Analysis of the Design Requirements for Remote Internet-Based E-Voting Systems

Abstract

Remote electronic voting refers to the use of the computer and Internet to collocate votes in an election. Remote e-voting is convenient and provides easy access for voters. On other hand, it makes it easier to count the votes and generate reports for election operators. Over time, e-voting systems were developed until it reaches the level that we have today, and it is expected that they will continue to improve in the future. Nevertheless, recently there has been increasing criticism of remote e-voting systems' security and integrity. Also, concerns were raised about whether these systems can defend against cyber attacks. An effective remote e-voting system must meet a set of standards required from regulatory bodies. This paper discusses remote e-voting systems' design requirements as discussed in current literature. Then, we examine whether the current public infrastructure is capable of supporting an effective remote e-voting system that meets the design requirements. We found that the current technology infrastructure is not sufficient to support efficient remote e-voting systems, as the technologies that need to be implemented to meet the design requirements are victims of different cyber attacks.