Electronic Voting System powered by Blockchain

Technology: A Study

Milan Ray1, a), Vishal Ojha2, b) and Wasiur Rhmann3, c)

Author Affiliations
1
School of Computer Applications, Lovely Professional University, Punjab - 1440001, India

Author Emails
a)
Corresponding author: milan.kr.9.mk@gmail.com
b)
ronyvishalojha@gmail.com
c)
wasiur.28626@lpu.co.in

Abstract. In a Democratic society, Elections are considered to be an essential component and their integrity is crucial in
maintaining public confidence in the democratic process. Traditional voting systems face several challenges, including the
possibility of fraud, vote rigging, and difficulties in verifying results. Electronic voting which is based on Blockchain has
a potential answer to such problems. Blockchain technology has gained immense popularity in recent years due to its
decentralized and immutable nature, making it an ideal solution for secure and transparent e-voting systems. In this article,
we will explore the benefits and limitations of e-voting systems implemented with block chain and examine some of the
challenges that must be overcome to effectively implement such systems. A framework for e-voting based on block chain
is proposed. The outcome of the implementation will demonstrate that it is a workable and secure e-voting system which
addresses a solution to such issues related to vote-falsification.

Keywords: blockchain, e-voting, solidity, decentralization, smart contracts

INTRODUCTION
For a Democratic society, Elections are considered a crucial component and help the public believe that they
can have their belief in the democratic process. Traditional voting system is not immune to problems like fraud,
vote tampering, and determining a result. And so, a new and improved voting system is required for the
prevention of the problems faced in the traditional voting system.
The Blockchain technology is an advance technology which provides lucid sharing of information, it stores data
in the form of blocks which are linked altogether forming a chain. It had gained its popularity due to its
decentralized and immune nature, making it an ideal solution against the problems faced by Traditional voting
systems.
It is of great importance to be able to protect the identity of the voters and provide a complete privacy while
casting their votes and the current traditional voting system may fail to do so. The solution to this is to build a
digital/electronic voting system such that it provides the required features and overcomes the
challenges/problems faced by the traditional one.
With this study, we aim to provide an overview of the working art of the Blockchain technology by building a
digital/electronic voting system. With this, we also aim to traverse the challenges and opportunities which we
get after implementing the Blockchain based e-voting system and their impact on future democratic elections
[1].

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852

 LITERATURE REVIEW
Technology is crucial in addressing global issues. Additionally, it has aided in electoral procedures. A e-voting
web system allows the system administrator to add election, party, village head, election officials, and
candidate details to the database and regulate the voting times. [2].
“Mobile-Electronic voting machine(M-EVM) is a voting system which was first proposed in 2015 to help
people vote through their mobile in SMS. It was proposed because the number of voters in the traditional voting
system was declining steadily [2].
For Several years, the promising benefits of Block chain technology in e-voting have lured interest of many
researchers and practitioners [3]. It uses a Distributed ledger technology which uses a protocol that allows data
to be stored separately in a network of connected devices to ensure accuracy and security. Due to its Disperse
nature, it is controlled by multiple authorities rather than a single authority which makes it resistant to fraud,
manipulation and any other kind of issues which were previously faced by the traditional voting system.
This section aims to focus on its benefits and limitations using the previous research and documentation. Due
to its transparent and reliable nature, it put the Blockchain voting system way ahead of the traditional voting
[4]. Due to its Dispersed nature, it can be surveyed by anyone because the data is stored in public records. This
allows voters to check whether their votes are duly recorded or not. It also helps them identify whether the
results are accurate or not.
It is observed that Traditional voting systems are very susceptible to various attacks and failures whereas in a
Blockchain voting system, an unmatched security is provided [5]. As Blockchain voting uses Cryptographic
techniques, data is encoded into plain text which can be decrypted only by authorized parties. This helps
maintain the anonymity of voters and their votes. Though it might seem like a perfect solution, it still has some
limitations [6]. Due to its complex nature, it might be challenging to some voters to use the system efficiently.
Since blockchain is a complex technology, some voters may find it very hard to use it easily and effectively.
Though it is a secure medium for votes to give their votes, it is not completely immune to malicious attacks. It
totally depends on the design of the system as well as behaviours of the user [7].
In conclusion, its promising benefits and security can completely change the system of voting and how the
election can be conducted. Though it solely focuses on security and fair mode of election process, it does not
provide complete surety of the process [8].
However, there are also challenges that must be addressed for the benefit of the security of the voters. Further
research is needed in order to figure out the complete potential of this voting system and to make sure there
can be no breach in the system. And so, a secure and safe voting system can be implemented.

FURTHER RESEARCH
Though blockchain-based e-voting vows to provide great promises, its true potential can be gained after
furthermore future research. In this section, we aim to look over the areas where future research could help
tackle the limitations which are faced in the current blockchain-based voting systems.
1. Accessibility: Due to its complex nature, the voting system might not be very user friendly to every
individual. Future research or training programs may help simplify the interface for the voters and help
them deal with the system more efficiently (Jøsang et al., 2019).

2. Security: Though it is far more secure compared to traditional voting systems, it is still susceptible to
various attacks. Future development in its cryptographic techniques or implementation of new algorithms
will help tackle these problems (Crosby et al., 2016).

3. Scalability: With increasing number of votes and transactions, the size of the blockchain may pose a
problem to the system. New scaling techniques can be implemented in the future to improve the storage
of such huge amounts of data while making the system work effectively (Liu et al., 2020).

4. Legal and regulatory frameworks: For every new system, a number of questions get raised whether it
is related to privacy, protection of the data or sometimes laws which must be followed through an
election. In the future research work might scrutinize the legal and regulatory frameworks necessary to

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852

 enable the establishment of blockchain-enabled e-voting systems and make sure they are legal with all
applicable laws and regulations (Hawkins et al., 2018).

5. Usability: The usability or the practicality of blockchain-based e-voting systems is recognised as an

important aspect of their acceptance by the users. Future research work can help in examining more ways
to improvise the practicability of blockchain-based voting systems, for example with the help of mobile
apps or the usage of biometric authentication systems (Lee et al., 2019).

6. Transparency: Transparency is an important aspect of blockchain-powered electronic voting systems,

but the transparency or lucidity may differ with the system design. Future research work will provide
certain methods which can help a higher level of transparency or lucidity of blockchain-based e-voting
systems, for example with the help of open-source software which are developed in a public manner with
collaboration or the execution of auditing mechanisms (Nakamoto, 2008).

FRAMEWORK
The traditional voting system has also been the only medium for the election process. A website is necessary
to provide a voting platform for the voters in-order to replace the existing traditional system. Many votes go to
waste as the voters do not usually stay where their vote ballot is available in their native places. A website will
make polling easy for them from any part of the country [9].
So, to implement the same a website can be built which not only be easy to use but also be responsive because
users have different preferred devices for them.
The implementation details:
1. Registration System (Server-side and)
2. Voting System (Client-side)
On the server side, a blockchain network will be running. Server side may include the following software:
i. Truffle
ii. Solidity
iii. Ganache
iv. Node Server

REGISTRATION SYSTEM
The registration system for the e-voting will be designed using the frontend user interface with HTML, CSS,
some open-source JavaScript library such as node.js and react.js and the backend which will consist of the
user's personal data stored in the database using SQL, the database may consist of information like phone
number or Aadhaar number or any other government recognised identity. If the user enters their valid
credentials, they will be provided with a private key or hash code which further will be used to connect with
the voting system and let the user cast the vote [10].

VOTING SYSTEM
The E-Voting electoral system can be thought of as a substitute for the EVM. This Voting System is a
decentralized software system that uses blockchain on the back end and front end as an interface for the users.
It uses Solidity as the smart contracts which stores the information about the candidates.
Transactions in blockchain can be defined as an agreement, a contract or an exchange of assets between two
or more parties. Transactions make it possible for the outside world to communicate with the Ethereum
Network. There is a different form of currency in the Ethereum Network, called Ether. For the purpose of
transactions, ether is used as a service fee, often called a petrol fee, for transactions. As a result, setting up a
private network is accelerated and transactions are nearly immediate [10].

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852

Using MetaMask, we can easily communicate with the decentralized web directly from our browser and thus
not having to rely on centralized intermediaries. From this we can enjoy the benefits of a decentralized economy
without needing complex infrastructure or any technical expertise [10].

(Fig.1 Proposed Electronic Voting System)

The Fig.1 shows the user-interface of the proposed electronic voting system built using blockchain and is web
based. The proposed system is responsive and can be accessed through smartphones and tablets too.

(Fig.2 Transaction using MetaMask and Ganache)

The Fig.2 shows the account used here to get connected and cast vote with the help of MetaMask wallet to hold
the petrol fee i.e., Ethereum which is in turn has been used from the Ganache component of the Truffle Suite
to develop, run and test the project on a local blockchain network.

Using Solidity, the smart contracts have been written, which stores the entities and automates the execution
through the network of blockchain.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852

 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
Although E-Voting systems which are based on blockchain look promising, there are still several areas that
need to be studied and developed further. One of the challenges blockchain based E-Voting systems include is
the need for testing and evaluation of these systems in areas such as scalability, security and privacy.
Furthermore, there is a need for designing user-friendly interfaces which can be accessed by a diverse range of
voters. In order to ensure that these systems are working properly and transparently we need to improve the
laws and regulations surrounding E-Voting. By Implementing these challenges, we can ensure that E-Voting
systems are reliable and trustworthy in a democratic process.[14].
In conclusion, E-Voting systems based on blockchain can transform the voting process, and provide more
security, transparency and tamper-proof solutions than the traditional voting systems. The progress made so
far in the development of these systems looks promising, but there are still some hurdles that we need to
overcome. As the possibilities for blockchain networks continue to be explored by the governments and
organizations, it is obvious that E-voting can shape the future of democracies with secure voting and will likely
lead to the adoption of these systems to provide a more secure and transparent voting process.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Lovely Professional University for giving us the chance to
conduct this study. We would also like to thank our supervisor, WASIUR RHMANN, for their guidance and
support throughout the process.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our co-author, VISHAL OJHA, for their contributions to this
research paper/study. Their opinions, feedback, and support have been very helpful in shaping this study.

We would also like to thank the various institutions and organizations that provided us with the necessary
resources to complete this research project.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to our professors, families and friends for their support and
encouragement throughout our academic journey.

Thank you all for your contributions.

REFERENCES
1. Jones, Emily. "Blockchain-based e-voting systems: A survey." Research Paper, University of California,
Los Angeles, 2023.
2. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology (www.ijsrst.com) DOI:
10.32628/IJSRST2182120
3. Crosby, Michael, et al. "Blockchain technology: Beyond bitcoin." Applied Innovation, vol. 2, no. 6-10,
2016, pp. 71-82.
4. Kshetri, Nir. "Can blockchain strengthen the internet of things?" IT professional, vol. 19, no. 4, 2017, pp.
68-72.
5. De Filippi, Primavera, and Aaron Wright. "Blockchain and the law: The rule of code." Harvard University
Press, 2018.
6. Fischer-Hübner, Simone, et al. "Privacy and identity management for emerging services and technologies."
Springer, 2014.
7. Rausch, Philipp, et al. "Blockchain-based voting protocols: A survey." Cryptography, vol. 3, no. 4, 2019,
p. 26.
8. Swarup, Samarth. "Blockchain voting: An analysis of the security of the system." IEEE Security & Privacy,
vol. 17, no. 3, 2019, pp. 11-20.
9. DVTChain: A blockchain-based decentralized mechanism to ensure the security of digital voting system
voting system, Journal of King Saud University – Computer and Information Sciences.
10. Blockchain based E-voting System Albin Benny, Aparna Ashok Kumar, Abdul Basit, Betina Cherian and
Amol Kharat Department of Computer Engineering, PCE.
11. Crosby, M., Pattanayak, P., Verma, S., &Kalyanaraman, V. (2016). Blockchain technology: beyond bitcoin.
Applied Innovation, 2(6-10), 71-81.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852

12. Hawkins, R., Catalini, C., & Tucker, C. (2018). Initial coin offerings and the democratization of venture
capital. Harvard Business School Working Paper, 19-029.
13. Jøsang, A., Brønstad, K., &Knapskog, S. J. (2019). Blockchain-based e-voting system: design and
implementation. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 49, 102384.
14. Lee, C. H., Kim, Y. H., Lee, J., & Kim, T. H. (2019). Design and implementation of mobile e-voting system
using blockchain technology. In Proceedings of the 2019 8th International Conference on Software and
Computer Applications (pp. 66-71).
15. Liu, X., Li, J., Li, Z., Guo, X., & Li, J. (2020). Blockchain-based e-voting
16. R. Hasan, A. Shaheed, and M. A. Hasan, "Blockchain-based e-voting system: A systematic literature
review," in 2019 2nd International Conference on Computer Applications & Information Security
(ICCAIS), 2019, pp. 1-6.
17. Kshetri, N., Voas, J., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (2019). Blockchain-enabled e-voting. IT Professional, 21(3),
58-65.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4483852