3. Basic
Process
User sends his
fingerprint (in
encrypted
form) to the
service
provider
Service
Provider
checks the
mobile no.
and verifies
fingerprint
Sends voter
list through
SMS
User casts his
vote and
sends 2nd
message
Voter being
added for
counting
4. System
Architectur
e
Corresponds to
the mobile
equipment
(ME), which
consists of a
SIM card
Generates the authentication
parameters and authenticates
the mobile equipment
Verifies the legitimacy of the
voter and issues a voting
token to the voter Collects and counts the votes to
give the final result
5. Implemente
d Areas
Recently NIGERIAN elections has gone through this process
with the help of Mobile Election Monitors of EU (European
Union)
This proved to be a secure system
Well connected remote areas
Helped the handicapped people
Mainly reduced violence, malpractices, huge investment of
government money
Cost effective for the government
6. Pros &
Cons
Pros
• Improves Accessibility
• Secure Voting
• Cost Effective
• Time Consumption is less
Cons
• Electronic Failures
• Service provider must have
high-speed equipment
• Citizens should contact
correct SMS number in
order to avoid false voting
Editor's Notes
Mobile technology has attained heights and the market trend is that every citizens of India will possess a mobile handset by the year 2010 (at cheaper rates of service.) When such a PDA is available why not using it for a time saving, cost effective, secured method of voting.
Electronic voting machines are currently used for vote casting. These systems allow the user to cast his vote reducing possible errors like wrong candidate selections and loss of votes, reducing manual work during counting. Still these have the drawbacks.
Enabling the voter to vote with absolute confidentiality, nobody will ever know what he/she voted.
Enabling the voter to vote from anywhere in the globe, wherever he/she will be, and without needing any special Network, nor equipment ,nor a personal computer(PC).
Enabling only the voter to vote, avoiding the possibility to “sell a vote”.
This system allows the user to cast his vote with high level of confidentiality and keep voters away from the possible threats like booth capturing and it may increase the voter turnouts in remote areas and even in urban areas.
Every citizen above the age of 18 years has got the right to vote and hence obtaining their fingerprints and storing in the database along with their birth/death record becomes necessary
User sends his finger print (secured print is encrypted and sent as sequence of data in encoded form) to the service provider.
Service provider verifies the fingerprint and checks for the validity of voting and sends voter list (a mobile ballot paper) through SMS.
User casts his vote and sends 2nd message.
Since mobile phone has connectivity with computer systems it is easy to store and access at the service provider and results be published instantly.
Voting Device (Mobile/Land Phone): In our scheme, the voting device corresponds to the mobile equipment (ME), which consists of a SIM card.
Authentication Centre (AC): AC is an entity within the GSM network. AC generates the authentication parameters and authenticates the mobile equipment. Apart from
authenticating the mobile equipment, AC is also an important information distribution server in the proposed scheme. AC needs to be trusted to transfer the messages as required.
Verification Server (VS): VS belong to the voting authority, who organizes the voting event. It verifies the legitimacy of the voter and issues a voting token to the voter. VS also publish a list of voter information.
Collecting and Counting Server (CS): CS is the server that collects and counts the votes to give the final result. CS’s action need to be audited by all candidate parties.
Since the system operates on IVR platform the voter session will be interactive and user friendly which makes the user to feel in a very comfortable zone. The system provides security features like checking the unique identification number of the voter.
As a measure of security features mobile devices allows the user to make use of biometric information’s which are unique to individuals.