federal prison in New York as his mailing address.

Under Alaska’s open primary system, voters are asked to pick one candidate per race, with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election. Hafner finished sixth in the primary but was placed on the general election ballot after Republicans Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Matthew Salisbury, who placed third and a distant fourth, withdrew.

John Wayne Howe, with the Alaskan Independence Party, also qualified.

Attorneys for Alaska Democrats argued that there was no provision in the law for the sixth-place finisher to advance, while attorneys for the state said that interpretation was too narrow.

Conceptual Design of E-Voting System for Academic Institution

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Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris after presidential debate

Pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy on Tuesday night after the high-stakes debate with former President Donald Trump, calling the Democratic nominee a "steady-handed, gifted leader."

"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift said in a post on Instagram to her more than 283 million followers. "I’m voting for @kamalaharris  because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos."

Swift went on to say that she was "heartened and impressed" by Harris' selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, praising him as a champion of "LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman's right to own her body for decades."

"I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice," the Grammy-winning artist added. "Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story."

Swift, 34, signed her post "Childless Cat Lady" — a reference to language used by Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, to describe women who do not have kids. Swift included a photo of herself holding her cat, Benjamin Button , who has graced the cover of Time magazine with the singer.

Swift's endorsement came as a surprise to the Harris campaign, two campaign officials told NBC News. The campaign views the singer's backing as part of a "decisive victory" for the vice president on the debate stage and speaks to her ability to attract support, one of the officials said.

Walz appeared to learn about the endorsement during a live post-debate interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Walz patted his chest and smiled as Maddow read Swift's endorsement message.

"That was eloquent and it was clear," Walz said, "and that's the kind of courage we need in America to stand up."

The endorsement had been widely anticipated. Swift, who has an enormous worldwide fan base, threw her support behind President Joe Biden and Harris during the 2020 presidential election. Swift allowed the Biden-Harris campaign to use her song “Only the Young” in an advertisement during the 2020 cycle.

Swift once shied away from weighing in on American politics. But with the release of her documentary "Miss Americana" in 2020, she became more vocal. The movie chronicled her behind-the-scenes fight to publicly denounce Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., then a member of the House. She endorsed Blackburn's Senate opponent, Phil Bredesen.

Blackburn ultimately won the race, but Swift's post on Instagram encouraging her followers to register to vote activated waves of young people,  Vote.org said at the time .

In November, a national NBC News poll found 40% of registered voters had positive views of Swift, while 16% had negative views. A majority of Democrats (53%) viewed her positively, while 28% of Republicans said the same.

In the Instagram post, Swift also criticized social media users who have circulated images generated by artificial intelligence falsely stating that she had endorsed the Trump-Vance ticket. Trump shared a series of those images on his Truth Social platform.

"Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," she said. "It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

Swifties for Kamala, a group of fans who have no official affiliation with either woman, said they were "thrilled."

"We’ve had no doubt that Taylor would endorse at the right time and are excited about the momentum she will bring to this campaign," Irene Kim, the group's co-founder, said in a statement.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday morning, Trump said he was not a fan of Swift. "She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace," he said.

Daniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.