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doi: 10.3934/amc.2021005

A coercion-resistant blockchain-based E-voting protocol with receipts

Chiara Spadafora , Riccardo Longo , and  Massimiliano Sala

Department of Mathematics, University Of Trento, 38123 Povo, Trento, Italy

* Corresponding author: riccardolongomath@gmail.com

Received  August 2020 Revised  February 2021 Published  March 2021

We propose a decentralized e-voting protocol that is coercion-resistant and vote-selling resistant, while being also completely transparent and not receipt-free. We achieve decentralization using blockchain technology. Because of the properties such as transparency, decentralization, and non-repudiation, blockchain is a fundamental technology of great interest in its own right, and it also has large potential when integrated into many other areas. We prove the security of the protocol under the standard DDH assumption on the underlying prime-order cyclic group (e.g. the group of points of an elliptic curve), as well as under standard assumptions on blockchain robustness.

Keywords: E-voting, coercion-resistance, cryptography, Diffie-Hellman assumption, blockchain.
Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 94A60; Secondary: 94B99, 68W40.
Citation: Chiara Spadafora, Riccardo Longo, Massimiliano Sala. A coercion-resistant blockchain-based E-voting protocol with receipts. Advances in Mathematics of Communications, doi: 10.3934/amc.2021005
References:
[1]

B. Adida, Helios: Web-based open-audit voting, USENIX Security Symposium, 17 (2008), 335-348.   Google Scholar

[2]

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[3]

E. Androulaki, A. Barger, V. Bortnikov, C. Cachin, K. Christidis, A. De Caro, D. Enyeart, C. Ferris, G. Laventman, Y. Manevich et al., Hyperledger fabric: A distributed operating system for permissioned blockchains, in Proceedings of the Thirteenth EuroSys Conference, ACM, (2018), 1–15. doi: 10.1145/3190508.3190538.  Google Scholar

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[6]

J.-M. Bohli, J. Müller-Quade and S. Röhrich, Bingo voting: Secure and coercion-free voting using a trusted random number generator, in Proceedings of International Conference on E-Voting and Identity, Springer, 2007,111–124. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-77493-8_10.  Google Scholar

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G. Brassard, D. Chaum and C. Crépeau, Minimum disclosure proofs of knowledge, Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 37 (1988), 156-189.  doi: 10.1016/0022-0000(88)90005-0.  Google Scholar

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A. Cardillo, N. Akinyokun and A. Essex, Online voting in ontario municipal elections: A conflict of legal principles and technology?, in Electronic Voting (eds. R. Krimmer, M. Volkamer, V. Cortier, B. Beckert, R. Küsters, U. Serdült and D. Duenas-Cid), Springer International Publishing, Cham, (2019), 67–82. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-30625-0_5.  Google Scholar

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M. R. Clarkson, S. Chong and A. C. Myers, Civitas: Toward a secure voting system, in Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP, IEEE Computer Society, (2008), 354–368 doi: 10.1109/SP.2008.32.  Google Scholar

[10]

D. Costa, F. Fiori, P. Milan, M. Sala, A. Vitale and M. Vitale, Quadrans Whitepaper, 2019. Available from: https://quadrans.io/content/files/quadrans-white-paper-rev01.pdf. Google Scholar

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F. Fusco, M. I. Lunesu, F. Pani and A. Pinna, Crypto-voting, a blockchain based e-voting system, in 10th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing, (2018), 223–227. doi: 10.5220/0006962102230227.  Google Scholar

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N. Gailly, P. Jovanovic, B. Ford, J. Lukasiewicz and L. Gammar, Agora: Bringing our Voting Systems into the 21st Century, 2018. Google Scholar

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D. Goswami, United States Postal Service Secure Voting System, US Patent Application Publication, 2020 Google Scholar

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G. Grewal, M. Ryan, S. Bursuc and P. Ryan, Caveat Coercitor: Coercion-Evidence in Electronic Voting, in Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, IEEE, (2013), 367–381. doi: 10.1109/SP.2013.32.  Google Scholar

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S. B. Khairnar, P. S. Naidu and R. Kharat, Secure authentication for online voting system, in 2016 International Conference on Computing Communication Control and automation (ICCUBEA), (2016), 1–4. Google Scholar

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K. Koštál, R. Bencel, M. Ries and I. Kotuliak, Blockchain e-voting done right: Privacy and transparency with public blockchain, in 2019 IEEE 10th International Conference on Software Engineering and Service Science (ICSESS), IEEE, (2019), 592–595. Google Scholar

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H. Li, A. Kankanala and X. Zou, A taxonomy and comparison of remote voting schemes, in Proceedings - International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks, ICCCN, IEEE, (2014), 1–8. doi: 10.1109/ICCCN.2014.6911807.  Google Scholar

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Y. Lindell, Tutorials on the Foundations of Cryptography, Chapter How to Simulate It – A Tutorial on the Simulation Proof Technique, Springer, 2017.  Google Scholar

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R. Longo, Formal Proofs of Security for Privacy-Preserving Blockchains and other Cryptographic Protocols, PhD thesis, University Of Trento, Department of Mathematics, 2018. Google Scholar

[21]

P. McCorry, S. Shahandashti and F. Hao, A smart contract for boardroom voting with maximum voter privacy, in 21st International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC17), Sliema, Malta, (2017), 357–375.  Google Scholar

[22]

A. Meneghetti, M. Sala and D. Taufer, A Survey on PoW-based Consensus, Annals of Emerging Technologies in Computing (AETiC), 4, 11 pp. doi: 10.33166/AETiC.2020.01.002.  Google Scholar

[23]

A. Rea, A. F. D. Kronovet and J. du Rose, Colony Technical Whitepaper, 2020. Available from: https://colony.io/whitepaper.pdf. Google Scholar

[24]

C. Schnorr, Efficient signature generation by smart cards, Journal of Cryptology, 4 (1991), 161-174.   Google Scholar

[25]

V. Shoup and J. Alwen, $\Sigma$-Protocols Continued and Introduction to Zero Knowledge, 2007. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20170830043326/https://cs.nyu.edu/courses/spring07/G22.3220-001/lec3.pdf. Google Scholar

[26]

C. Spadafora, A New Blockchain-Based Secure E-Voting Protocol, Master's thesis, University of Trento, Department of Mathematics, Academic Year 2018/2019. Google Scholar

[27]

C. Spadafora, R. Longo and M. Sala, Coercion-Resistant Blockchain-Based E-Voting Protocol, Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2020/674 version 20200605: 195929, 2020. Available from: https://eprint.iacr.org/eprint-bin/getfile.pl?entry=2020/674&version=20200605:195929&file=674.pdf. Google Scholar

[28]

M. A. Specter, J. Koppel and D. Weitnzer, The ballot is busted before the blockchain: A security analysis of voatz, the first internet voting application used in us federal elections, Preprint, Available at: https://internetpolicy.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SecurityAnalysisOfVoatz_Public.pdf. Google Scholar

[29]

F. D. Team, Introducing a Secure and Transparent Online Voting Solution for Modern Age: Follow My Vote, Available from: https://followmyvote.com/. Google Scholar

[30]

V. D. Team, Vocdoni Documentation, Available from: https://docs.vocdoni.io/. Google Scholar

[31]

K.-H. Wang, S. K. Mondal, K. Chan and X. Xie, A review of contemporary e-voting: Requirements, technology, systems and usability, Data Science and Pattern Recognition, 1 (2017), 31-47.   Google Scholar

[32]

S. Xiao, X. A. Wang, W. Wang and H. Wang, Survey on blockchain-based electronic voting, in Advances in Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (eds. L. Barolli, H. Nishino and H. Miwa), Springer, (2020), 559–567. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-29035-1_54.  Google Scholar

show all references

References:
[1]

B. Adida, Helios: Web-based open-audit voting, USENIX Security Symposium, 17 (2008), 335-348.   Google Scholar

[2]

R. Alyoshkin, Polys Whitepaper, Available from: https://docs.polys.me/en/collections/699457-technology-whitepaper. Google Scholar

[3]

E. Androulaki, A. Barger, V. Bortnikov, C. Cachin, K. Christidis, A. De Caro, D. Enyeart, C. Ferris, G. Laventman, Y. Manevich et al., Hyperledger fabric: A distributed operating system for permissioned blockchains, in Proceedings of the Thirteenth EuroSys Conference, ACM, (2018), 1–15. doi: 10.1145/3190508.3190538.  Google Scholar

[4]

L. Babai and S. Moran, Arthur-merlin games: A randomized proof system, and a hierarchy of complexity class, Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 36 (1988), 254-276.  doi: 10.1016/0022-0000(88)90028-1.  Google Scholar

[5]

M. Blum, P. Feldman and S. Micali, Non-interactive zero-knowledge and its applications, in Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, STOC, ACM, (1988), 103–112. doi: 10.1145/62212.62222.  Google Scholar

[6]

J.-M. Bohli, J. Müller-Quade and S. Röhrich, Bingo voting: Secure and coercion-free voting using a trusted random number generator, in Proceedings of International Conference on E-Voting and Identity, Springer, 2007,111–124. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-77493-8_10.  Google Scholar

[7]

G. Brassard, D. Chaum and C. Crépeau, Minimum disclosure proofs of knowledge, Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 37 (1988), 156-189.  doi: 10.1016/0022-0000(88)90005-0.  Google Scholar

[8]

A. Cardillo, N. Akinyokun and A. Essex, Online voting in ontario municipal elections: A conflict of legal principles and technology?, in Electronic Voting (eds. R. Krimmer, M. Volkamer, V. Cortier, B. Beckert, R. Küsters, U. Serdült and D. Duenas-Cid), Springer International Publishing, Cham, (2019), 67–82. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-30625-0_5.  Google Scholar

[9]

M. R. Clarkson, S. Chong and A. C. Myers, Civitas: Toward a secure voting system, in Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP, IEEE Computer Society, (2008), 354–368 doi: 10.1109/SP.2008.32.  Google Scholar

[10]

D. Costa, F. Fiori, P. Milan, M. Sala, A. Vitale and M. Vitale, Quadrans Whitepaper, 2019. Available from: https://quadrans.io/content/files/quadrans-white-paper-rev01.pdf. Google Scholar

[11]

L. Fouard, M. Duclos and P. Lafourcade, Survey on Electronic Voting Schemes, 2007. Google Scholar

[12]

F. Fusco, M. I. Lunesu, F. Pani and A. Pinna, Crypto-voting, a blockchain based e-voting system, in 10th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing, (2018), 223–227. doi: 10.5220/0006962102230227.  Google Scholar

[13]

N. Gailly, P. Jovanovic, B. Ford, J. Lukasiewicz and L. Gammar, Agora: Bringing our Voting Systems into the 21st Century, 2018. Google Scholar

[14]

D. Goswami, United States Postal Service Secure Voting System, US Patent Application Publication, 2020 Google Scholar

[15]

G. Grewal, M. Ryan, S. Bursuc and P. Ryan, Caveat Coercitor: Coercion-Evidence in Electronic Voting, in Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, IEEE, (2013), 367–381. doi: 10.1109/SP.2013.32.  Google Scholar

[16]

S. B. Khairnar, P. S. Naidu and R. Kharat, Secure authentication for online voting system, in 2016 International Conference on Computing Communication Control and automation (ICCUBEA), (2016), 1–4. Google Scholar

[17]

K. Koštál, R. Bencel, M. Ries and I. Kotuliak, Blockchain e-voting done right: Privacy and transparency with public blockchain, in 2019 IEEE 10th International Conference on Software Engineering and Service Science (ICSESS), IEEE, (2019), 592–595. Google Scholar

[18]

H. Li, A. Kankanala and X. Zou, A taxonomy and comparison of remote voting schemes, in Proceedings - International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks, ICCCN, IEEE, (2014), 1–8. doi: 10.1109/ICCCN.2014.6911807.  Google Scholar

[19]

Y. Lindell, Tutorials on the Foundations of Cryptography, Chapter How to Simulate It – A Tutorial on the Simulation Proof Technique, Springer, 2017.  Google Scholar

[20]

R. Longo, Formal Proofs of Security for Privacy-Preserving Blockchains and other Cryptographic Protocols, PhD thesis, University Of Trento, Department of Mathematics, 2018. Google Scholar

[21]

P. McCorry, S. Shahandashti and F. Hao, A smart contract for boardroom voting with maximum voter privacy, in 21st International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC17), Sliema, Malta, (2017), 357–375.  Google Scholar

[22]

A. Meneghetti, M. Sala and D. Taufer, A Survey on PoW-based Consensus, Annals of Emerging Technologies in Computing (AETiC), 4, 11 pp. doi: 10.33166/AETiC.2020.01.002.  Google Scholar

[23]

A. Rea, A. F. D. Kronovet and J. du Rose, Colony Technical Whitepaper, 2020. Available from: https://colony.io/whitepaper.pdf. Google Scholar

[24]

C. Schnorr, Efficient signature generation by smart cards, Journal of Cryptology, 4 (1991), 161-174.   Google Scholar

[25]

V. Shoup and J. Alwen, $\Sigma$-Protocols Continued and Introduction to Zero Knowledge, 2007. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20170830043326/https://cs.nyu.edu/courses/spring07/G22.3220-001/lec3.pdf. Google Scholar

[26]

C. Spadafora, A New Blockchain-Based Secure E-Voting Protocol, Master's thesis, University of Trento, Department of Mathematics, Academic Year 2018/2019. Google Scholar

[27]

C. Spadafora, R. Longo and M. Sala, Coercion-Resistant Blockchain-Based E-Voting Protocol, Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2020/674 version 20200605: 195929, 2020. Available from: https://eprint.iacr.org/eprint-bin/getfile.pl?entry=2020/674&version=20200605:195929&file=674.pdf. Google Scholar

[28]

M. A. Specter, J. Koppel and D. Weitnzer, The ballot is busted before the blockchain: A security analysis of voatz, the first internet voting application used in us federal elections, Preprint, Available at: https://internetpolicy.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SecurityAnalysisOfVoatz_Public.pdf. Google Scholar

[29]

F. D. Team, Introducing a Secure and Transparent Online Voting Solution for Modern Age: Follow My Vote, Available from: https://followmyvote.com/. Google Scholar

[30]

V. D. Team, Vocdoni Documentation, Available from: https://docs.vocdoni.io/. Google Scholar

[31]

K.-H. Wang, S. K. Mondal, K. Chan and X. Xie, A review of contemporary e-voting: Requirements, technology, systems and usability, Data Science and Pattern Recognition, 1 (2017), 31-47.   Google Scholar

[32]

S. Xiao, X. A. Wang, W. Wang and H. Wang, Survey on blockchain-based electronic voting, in Advances in Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (eds. L. Barolli, H. Nishino and H. Miwa), Springer, (2020), 559–567. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-29035-1_54.  Google Scholar

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