Internet Voting IRAD Proposal

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Internet VotingIRAD Proposal

• ITTL-CSITD
• Robert Simpson, PhD
• Elizabeth Whitaker, PhD
• Marlit Hayslett, MS

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Outline

• Provide background and Motivation
• Envisioned I-voting Architecture
• IRAD Tasks
• Technical and Social Issues
• Other I-voting Activities
• IRAD Objectives
• Business Plan
• Schedule and Budget

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Motivation

• November 2000 election motivates voting reform
  and modernization
• Need for more accurate, verifiable, auditable
  voting systems
• Convenience, vote anywhere, extended voting
  period
• The internet could provide a ubiquitous
  infrastructure for the transmission of votes
• If Internet voting could overcome barriers such
  as security , privacy, usability, and digital
  divide, it would provide the solution to the
  above issues
• Estimated 6.5 B needed to modernize entire US
• Election officials looking for technical advice
  and assistance

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Phased approach to voting modernization

• 2001- 04 Phase I electronic polling sites
• eVoting Infrastructure (networks, DBs, .)
• eVoting professional services (ballot
  construction, call centers, etc.)
• 2004-08 Phase II expanded polling sites
• Voting enabled ATM machines
• Voting enabled kiosks in US Post Offices
• Voting enabled kiosks in retail stores/malls
• Secure Intranet (State or Private)
• 2008-12 Phase III Internet Voting
• Similar ideas expressed in California Internet
  Voting Task Force Report

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Architectural Elements

• Web-browser -- voting endpoint
• Vote repository (electronic ballot box)
• Voter registration rolls (repository)
• Communications Infrastructure
• Authentication procedures
• Audit procedures
• Training Systems
• Control centers
• Call center
• Support Tools

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IRAD Tasks

• Data Modeling
• Develop Approach to Data Privacy
• Testbed
• Standards Activities
• Internet Voting Workshop

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Technical Research Issues

• Security
• Privacy
• Data Modeling
• Infrastructure
• Usability
• Service

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Election Threat Models
Security Issues

• (Distributed) Denial of Service Attacks
• Trojan Horse Programs
• Redirected Proxies
• Virus Time Bombs
• Insider Tampering
• System Design Failures

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Site Specific Privacy Issues

• Polling Place Internet Voting It is possible to
  monitor the environment to ensure secrecy and
  prevent coercion (given the proper computational
  scheme to prevent linking of vote with the voter)
• Internet Kiosk Voting could be like polling place
  or like remote Internet voting, depending on the
  environment
• Remote Internet Voting the possibility of
  workstation monitoring (e.g., workplace
  monitoring) and large-scale vote selling on the
  Internet

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Next Generation Voting System (NVGS) Information
Repositories

• State-wide Elections Warehouse/Repository
• State certified registration rolls
• Approved state-wide ballot
• Elections integrity data (access histories)
• Aggregated elections information (data models)
• Local Elections Repository (city, county, etc.)
• Voter rolls, eligibility, local ballots (data
  mart)
• Integrity logs, voting protocols, certification
  records
• Aggregated elections results from precincts
• Poll working training software and records

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Reliability Research Issues

• Design of voting clients (poll site or kiosks) to
  capture votes accurately in redundant,
  non-volatile storage
• Technical and procedural methods for increasing
  reliability of remote voting systems
• Voter behavior in response to voting system
  failures

Report of the National Workshop on Internet
Voting Issues and Research Agenda, March
2001Internet Policy Institute
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Usability Issues

• Usability of the ballot (as made clear by the
  butterfly ballot of the last election)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues
• Usability of ballot creation software
• The issue of being able to use a tool to create a
  ballot and not having to test the usability of
  every ballot created (is it possible to develop a
  tool and a set of parameters that will only allow
  for the creation of easy-to-use ballots?)
• Usability of the client software and hardware
  that enable voting

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Components with Special Usability Issues

• Auditing software must support easy audit, at the
  same time as protecting privacy there should be
  an auditors interface that is easy to use and
  supplies the needed functionality, giving easy
  insight into the voting process 
• Vote counting software usability means giving
  the officials in charge of monitoring the voting
  process visibility into the vote counting
  process, i.e., be able to tell how the software
  works and be able to verify that it is accurate

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NGVS Software/Services Needed

• Voter Registration Eligibility Certification
• Maintenance of Voter Rolls
• Election Products Testing and Certification
• Ballot Construction Tools/Services
• Integrity Assessment Engine
• Poll Worker Training Services
• Voting Training Services
• Elections Analysis Audit Services
• Polling Performance Services

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Testing, Certification and Standards Research
Issues

• Written security and reliability standards for
  various types of voting systems
• Improved test methods for Internet voting systems
• Models for continuous testing and certification
• Federal and state roles in testing and
  certification

Report of the National Workshop on Internet
Voting Issues and Research Agenda, March
2001Internet Policy Institute
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Social Science Issues

• Access Issues e.g. digital divide
• Voter turnout How will Internet voting affect
  voter turnout? Will different segments of the
  population turn out differently?
• Legal Current voting regulations do not consider
  all of the issues involved in Internet voting
• International Different cultural and legal
  issues
• Informational What kind of candidate and issue
  information should be available and how will it
  affect votes?
• Uniformity versus PersonalizationThere is the
  opportunity to support individual needs and
  preferences in the user interface. Will this
  affect votes? Some of this is required now for
  ADA or multilingual ballots.

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Other Internet Voting Studies

• California Task Force on Internet Voting Jan
  2000
• Report of the National Workshop on Internet
  Voting Mar 2001
• Federal Voting Assistance Program Nov 2000
• CalTech/MIT Voting Project
• VoteHere, Safevote, Validity Systems, Election.com