Block chain voting system

FACULTY OF INFORMATICS
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
RESEARCH METHOD IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON
BLOCKCHAIN VOTING SYSTEM

GROUP MEMBERS:
Name id

Abel Ashenafi RCD/3147/2013

Etsubdink Fikru RCD/3159/2013
Yonatan Belay RCD/3194/2013

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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Background of research 3
statement of the problem 3
Motivation 4
objective of research 4
general objective 4
Specific Objectives 4
scope of the project 5
limitation 5
significance 6
Feasibility 6
methodology 7
tools 7
software requirement 7
hardware requirement 7
time frame(mile stone) 8
reference 8

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 Block chain voting system

Introduction
Background of research
The electoral process in Ethiopia is conducted by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).
Ethiopia has a parliamentary system of government with the federal House of Peoples' Representative
(HoPR) and regional State Councils as the highest legislative organs. Members of the House of People's
Representatives (HPR) are elected for five-year terms on the basis of universal suffrage by direct
elections held by secret ballot. The Prime Minister is elected from among the members of the HPR.
Elections for the Regional Councils of the nine regions are also conducted under a majoritarian system,
and these constituencies are multi-mandate.

According to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, more than 31.7 million voters were registered for
Ethiopia's 2021 general elections. However, it is unclear how many of them actually cast their ballots.

The government determines the winner of an election by counting the votes cast by the eligible voters.
The government use different kind of counting process.

In Ethiopia, the government counts votes through Collection of ballots, Transportation to counting
centers, sorting of ballots, counting process, Verification and checks, Certification of results, due to the
number of registered voters its time consuming to arrange the votes and tiresome for people to vote in this
case which is why we tried to solve this problem using a digitalized way of election using block chain
technology.

statement of the problem

One of the significant challenges in Ethiopia’s electoral process is the lack of inclusivity and
transparency. Which undermines the democratic principles and inhibits the fair representation of all
citizens.

Limited civic education and voter awareness; a lack of comprehensive civic education programs and
voter awareness campaigns contribute to a low level of political literacy among citizens. This leads to
limited understanding, particularly in remote and marginalized communities. As a result, the turnout of
informed voters may be low, undermining the democratic representation of the population.

Time management issue is another concerning problem for the citizen due to lack of knowledge and
multiple reasons regarding the electoral process moves slowly and takes the whole day to finish
accordingly.

Limited perception both the government and opposition political parties have limited perception and
understanding of e-voting technology.

lack of readiness in terms of infrastructure, technical expertise, and financial resources.

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Motivation
The motivation of this project is to provide an easy way of electoral process using block chain
technology which help both the citizen and the government in an organized way. Due to personal
experience and collected survey there has been a problem with electoral process which is stated above.
regarding this event we have found that the use of blockchain technology in an online electoral
application can bring numerous benefits and address several challenges faced by traditional voting
systems. Such as Transparency and Integrity, Security and Privacy, Cost and Efficiency, Accessibility,
Real-time Results. It has the potential to restore trust in the integrity of democratic elections and empower
citizens to participate in the democratic process more conveniently and confidently.

objective of research
general objective
The general objective of this research is to develop and design an online software application that would
manage and keep track of the information of electoral process such as voting, counting and submitting
results.

Specific Objectives
● Develop an online application that supports voice out platform where citizens can vote for the
nominated political party.
● Design a database that store all the information of the overall electoral process.

● To alert the citizen when results are out.

● To alert the right number of voting

● Generate report for the admins that controls the process.

● To provide a digital information on the electoral process for people that lacks how the process
goes.
● Once the person has voted and finish the person will be locked out of the application

● Register eligible voters.

● non-repudiation

● Eliminating the need for physical polling

● Providing security by using cryptographic techniques to ensure that votes are recorded accurately
and cannot be altered or deleted.
● Maintaining privacy blockchain voting systems are designed to protect the privacy of voters by
ensuring that their votes are anonymous and cannot be traced back to them.

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scope of the project

The project on online electoral application using blockchain technology includes evaluating the
scalability, performance, and security aspects of the blockchain system in handling a large volume of
votes and ensuring the integrity of the electoral process, the system is applicable for citizens and
government.

limitation
- Technical Complexity: Implementing a blockchain-based e-voting system requires technical
expertise and resources. It can be challenging to develop and maintain a secure and scalable
blockchain system that can handle a large volume of votes and ensure the integrity of the
electoral process.
- Limited Accessibility: Some individuals may not have access to the internet or may not be
comfortable using digital devices, which can limit their ability to participate in the electoral
process.
- Regulatory and Legal Frameworks: Implementing a blockchain-based e-voting system requires
compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks. The legal status of blockchain technology and
e-voting systems may vary between countries, and it can be challenging to ensure compliance
with data protection regulations and other legal requirements.
- Resistance to Change: Introducing a new technology in the electoral process can face
resistance from stakeholders who may be skeptical about the security and reliability of the
system. It can be challenging to gain the trust and acceptance of the public, political
organizations, and election.
- authorities Cost: While blockchain-based e-voting systems can lead to cost savings in the long
run, the initial investment in developing and implementing the system can be significant. The
cost of hardware, software, and technical expertise can be a barrier to adoption, particularly in
low-income countries Overall, while blockchain technology has the potential to address several
challenges faced by traditional voting systems, it is essential to consider the limitations and
challenges in implementing a blockchain-based e-voting system.

significance
Blockchain technology can be utilized to create an online electoral application. The use of blockchain
offers several advantages in this context. Firstly, blockchain provides transparency and immutability to
the electoral process. Each vote can be recorded on the blockchain and cannot be altered or tampered
with, ensuring the integrity of the election results. Secondly, blockchain technology enables
decentralized and secure storage of voter information. Instead of relying on a central authority to store
and protect voter data, blockchain distributes the data across multiple nodes, making it more resistant
to hacking or unauthorized access. Additionally, blockchain allows for enhanced voter privacy. By using
cryptographic techniques, individual voters can maintain anonymity while still having their vote counted
accurately. Moreover, blockchain-based electoral applications can offer real-time auditing capabilities.
Interested parties, such as election observers or candidates, can access the blockchain and verify the
accuracy of the voting process independently. In conclusion, the use of blockchain technology in

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creating online electoral applications has great potential to enhance transparency, security, and privacy
in the electoral process. While there are challenges to overcome, blockchain can provide a robust
framework for conducting trustworthy and efficient elections.

Feasibility
- Technical feasibility: A feasibility study would need to assess the technical feasibility of implementing a
blockchain voting system, including the necessary infrastructure, such as a reliable internet connection,
and the technical expertise required to develop and maintain the system.

- Security feasibility: A feasibility study would need to assess the security feasibility of a blockchain
voting system, including the potential security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers and
the measures that would need to be taken to ensure the security of the system.

- Legal feasibility: A feasibility study would need to assess the legal feasibility of a blockchain voting
system, including any regulations around electronic voting and data privacy laws that would need to be
complied with.

- Cost feasibility: A feasibility study would need to assess the cost feasibility of a blockchain voting
system, including the costs of developing, implementing, and maintaining the system, as well as any
potential cost savings compared to traditional paper-based voting systems.

- Transparency: Blockchain technology provides transparency by allowing anyone to view the voting
records, ensuring that the results are accurate and trustworthy.

- Efficiency: Blockchain technology can streamline the voting process by eliminating the need for
intermediaries and reducing the time and cost of counting votes.

- Accessibility: A blockchain voting system can increase accessibility by allowing voters to cast their votes
from anywhere with an internet connection.

- Renewed interest: Electronic voting systems may increase both voter turnout and voter confidence and
renew interest in the voting system.

So blockchain voting system is feasibility.

methodology
1. Use of blockchain technology: A blockchain voting system uses blockchain technology to store
and verify votes securely and transparently. The blockchain is a decentralized and distributed
ledger that records transactions in a secure and tamper-proof manner.
2. Authentication of voters: Voters are authenticated using their credentials before they can cast
their votes. This ensures that only eligible voters can participate in the voting process.
3. Encryption of data: The data is encrypted to ensure that it is secure and cannot be tampered
with.

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4. Broadcasting of transaction: The encrypted data is broadcasted to every node in the network.
This ensures that the data is verified by all nodes in the network.
5. Verification of transaction: The network verifies the transaction to ensure that it is valid and
meets the required criteria.
6. Addition of transaction to the blockchain: If the transaction is approved by the network, it is
stored in a block and added to the blockchain. Once a block is added to the blockchain, it cannot
be updated or deleted, ensuring the immutability of the voting records.
7. Viewing of results: Users can view the results of the voting process and trace back transactions if
they want.

tools
software requirement
✔ Smart contract development tools such as Solidity, Vyper, or Chain code to write the smart
contracts that will govern the voting process.
✔ User interface development tools such as React, Angular, or Vue.js

✔ Authentication and identity verification tools

✔ Data storage and retrieval tools such as MySQL, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL

✔ Testing and debugging tools such as Truffle, Ganache, or Remix.

✔ Security auditing tools such as encryption, digital signatures, and multi-factor authentication.

hardware requirement
✔ Servers

✔ Nodes

✔ Internet connectivity

✔ Peripheral devices

time frame(mile stone)

No Milestones

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1.13 reference
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/decentralized-voting-system-using-blockchain/
https://pixelplex.io/blog/blockchain-voting/
https://www.xilinx.com/products/design-tools/resources/the-developers-guide-to-blockchain-
development.html
https://pixelplex.io/blog/blockchain-voting/