Gone are the days of punching holes in a ballot and dropping it into a box on election day. Internet voting is here.
But instead of a few minutes behind a curtain, imagine receiving a code sheet in the mail prior to election day with voting codes next to candidate names.
Imagine using your computer to vote by entering your candidate’s code, receiving a confirmation code of your selection, and then matching that confirmation code with the code on the code sheet.
Sounds exhausting if not downright confusing.
Nonetheless, researchers at Technische Universität Darmstadt find this method very effective in ensuring vote secrecy and integrity. Still, the question remains just how much usability voters will sacrifice for security.
Read more about code voting systems and how willing people are to use them in the May/June 2017 issue of IEEE Security & Privacy. (Login may be required for full text.)
About Lori Cameron
Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.
