Online Voting
When done efficiently and securely, online voting will make voting easier as well as reduce voter fraud. Using the technology of its Building Blocks (omitting the two IoT-specific elements) and with access through its API, TrustCentral has solved the challenge of: (a) authenticating a claim to a particular personal, public identity; and (b) cryptographically associating that identity with a cryptographically-unique online digital presence. The technology is primarily provided through the TrustCentral API and endpoint development kit, however the notarization of identity service will be verified by a qualified Trusted Partner Notarization Service (e.g., an entity with verifying resources, such as a credit bureau or other appropriate capabilities). The Notarization Services will provide the verified user (as associated with that unique digital presence) with a digital identity token that notarizes that user’s claimed and authenticated identity in association with that digital presence.
ASSOCIATION WITH A VOTING LIST
Upon completion of the individual voter’s identity notarization, that online digital identity can be linked to a specific registered voter profile for subsequent acceptance by a voting authority (such as a voting Registrar) as a registered voter on a voting list. Records of these events may be recorded on a blockchain to reduce future voter fraud.
VOTING
A ballot (certified as official by the digital signature of a voting registrar) can then simply be emailed to (or downloaded by) a registered voter.
The voter then:
- Digitally completes ballot
- Encrypts the ballot using the public key of the voter registrar (note that the encrypted ballot contains no voter identification)
- Completes a separate ballot transmittal which identifies the registered voter
- Encrypts the ballot transmittal together with the previously encrypted ballot using the public key of a “ballot box” clerk and then digitally signs that entire encrypted content
- The delivery of the vote could: (a) be recorded on a blockchain established for that purpose; (b) simply be emailed to the “ballot box” clerk; or (c) be delivered in another manner
- The ballot box clerk receives the vote; verifies the voter’s digital signature on the outer envelope matches that of a registered voter; and notes receipt of the ballot
- It is important to note that the ballot box clerk is only able to decrypt outer envelope and cannot decrypt the anonymous ballot itself
- The encrypted ballot from the inner envelope is delivered to the voting registrar
- The registrar (the only entity that can decrypt it) decrypts the ballot and counts the vote
- Each of the digital records of this process can be retained for subsequent audibility verification purposes