CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study
In recent years, the adoption of electronic voting (e-voting) systems has gained
significant attention globally due to their potential to revolutionize traditional
voting methods. E-voting systems offer numerous advantages over manual voting
processes, such as improved accessibility, faster vote counting, and enhanced voter
convenience. These systems are designed to provide a secure, efficient, and
transparent means of conducting elections, addressing many issues associated with
conventional voting methods.
The concept of electronic voting is not entirely new. The earliest form of e-voting
can be traced back to the 1960s when punch card systems were introduced in the
United States for recording votes. These systems were used extensively in various
elections but faced criticism due to their susceptibility to errors and fraud (Saltman,
2020). The advent of digital technology in the late 20th century brought about
significant advancements in e-voting systems, with the introduction of direct
recording electronic (DRE) voting machines that allowed voters to cast their votes
electronically without the need for paper ballots.
The evolution of e-voting systems has closely followed technological
advancements. The introduction of the internet and advancements in cryptographic
techniques has enabled the development of more sophisticated and secure e-voting
systems. According to (Rubin, 2021), the implementation of internet-based voting
systems has the potential to increase voter turnout by making the voting process
more convenient and accessible. However, these systems also introduce new
challenges, such as ensuring the security and integrity of the voting process,
protecting voter privacy, and preventing cyber-attacks.
In the context of educational institutions, e-voting systems have become
increasingly popular for conducting student body elections, faculty committee
elections, and other voting activities. The Faculty of Computing, with its emphasis
on technological innovation and advancement, provides an ideal setting for the
development and implementation of an e-voting system tailored to the needs of its
community. This study aims to design and develop a robust e-voting system for the
Faculty of Computing, addressing the unique challenges and requirements of the
institution.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The current voting process within the Faculty of Computing is predominantly
manual, leading to several issues. These include inefficiency and delays in vote
counting and result announcement, high risk of human error during vote tallying,
limited accessibility for voters who are unable to be physically present, and
challenges in maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the voting process.
These problems necessitate the design and development of a robust e-voting
system to streamline the voting process and ensure its accuracy and security.
1.2 Aims and Objectives
The primary aim of this study is to design and develop an e-voting system for the
Faculty of Computing. The specific objectives are:
i. To create a secure and user-friendly e-voting platform.
ii. To ensure the system accurately captures and counts votes.
iii. To implement security measures to protect against fraud and ensure voter
privacy.
iv. To develop an accessible system that allows all eligible voters to participate,
regardless of their physical location.
v. To test and validate the system's performance in a real-world setting within
the faculty.
1.3 Scope of the Study
The study will focus on the development of an e-voting system specifically for
elections within the Faculty of Computing. This includes student body elections,
faculty committee elections, and other relevant voting activities. The system will
be designed to handle a variety of election types, from simple majority votes to
more complex preferential voting systems.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study holds significant importance for several reasons. It will enhance the
efficiency and accuracy of the voting process within the Faculty of Computing. It
will reduce the time required to count votes and announce results. It will provide a
secure platform that ensures the integrity and confidentiality of the voting process.
It will make voting more accessible, encouraging higher participation rates among
the faculty and student body. The study will contribute to the broader field of e-
voting technology, offering insights and solutions that can be applied in other
contexts.
1.5 Limitations of the Study
Despite its potential benefits, this study has certain limitations. The project will be
implemented in a limited pilot test environment, which may not fully represent the
challenges faced by larger, more diverse regions. The effectiveness of the system is
dependent on the accuracy and completeness of the data entered by users. Resource
constraints, including time and budget, may limit the scope of the system's features
and functionalities. Resistance to change and the need for training among users
may impact the initial adoption and use of the system.
1.6 Definition of Terms
E-Voting: Electronic voting, a method of casting votes using electronic
systems.
Voter Privacy: Ensuring that individual votes are confidential and cannot be
traced back to the voter.
Vote Tallying: The process of counting votes.
User-Friendly: Easy to use and understand by the intended users.
Fraud Prevention: Measures taken to protect the voting system from fraudulent
activities.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 ROLE OF ELECTION IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is rested in the
people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free
electoral system. Election on the other hand is a process in which voters will be
governed (Kohno et al. 2020)
“in democratic society, voting is used to collect and reflect peoples opinion and
making a trusted and accepted committee of representatives for successfully
running of the country” (Abhishek et al. 2021). Democracy is defined as a political
system ruled by the people either directly or through elected representative.
Commonness way to get an elected representative is through election (the people
deciding a representative through voting). Nigeria as a country is a democratic
nation hence this is the kind of government expected to be practiced in Uniport.
University of Port Harcourt Faculty of Computing election should be democratic in
nature since the institution is conceived by Nigeria.
Yala (2019) mention that “election is important for functioning democracy”. One
of the best ways to have a good and functioning democracy is through election
provided that the result is accurate and reliable. It gives power to the people to
decide their representative.
In time past, different voting systems that are based on traditional paper ballots,
mechanical devices or electronic ballots were developed for elections (NSF 2017,
and Malkawi et al. 2019).
Over the past 200 years, the conduct of elections has changed in many ways and
these changes are due different voting system that has been implemented.
The first ballot was through the use of ball, clay before there was an improvement
to paper ballot. The first lever voting machines was used was implemented in
Lockport, Network in 1892. The standard punched cards used in 1890 census were
invented by Herman Hollerith.
An improvement was the Optical Mark-sense Scanners which remained in use into
the 1950s.
The first proposals for electrical vote recording date back to the mid-19th century.
The machine commercially known as Video voter, was first used in real elections
in 1975,this system was probably the first direct-recording electronic voting system
to be used in a real election, other direct recording electronic voting system are :
Electro vote 2000(fidlar), Microvote, etc.
2.1 PROBLEMS OF VOTING SYSTEMS THAT ARE BASED ON
TRADITIONAL BALLOTS.
A report produced in 2018 highlighted that electoral roll was often manipulated by
candidate and their supporters for self interest with ulterior motive and often lead
to dispute between parties (Suwamam 2018). The one that occur in Nigeria about
20years ago was the election that declared Moshood Abiola as a winner that was
later manipulated by Gen. Sanni Abacha. There are many reports of manipulated
election in Nigeria. There is a high degree of truthfulness in this report.
NSF (2016),Muir et al. (2015),Boniface (2020), Malkawi et al.(2019), ascertain
that “Allegation of violence, intimidation, ballot stuffing, under-age and multiple
voting, counting errors, complicity of the security agencies and the absence or late
arrival of election materials etc often trail elections conducted using these systems
of voting.”These are the ways exactly election is being manipulated especially in
Africa. There are also reports of allegation of violence in many of the previous
election within the University of Port Harcourt Union body.
Belden (2018) “Manipulations of the election roll has undermined the integrity and
outcomes of election” once election has been manipulated, the purpose of election
in democracy will experience derailment i.e the integrity has been mocked; the
result of the election is no more the will of the people.
United Nations (1948) Universal declaration of Human Right of the United Nations
stated that “In Africa, most elections are conducted using paper ballots. However,
there have been countless reported cases of eligible voter being unable or prevented
from exercising their right to vote”. Even if the election has not been manipulated
but there are many eligible voters that are unable or prevented from voting (disabled
voters and voters that cannot come to the poll booth due to some reasons) therefore
the outcome of the election can never be true which also does not give a good
definition to democracy.
2.2 SHORTCOMING OF THE E-VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTED
DURING THE LAST UNIPORTVS ELECTION
From the statement made by Okediran et al, (2017) one of the main types of e-
voting can be identified as e-voting supervised by physical presence of
representative of government or independent electoral authorities e.g electronic
voting machine at poll sites popularly known as Direct Recording Electronic
(DRE).This was the kind of e-voting implemented during the last UNIPORTVS
election only that the laptops was used as the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE).
Boniface(2018) mention “sometimes eligible voters are unable or prevented from
voting due to violence and intimidation, lack of information on physical location of
voting poll sites, social discrimination, physical disability, terrain, floods, and poor
communication” e-voting was a good improvement compared to the ballot paper
system but the kind of e-voting system used during the last UNIPORTVS election
has not solved the above listed problems because students (voters’) still need to
visit the polling booth before they can cast their vote only that ballot paper and
ballot boxes has been eliminated and replaced with laptops at poll site which is
similar to the way Direct Recording Electronics(DRE) is been used at the polling
booth.
Abhishek et al.(2018) stated that “for a variety of reasons, voters may not be able
to attend voting booths physically but want to cast vote remotely”.
some of the reasons that might stop student from visiting the polling booth are
rainfall, time management, stress, fear of violence, urgent and important attention
etc. There is a strong indication that this kind of system cannot increase voter’s
involvement during election
2.3 What is E-voting?
The term e-voting is defined as any voting method where voter’s intention is
expressed and collected by electronic means (Okediran 2015). The e stands for
electronic hence e-voting means electronics voting i.e electronics form of voting.
E-voting includes any kind of electronic system used at any stage of the electoral
process, such as in the counting phase.
The advancement of information and telecommunications technologies has allow
for a fully automated online computerized election process whereby electoral vote
counts are done in real time is that by the end of election day, the results are
automatically out (Rubin 2020) .This type of election process is referred to as
electronic voting (e-voting).
“The term e-voting is being used from tabulating the votes by electronic means to
integrated electronic systems of voters’ and candidates’ registration to the
publication of election results” (Buchsbaum 2014)
2.4 MOTIVATION FOR E-VOTING
Soundness: possible errors in the final tally should be detected.
Un reusability: nobody must vote twice and valid votes must not be removed
from the final tally
Completeness: invalid votes must not be added.
Uncoercibility: for preventing vote buying and extortion, no voter can prove to
have voted in a particular way.
2.5 TYPES OF E-VOTING
There are two types of e-voting system:
Buchsbaum (2016) “In general,two main types of e-voting can be identified:
1. e-voting supervised by the physical presence of representatives of
governmental or independent electoral authorities, e.g. electronic voting
machines at poll sites popularly known as Direct Recording Electronics
(DRE)
2. e-voting within the voter’s sole influence mobile voting (remote e-voting),
not physically supervised by representatives of governmental authorities,
e.g. voting from one’s own or another person’s computer via the internet by
mobile phones (including short Message, WEB), or via digital television”.
The e-voting supervised by the physical presence of representatives of
governmental or independent electoral authorities (Laptops at poll sites was
used in the last University of Port Harcourt faculty of Computing Election
which was an improved system. This research work is proposing a form e-
voting called mobile voting which is within voter’s sole influence (remote
e-voting),not physically supervised by representatives of electoral
committee, e.g. voting from one’s own or another person’s mobile phones
using Short Message Service(WEB).
2.6 ADVANTAGES OF THE WEB VOTING
Buchsbaum (2004) ”The emergence of e-voting will undoubtedly enable voters to
cast their vote from a place other than the poll site in their voting district, facilitate
the casting of the vote by the voter, facilitate the participation in elections by those
who are entitled to vote, widen access to the voting process for voters with
disabilities or those having other difficulties in being physically present at a polling
site, increase voters turnout by providing additional voting channels, reduce
overtime, the overall cost to the electoral authorities of conducting an election,
deliver voting results reliably and more quickly amongst many other benefits”.
Voter can cast their votes anytime, anywhere and using an electronic device (mobile
phones to be precise).
It allows many voters to vote simultaneously while ensuring highly availability
during the electioneering process.
2.7 REASONS TO LOOK FORWARD TO WEB VOTING SYSTEM
THROUGH MOBILE PHONES
Sending and receiving of information, love messages etc., through WEB is very
common among our youths especially student. Many of our student’s finds
pleasure using WEB to send and receive messages from their colleagues and love
ones.
The turn up of youths to vote for their favorites in programs like MTN project
fames, Big brother Africa etc. shows that they find pleasures voting via WEB.
(NG KAI SIN) The younger generation is keener to use WEB when sending their
vote of support for their favorite idol or songs advertised on the television or radio
shows compared to the older generation.
The ease of use and the interesting features in mobile phones and WEB
functionality make it easy to use as a tool to communicate from anywhere and at
anytime under good network connectivity makes it the choice of students.
(May 2017) mobile computing provides users with more freedom as they can
access information and services without having to find a physical space, such as
office or internet café for internet connection.
Warnock (1996) labeled the benefits provided by mobile technologies “anytime
and anywhere computing.”
(Ng kai sim) WEB voting can access in anyway and at anytime as long as the user
has a mobile phone and SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card.
In particular the user has direct communication without time or location barriers.
Virtually all student and youths go about with their handset because information
can be thrown at them anytime and an urgent call can be put through to for
important reasons.
Coating skim (2018) which says it is the norm for most Malaysians to carry a hand
phone with them everywhere they go. This is also common in Nigeria. Most
Nigerians carry a hand phone with them everywhere they go.
Electronic voting via website further enhances accuracy of all valid votes and final
outcome. It also permits voting once for only eligible voter and allow independent
verification of all voters. It can also improve voter’s involvement and its flexibility
allows a voter to login and votes from any workstation (Alan, 2015).
From Editorial (2016) “The electronic identification system and its potential to
improve processes has been given serious consideration by the electoral
commissioner.”
Landon (2019) It has suggested that information and communication technology
(ICT) has the capability to overcome temporal and spatial boundaries.overcoming
the temporal and spatial boundaries in the sense that voter can vote at anytime and
anywhere during the election process.
Increasing use of web based services across gender age, including regions,
showing citizens may adapt and use the proposed voting system. (Suwamaru 2016)
Sakal(2013) stated that “government and other agencies have continuously
emphasized the importance of the opportunity for people to cast their votes freely
without the fear for intimidation”.
Carracedo (2012), in the last few years different governments have experimented
with electronic voting and argued that further development is still required.
In this age of technology, it makes sense to device ways and means to allow people
to cast their votes freely without the fear of harassment.
Leung (2017) highlighted “that WEB is a social technology and has become a
popular communication technology among students”. Students are fond of using
WEB to communicate with each other especially with their love ones, they derive
pressure in it maybe because of functionality and interesting feature of the mobile
phones, or they see it as better means to express their feelings to each other.
Mobile applications such as Whatapp, 2go etc are based on short message service.
Short Message Service is indeed a popular communication technology to students
especially.
The largest category of people that use WEB voting in popular programs like
project fame, Nigerian idol, Big brother Africa etc to send their vote of support to
their favorite artist, songs, musician, idol etc are students because they derive fun
in it, introduction of WEB voting will increase student turn-up during University of
Port Harcourt Faculty of Computing Election.
Leung (2007) reported that heaviest use of WEB was motivated by its
convenience, it’s low cost, and it’s utility for co-ordination event.
May (2016) stated that “mobile computing provides users with more freedom as
they can access information and services without having to find a physical space,
such as office or internet café for internet connection.” The user has direct
communication without location barriers.
Skimm (2017) stated that “it is the norm for most Malaysians to carry a hand
phone with them everywhere they go” it also a norm for youths in Nigeria
(including UNIPORT student) to carry a hand phone with them everywhere, this
particular reason WEB voting easy and interesting and it is one of the factor the
energize anytime, anywhere voting use of the mobiles phones.
2.8 MOBILE PHONE ENHANCEMENT FEATURES
The pervasiveness of mobile phones can utilized to improve the election process
towards free, air and safe election (Suwamaru 2019). It will be very hard not to
find a teenager without a mobile phone these days, i.e. any undergraduate without
a mobile phone is regarded as an irresponsible student and even the school
management assumes that all student seeking admission into the tertiary institution
have a mobile phone, since they always requested a phone number in the
admission form. This has really ascertained the pervasiveness of mobile phones
and its ability to improve the election process towards freer, fair and safer election
on campus.
Mobile phone the most pervasive form of electronic communication device
(suwamaru & Anderson, 2022). Suwamaru (2018) Mobiles phone maintains
connectivity within and between distant groups of people. Suwamaru (2021) “less
complex nature as compared to other technologies such as computers and laptops”
Blom (2008) stated that “emerging technology including mobile phones and on-
line services are designed to provide users phones and on-line service are designed
to provide users with controls over appearance and functions”
From Editorial (2013) “The electronic identification system and its potential to
improve election process have been given serious consideration by the electoral
commissioner”. Mobile phone eliminates polling trouble, with no allegation of
bribery and malpractices.
Reasons to look forward for mobile voting are reduced costs, greater accessibility
for the disabled and its flexibility. Therefore, there is the need of a significant
alternative to this conventional system in the delivery of trusted elections. The
advancement of information and communication technologies has allow to send
information through Short Message Service
2.9 CONCLUSION
Suwamaru (2020) stated that “This near ubiquity of mobile phones can be
harnessed for use in improving common rolls, polling and counting.” The
simplicity and portability of mobile phones makes them an excellent option for use
in UNIPORTVS election.
WEB voting can be accessed in anyway and at anytime as long as the user has a
mobile phone and a SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE (SIM) card and it is
very convenient for mobile user to participate in the WEB voting service as they
only need to send their voting keyword to a particular short code and send it
through Short Message Service
