[ecoop-info] DSN tutorial on high assurance voting systems

[Peter Ryan]

At this year's DSN in Edinburgh 25 June, Peter Ryan will be giving a
tutorial on high assurance voting systems.

Registration:

http://www.dsn.org/

Details:

http://www.dsn.org/fullProgram.htm

 

Outline:

 

Confidence in voting systems has been badly shaken in recent years, in
particular in the wake of the 2000 and 2004 US elections, but also many
other elections throughout the world whose accuracy and probity has been
questioned.

Researchers have been pursuing the goal of high assurance, verifiable
voting schemes. A number of schemes have emerged in the last few years
that are reaching a sufficient level of maturity for them to be
seriously considered for deployment in real elections and referenda.

The problem with most existing voting technologies is that voters (and
election officials) have to place a high degree of trust in the
underlying technology, software etc. Recent schemes seek to provide
voter-verifiablity: voters are able to confirm that their vote is
accurately included in the count whilst not being able to prove to a
third party how they voted. Furthermore, this should be achieved without
needing to place any trust in hardware, software, system suppliers etc.

The tutorial will describe the requirements for high-assurance voting
systems, describe the multitude of threats and present a number of
solutions, focussing on the author's Pret a Voter scheme.