Digital Democratic Elections: Leveraging Blockchain for Government Voting

Abstract

Electronic voting (e-voting) has redefined elections with its improved efficiency and accessibility features. However, modern e-voting systems globally still grapple with challenges related to scalability, transparency, security, and instilling trust among voters. Blockchain, an advent technology known for its decentralized, distributed, peer-to-peer, consensus-based storage system, has the potential to enhance confidence within untrusted environments, making a perfect distributed ballot box in the context of e-voting. Nevertheless, its adoption in countries with extensive voter populations and numerous constituencies encounters hurdles primarily in terms of scalability. Public and private blockchain networks have faced performance and throughput issues due to the sheer number of nodes and size of a unified blockchain. The central aspect of this research is breaking down the blockchain into smaller, constituency-based blockchains, deviating from the traditional single, monolithic blockchain structure. The paper proposes a unique constituency-based blockchain approach to e-voting that involves segmenting the blockchain into manageable smaller blockchains based on constituencies. The paper suggests a private Ethereum blockchain using Hyperledge-Besu Ethereum client architecture with a low-cost Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus algorithm. It potentially represents a significant advancement for countries with complicated democratic structures and large numbers of voters. When incorporating blockchain technology into electoral voting systems, voter account management presents a crucial and difficult challenge. In addition to distinguishing itself from previous works in the field of e-voting, this paper is devoted to a thorough analysis of this challenge and offers practical solutions to address the difficulties posed by a sizable voter base and their diverse identities. © 2023 IEEE.