Blockchain Voting Systems: Can Cryptocurrency Technology Ensure Election Security?

Voting is a fundamental pillar of democratic societies, yet it faces ongoing challenges related to security, transparency, and trust. Blockchain technology, best known for its role in powering cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, has been proposed as a potential solution to many of these challenges. However, the question remains: Can the use of blockchain for voting truly secure elections, or are the risks and challenges too significant to overcome?

How blockchain works

Blockchain is a decentralised, digital ledger technology that records transactions across multiple computers in a network. Each transaction is grouped into a "block", and once verified, the block is added to a chain of previous blocks, forming a continuous, unalterable record. The verification process is achieved through consensus mechanisms, such as Proof of Work or Proof of Stake, where multiple nodes in the network agree on the validity of the transaction before adding it to the chain. This ensures that the data is consistent across all participants and prevents tampering.

The unique feature of blockchain is its immutability — once data is recorded in a block and added to the chain, it cannot be altered without altering every subsequent block. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, linking them together and ensuring the integrity of the entire chain. This decentralised and secure structure makes blockchain particularly useful for applications like cryptocurrency or supply chain management, where transparency and security are crucial.

What is blockchain voting?

Blockchain voting refers to the use of blockchain technology to facilitate, record, and secure the voting process in elections. This system leverages the core principles of blockchain — decentralisation, transparency, and immutability — to create a voting mechanism that, in theory, is both tamper-resistant and verifiable.

• Decentralisation. Unlike centralised voting systems that rely on a single authority or server to manage and verify votes, blockchain distributes the responsibility across a network. This eliminates the risk of a single point of failure or centralised tampering.
• Immutability. Once a vote is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted without altering every subsequent block in the chain.
• Transparency. Every transaction (vote) on a blockchain can be viewed by all participants in the network. This transparency helps prevent fraud and builds trust in the voting process.

In a blockchain decentralised voting system, each vote is treated as a unique transaction that is verified by the network. Once a voter casts their vote, it's encrypted and sent to the blockchain, where it's added to a block after verification by multiple nodes. Since each vote is cryptographically secured and linked to the previous votes, altering a single vote would require changing the entire blockchain.

This immutability is crucial for election integrity, as it guarantees that no votes can be changed or tampered with after they are cast. Furthermore, the transparency of blockchain allows all participants, including election officials, candidates, and voters, to audit the process in real time.

Potential benefits of blockchain voting

Blockchain technology offers several potential advantages when applied to voting systems. These benefits address many of the challenges faced by traditional voting methods, such as security vulnerabilities, lack of transparency, and inefficiencies.

Enhanced security

One of the primary advantages of blockchain voting is its ability to provide a highly secure environment for casting and counting votes. Traditional electronic voting systems are vulnerable to hacking, manipulation, and data corruption due to their reliance on centralised servers. In contrast, blockchain's decentralised architecture distributes data across multiple nodes in a network. This makes it extremely difficult for a bad actor to tamper with or alter the votes without being detected.

Transparency

Traditional voting systems, whether paper-based or electronic, often operate as closed systems, making it difficult for voters and observers to verify the accuracy of the process. In a blockchain-based election, every vote is recorded on a public or semi-public ledger, allowing participants to audit the process at any stage. While individual votes remain anonymous, the overall election results can be tracked and verified by anyone with access to the blockchain. This real-time transparency ensures that election officials, candidates, and voters can independently confirm that votes are counted correctly and without manipulation.

Voter anonymity

Blockchain voting systems can offer enhanced voter data protection and anonymity, ensuring that voters can cast their ballots without fear of surveillance or coercion. By using cryptographic techniques to separate voter identities from their votes, it's impossible to link a specific vote back to an individual once the vote is cast.

Accessibility

Using blockchain technology in elections has the potential to make voting more accessible by enabling remote and secure voting options. With a blockchain-based voting system, voters can cast their ballots from anywhere in the world using a secure digital interface, such as a smartphone or computer. This can be particularly beneficial for individuals who are unable to vote in person due to physical disabilities, travel constraints, or other reasons. By removing geographical barriers and making voting more convenient, blockchain can help increase voter turnout and participation.

Efficiency and cost reduction

Traditional voting methods can be costly and time-consuming, requiring significant resources for tasks such as printing ballots, staffing polling places, and counting votes. Blockchain-based voting systems can streamline these processes, reducing the need for physical infrastructure and manual labour. By automating many aspects of the voting process and enabling real-time vote counting, blockchain can significantly decrease the time and expense associated with conducting elections, making the process more efficient and cost-effective.

Challenges and risks of blockchain voting

While blockchain technology presents several potential advantages for voting systems, its application in this context also faces significant challenges. These limitations span technical and practical domains, raising concerns about the feasibility of the widespread adoption of blockchain-based digital voting systems.

Security concerns

Although blockchain is often touted for its security, it's not immune to attacks. Blockchain voting systems could be vulnerable to several types of attacks, such as 51% attacks (where a malicious group gains control of the majority of the network's computing power), distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, or exploits targeting smart contracts used in voting.

Another concern is the risk of hacking or software vulnerabilities in the devices voters use to access the blockchain voting system. If a voter's device is compromised by malware, their vote could be manipulated before it reaches the blockchain, defeating the security benefits of the system.

No reliable voter identification

One of the major challenges in blockchain voting is ensuring reliable voter identification. Traditional voting systems often use physical identification methods, such as government-issued IDs, to verify voter eligibility. In a blockchain-based system, identifying and authenticating voters remotely becomes much more difficult.

All current methods of personal identification for Internet voting have severe weaknesses. And without a trusted, standardised digital identity infrastructure, ensuring that each voter is who they claim to be is a challenge. If identification mechanisms are weak or prone to fraud, there is a risk that ineligible individuals could vote.

Risks of voter manipulation or coercion

While blockchain voting can offer anonymity and privacy, it does not eliminate the risks of voter coercion or manipulation. In a remote voting scenario, it can be difficult or even downright impossible to ensure that voters are casting their ballots freely without outside influence.

Technical complexity and infrastructure needs

Blockchain voting systems require a robust technological infrastructure that is not universally available. For such systems to be implemented, a reliable internet connection, secure devices, and the necessary software are essential. In many parts of the world, especially in rural or underdeveloped regions, access to such technology is limited. The digital divide could potentially disenfranchise certain populations, particularly the elderly or those without access to modern devices.

Case studies and real-world implementations

Despite being a relatively new concept, blockchain voting has already seen limited real-world implementation in several regions and contexts.

In 2018, West Virginia became the first US state to allow military personnel stationed overseas to vote in midterm elections using the Voatz mobile voting app, which leverages blockchain technology for secure voting and ballot counting. While the pilot was considered a success in improving access to voting, concerns about the security of the Voatz platform and the scalability of the system were raised, leading to further scrutiny and debate about its long-term viability.

In 2018, Sierra Leone became the first country to use blockchain technology in a national election. The experiment was conducted by Agora, a Swiss-based blockchain firm. While the official election was still conducted using traditional methods, Agora's system ran parallel to it, allowing votes to be recorded on the blockchain. This pilot program was intended to demonstrate how blockchain could improve the transparency and efficiency of elections in developing countries. However, the use of a private blockchain, which can only be changed by a small number of authorised entities, has been controversial as it was unclear who would guarantee the impartiality of these entities.

In 2019, Moscow conducted a blockchain voting trial in its local municipal elections. The system, designed to allow voters to cast their ballots online, used blockchain technology to provide greater transparency and security in the voting process. Although the blockchain system operated as intended, there were concerns about the security of the cryptographic methods used and the potential for vulnerabilities in the system. Additionally, questions arose about the level of transparency provided to the public and external auditors, demonstrating the need for more robust oversight and independent verification in blockchain voting systems.

While the case studies highlight the potential of blockchain voting systems, they also underscore significant limitations that remain unresolved. Despite positive outcomes in small-scale or controlled environments, these projects consistently reveal that blockchain voting is not yet mature enough to become an election security technology in large-scale national elections.

Conclusion

Blockchain voting systems present a promising yet unproven approach to securing elections. While blockchain's core features — decentralisation, transparency, and immutability — offer potential solutions to issues like voter fraud and tampering, the technology is far from ready for widespread implementation in elections. Any flaws in the system can have far-reaching consequences, undermining public trust in electoral outcomes.

Ultimately, while blockchain voting may have niche applications — such as for overseas voters — it is not yet a safe solution for national elections. Given the critical nature of elections to democratic governance, the risks associated with adopting immature technology could do more harm than good. Until the existing serious challenges are adequately addressed, caution is essential in the pursuit of blockchain-based voting systems.