ElectionGuard + blockchain integration ideas
Welcome to the first in an ongoing series of posts about ElectionGuard! Some will explain how it works now, and some will also include ways I think it could be extended and integrated with a blockchain. I’ll try to differentiate clearly between the two.
To read a linear series of posts, click the “electionguard” tag at the top. To jump to particular topics instead, use the links below.
For now I mainly want to emphasize that although blockchains and related tech aren’t required, they could be used to strengthen the security and trustworthiness of almost every step. When dealing with public elections, it’s reasonable to add some redundant safeguards…
| Action | EG in Theory | EG in Practice | My Suggestion |
|---|---|---|---|
| set election parameters | administrator via website + deployments | administrator via website + deployments | administrator via blockchain |
| set up physical infrastructure | administrator | administrator | administrator? |
| manage bulletin board | administrator | administrator | blockchain |
| host bulletin board | administrator via website | administrator via website | decentralized quardians + anyone via IPFS |
| publish live stats during election | NA | anyone on own websites | anyone on own websites |
| perform key ceremony | independent guardians | guardians following administrator | decentralized guardians |
| publish ballots, mark cast or spoiled | mediators via https? | mediators via https? | mediators (and voters?) via blockchain + IPFS |
| verify inclusion of own vote | voter via website | voter via website | voter via blockchain + IPFS |
| certify inclusion of own vote | NA | NA | voter via blockchain |
| certify spoiled ballot decryption | NA | NA | voter via blockchain |
| gather artifacts to verify | anyone via website | anyone via website + news/social media | anyone via blockchain + IPFS |
| publish verification | anyone via news/social media | anyone via news/social media | anyone via blockchain |
| publish fraud proofs | NA | anyone via news/social media | anyone via blockchain |
| perform audits | administrator + quorum of independent guardians | administrator + quorum of loyal guardians | administrator + quorum of decentralized guardians |
| tally encrypted votes | quorum of independent guardians | quorum of loyal guardians | quorum of decentralized guardians |
| decrypt votes during audits | quorum of independent guardians | quorum of loyal guardians | quorum of decentralized guardians using blockchain random seed |
| publish tally + audit results | administrator via website? | administrator via website? | decentralized guardians via blockchain + IPFS |