Revolutionizing Indian Elections: Introducing Blockchain

to Ballot Based Voting

S. Ponni alias Sathya 1, Muhammed Safwan S S 2, Archuthan T A 3, and Yogeshwar

S4

1
Associate Professor, Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology,
Pollachi, India,[email protected]

2
B. Tech student, Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology,
Pollachi, India,[email protected]

3
B. Tech student Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology,
Pollachi, India,[email protected]

4
B.Tech student Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology,
Pollachi, India,[email protected]

Abstract. Utilizing blockchain technology, the voting system aims to provide

user-friendly voting with greater transparency and improved security. The
proposed system addresses the shortcomings of traditional electoral
systems, such as transparency and security. Blockchain, known for being
decentralized and immutable, provides security and transparency to overcome
various challenges of traditional voting mechanisms, such as fraud and
tampering processes. It aims to create a reliable voting system that can be
audited by ensuring that everyone votes honestly. Popular front-end
frameworks will be used to build the proposed new approach, making it user-
friendly. Using cryptographic techniques, the system provides anonymity,
verifiability, and resistance to tampering, thus creating greater trust between
voters and stakeholders. Furthermore, blockchain-based implementation has the
potential to streamline the election process, reduce administrative costs, and
reduce the risk of electoral malpractice. This paper provides a comprehensive
analysis of the technological considerations, challenges, and opportunities
associated with blockchain adoption in elections around the world. The
proposed Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and Secure
Hash Algorithm (SHA-256) ensure the security and transparency of the voting
process. The results of the implementation show that it is a functional and safe
e-voting system that addresses the issue of voter fraud in e-voting.
Keywords: Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm, E-voting, Blockchain,
Decentralize, Digital Signature Algorithm.
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1 Introduction

Traditional voting methods face problems like security threats and leaks of
transparency, so introducing a voting system leverages blockchain innovation to drive
user-friendly voting with high standards of straightforwardness and improved
security. A blockchain could be a list of records, called pieces, connected using
cryptography. This brings a new way to vote where we use a computer or phone to
vote, and instead of storing the votes on a single computer, the votes are recorded on
many computers in a chain. This chain keeps the vote safe and makes it nearly
impossible to change it without everyone noticing. Blockchain are supervised by a
peer-to-peer network, which ensures that they are decentralised and not controlled by
any single entity.
Imagine an election system where every voter is given a digital ballot and can vote
securely online from anywhere. Behind the scenes, this system uses blockchain
technology, which acts as an immutable and unalterable ledger to securely record
every vote. Using a blockchain ensures that once a vote is cast, it cannot be tampered
with, thus making the voting process more reliable. Additionally, the system uses the
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to authenticate the identity of
voters to ensure the authenticity of each vote, adding additional security and
reliability to the voting process [1,2].

By incorporating blockchain technology into ECDSA, this ballet-related voting

system offers many advantages. It enables the visibility and traceability of the voting
process, as each transaction is recorded on the blockchain and can be traced by
anyone connected to the network. Besides, the use of ECDSA ensures that the
votes are securely validated, protecting against unauthorized access or tampering.

2 Literature Review

Yi, H. et al [3] Securing e-voting based on blockchain in P2P system. J Inaccessible

Com Orchestrate is an electronic audit for voting and analysis. It is a capable and cost-
effective way to execute election strategies, characterized by unselfish data and real-
time and enjoyment of vertical security Anyway, with concerns about institutions
security and communication security for e-election results.
Nikhilesh Lalam et al [4], proposed the current political situation of numerous nations
takes after an equitable approach of naming political pioneers as individual heads of
their Government, Voting is the chosen suitable strategy of test in which each vote of
a voter has special esteem. Innovation is being digitalized day by day; the decision
prepare strategy moreover needs an upgrade.
Y.-X. Kho et al [5], proposed the e-voting plans cannot satisfy all the security
properties at once due to the inconsistency between a few of the security properties.
For occurrence, protection clearly negates unquestionable status as unquestionable
status is required to interface the voters and their votes; coercion- resistance requires
relinquishing widespread unquestionable status and the plot may be complicated,
unscalable, and illogical to satisfy the dispute-freeness property.
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Mohammed Hamdaqa et al [6] proposed a secure electronic voting system that offers
the fairness and privacy of current voting schemes, while providing the transparency
and flexibility offered by electronic systems has been a challenge for a long time. In
this work-in-progress work, this work evaluates an application of blockchain as a
service to implement distributed electronic voting systems.
Jason Paul Cruz et al [7] Based on the blockchain, homomorphic ElGamal encryption
and ring signature, an electronic voting scheme based on blockchain is proposed for
large-scale voting, which has the properties of decentralization, self-management,
non-interactive and free-receipt, furthermore the one-time ring signature ensures the
anonymity of the vote trading in the blockchain.
Ryan Osgood et al [8] Blockchain voting could have many tangible benefits and could
be the catalyst needed to propel voting to the 21st century. This work will first analyze
the problems with current voting techniques and showcase the vulnerabilities of a
current voting machine.
Teongenes Moura et al [9] give an overview of Blockchain itself and other uses
focused on societal problems and their respective analysis. Analysis is done on how
the adoption of Blockchain into a digital government repertoire can contribute to
common e-voting issues and also promote elections transparency, increase
auditability, enhance voter confidence and strengthen democracy.
Michael Spectre et al [10] blockchain-based voting would come at the cost of losing
meaningful assurance that votes have been counted as they were cast, and not
undetectably altered or discarded. This state of affairs will continue as long as
standard tactics such as malware, zero day, and denial-of-service attacks continue to
be effective.
F. Sheer Hardwick et al [11] proposes potential new e-voting protocol that utilizes the
blockchain as a transparent ballot box. The protocol has been designed to adhere to
fundamental e-voting properties as well as offer a degree of decentralization and allow
for the voter to change/update their vote (within the permissible voting period.
Kanika Garg et al [12] states that even though the use of e-voting through the
electronic medium, the work has to face well-known problems of maintenance and
fraud. Currently, various researches are conducting in-order to make secure and
reliable voting system while tackling issues of anonymity and security. Through
Decentralized System, focus is drifting towards making Voting Process simple, secure
and anonymity in the hand of the public.

The various defaults identified in the Literature review are as follows:

 Vulnerability to error and fraud: Voting systems are particularly vulnerable

to errors such as miscounting votes, incorrect reporting, or wasted votes in
general elections. This can lead to incorrect or controversial results.
 Time-consuming and expensive: Counting and verifying votes can be time-
consuming, especially in large elections with multiple candidates or new
candidates. In addition, the need for paper and ballot boxes can make the
voting process costly to administer.
 Accessibility: The voting process can create logistical challenges for some
voters, such as those with disabilities or who are unable to get to a polling
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place on Election Day

 Potential for voter intimidation: In some cases, the electoral process creates
opportunities for voter intimidation, where voters are coerced or coerced into
voting for a particular candidate leader or someone else.

2.1 contributions in the proposed system

The aim of the proposed system is to automate the manual voting process and
also reduce human error and vulnerability during voting. The main goal is to
reduce the time delay for the voting process. The proposed methodology
adapted blockchain technology to overcome the above-mentioned issues as
well as improve the performance of the voting process. The system also
serves to improve the security and authenticity of the overall process.

3 Proposed System

In this section, outline the proposed methodology for addressing bit falls in the
existing system that is meant to improve on efficiency and safety. It is confirmed by
electronic voting system based on the individual signatures of voters. It contains an
extensive ledger that stores all activities and their past records. These transactions
have individual items which are about the payee, payer, token, transaction timestamp,
hash of preceding block, nonce, signature, payee and payer related identifiers. In
addition to that it incorporates open keys of entities for ECDSA (Elliptic Curve
Digital Signature Algorithm) signature verification and payee authentication. In the
context of this suggested approach, there are 2 types of users, the Admin and the
Voter. The admin who is organizing the Election has the role to add the candidates
who are participating in the election. The admin can also check who is in the lead of
the election. Also, the admin has the access rights to check chain. The Voter first has
to login with their credentials and also registered with the website to login. The voter
also has the access rights to check chain and check the lead of the election to promote
the transparency of the election.

The main methodology comes here with the security. While adding a
candidate, a wallet is being created for the candidate. This wallet creates a Private
Key and Public Key. This Key Pair is created by using ECDSA algorithm with
Private Key Encoding type of ‘ski’ and Public Key Encoding with ‘sec1’ which uses
a cryptographic curve of ‘secp256k1’. This cryptographic curve is known for its
efficiency and security properties. The security properties include the authenticity
and integrities of votes and identities. While casting a vote, the Voter chooses the
candidate and submit the vote. The voter will also have the wallet generated while
registration as a voter. The Voter’s Public Key and the Candidate’s Private key
which has been chosen by the voter, will initiate a transaction between them as Payee
and Payer. A session key is generated and stored in the database which is used to
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access the voter’s public-private key pair. Then signing of the transaction is initiated
using SHA256 algorithm, i.e., it will create a digital signature for the transaction.
This signature will be updated with the content of the transaction after converting it
into the string. This process essentially hashes the data. Then a digital signature is
created using the Payee’s Private Key. The Private Key is used to sign the hashed
transaction data, creating a unique signature that can be verified with the
corresponding public Key. In this regard, digital signature mechanism helps to
authenticate the source of the message; guarantees that its integrity has not been
compromised since signing and prevents sender’s rejection. The Blockchain initially
contain an empty data block. The transaction which is created, along with the Voter’s
Public Key and the signature created in the previous step to a blockchain is used to
create a block. These transactions and other information will add as a block, this
block will be added to the Blockchain.

The components included inside the proposed framework are:

 Token - A Token represents the transaction amount.
 Time of exchange - It indicates the initiation time of the transaction.
 Hash (SHA 256) - It is utilized for signing and linking blocks, rendering
which makes virtually impossible to alter a single block without affecting all
subsequent blocks.
 Nonce - A number appended to a hashed or encrypted block in a blockchain,
which, when altered, satisfies the difficulty level constraints.
 Signature - A 256-bit signature used to validate the authenticity of the payee.

Fig.1. Implementation of Proposed Methodology

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Fig. 2. User Access Rights

3.1 CASTING A VOTE:
The voters in the process of casting a vote input an ID, choose their preferred
candidate and submit their vote. This method of voting not only speeds up the
process but also follows the principles of honesty and confidentiality. With
blockchain technology integration, this method has been enhanced to become a
modernized, strong and user-friendly way of conducting elections.
3.2 VIEW CHAIN:

The term “view chain” in project framework reveals viewing and interacting with
blockchain components. These constituents may include nonce, previous hash, as
well as transactions that are stored within each block. It is necessary for
understanding and attesting to the legitimacy, safety or transparency of blockchain-
based systems specifically relating to voting platforms.
3.3 EVALUATION:

In a blockchain-based voting system, result calculation delineation, verification and

presentation remain vital for integrity and transparency of electoral processes. The
concept “result definition” includes methodologies and technical techniques applied
in counting votes, verifying every individual’s vote as genuine and finally releasing
results openly throughout society.
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Fig. 3. Feature Functionalities

4 Data Flow Diagram

Fig. 4. Voting Workflow

The system begins with a voter database that stores registered voters, which is
essential for ensuring voter eligibility. This database is connected to the voting block
chain, which makes it easier to verify voter credentials and updates the blockchain
with recorded votes, hence voting information is accurate and current blockchain of
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sorted blocks is done function as an immutable ledger for recording elections. Each
new idea is added to a block which is then validated through a process called
"mining," which is carried out by miners. These miners validate and add blocks to the
blockchain and communicate with users to confirm that votes have been correctly
recorded and provide updates on the voting process. This system ensures that every
step from voting to the final tally is transparent, secure, and verifiable, and applies
basic principles of blockchain technology to election scenarios.

Fig. 5. Blockchain Workflow

The sequential and secure transactions of blocks in a blockchain, each labelled Block
n-1, Block n, Block n+1 to refer to the persistent ledger Each block has a header, a
cryptographic hash in the previous block (the address of the previous block). It
consists of a timestamp of the build, a nonce used in the mining process to obtain
proof of validity, and a Merkle root of integrity of the transaction data. This structure
ensures that each stage is linked to the previous one, forming a clear-cut chain. The
block hash passed in each block header is an important security feature, making it
advantageous to secure any information in a block once it is added to the blockchain.
This immutable chain of blocks created by a hash is stable blockchain's decentralized,
secure, tamper-resistant characteristics etc.

5 Result and Discussion

In this section, the result and discussion part of the proposed methodology is
presented. The application was implemented on a system running Windows 11 with
an AMD Ryzen 5 third-gen processor. For implementation, the system used three
tables: voters, candidates, and key employees. The voter table contains the voter ID,
whether the voter voted or not, their location, and two public and private keys. The
table of candidates contains voter IDs and locations. The key management table stores
session keys for voter ID identification public and private key pairs. Diffie-Hellman
Algorithm does not have a built-in certificate mechanism, which makes it vulnerable
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to man-in-the-middle attacks, ECDSA effectively addresses this vulnerability in

addition to SHA-256 ECDSA provides strong authentication through Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI). so, ensure that parts are cryptographically formatted. In addition
to proving their mutual identity prior to activation, the combination of ECDSA and
SHA-256 for digital signature generation and authentication enhances data integrity to
provide a secure hashing algorithm SHA -256 provides fixed-size hash values, making
it mathematically impossible for attackers to modify data undetected. As a result, the
adoption of ECDSA and SHA-256 over Diffie-Hellman not only reduces the risk of
unauthorized communications interception and tampering but also enforces
cryptographic security and reliability activities across the board are strong across
applications, including blockchain-based systems.

Table.1 Comparison between methodologies

Diffie-Hellman ECDSA

Vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle Attacks Utilizes Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

for authentication

Requires Key Management for Session Offers Compact Digital Signatures

Keys

Fig. 6. Time Consumption for Tallying Votes

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Fig. 7. Time Consumption for Verifying Votes

In a comparative analysis of cryptographic algorithms for vote counting and
authentication, our study shows that ECDSA significantly outperforms the traditional
Diffie-Hellman method in terms of execution time. Although both algorithms exhibit
comparable performance for election verification, ECDSA shows a small advantage
over old methodology in vote verification and in terms of vote tallying the ECDSA
performs exceptionally well than the old methodology indicating its suitability for
systems where both speed and security are important. These results indicate that
ECDSA computational cost a low and fast signature verification makes it more
suitable for modern electronic voting systems, which are aiming for both integrity and
efficiency.

6 Conclusion
The aim of the proposed system is to improve the efficiency of voting process and
also enhance the security and integrity of the system. Using blockchain technology to
construct a ballot-based voting system is a promising way to improve the security,
transparency, and integrity of electoral processes. This system makes sure that every
vote is safely recorded and cannot be tampered or altered by using the decentralized
ledger of blockchain technology, cryptographic hashing, and consensus processes.
Additionally, voters are able to independently confirm the integrity of the election
results as well as enhance the transparency that blockchain provides. Because of the
blockchain's immutability, votes are guaranteed to stay unaltered and unmanipulated
by a single party after they are cast. The blockchain-based voting framework enabled
us to accurately record and verify each vote, ensuring the reliability and authenticity
of the electoral data. The proposed system also automates the traditional voting
system which will be applicable for all kinds of online voting process.

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