Polys by Kaspersky: The company just announced it in a press release. The question is which western government will trust a Russian company elections of it, even if it uses a blockchain-based system? Read the press release:
Polys, a Kaspersky Innovation Hub program that develops a secure online voting platform for businesses, universities and political parties, has unveiled a prototype of the new Polys Voting Machine.
The device is the first of its kind to incorporate blockchain technologies and works in parallel with the Polys online polling system, so that all ballots - whether deposited at polling stations or on personal devices - can be transmitted and processed in a secure way. This allows voters to choose how they vote, while ensuring that organizers can introduce a secure online voting option with guaranteed privacy.
Electronic voting has many benefits for both the organizers and the participants in the elections, including: the ability to vote remotely, the automatic calculation of results, the facilitation of technical challenges and the provision of centralized management of procedures.
However, online voting can be a barrier for people who are not regular users of smartphones or laptops, or for those who simply prefer to vote in person at a polling station. Another challenge is to enable a secret ballot without revealing an individual's decision, while still allowing voters to check whether their votes have been counted.
To overcome this issue, the machine Polys voting platform is built to work with distributed ledger technology (DLT).
This means that all voting information is stored in a decentralized manner on various blockchain nodes. The polling station organizer may select various computers on which to store this data, for example, those belonging to trusted organizations or independent observers. This minimizes the chances of distorting the voting results, as criminals will have to tamper with all of these computers in order to manipulate the results.
To use one of the machines, voters need to certify themselves with documents to prove their identity. They will then receive a unique QR code (or other insignia), which is not communicated to anyone other than the voter.
After scanning with a special device, he or she can select from a screen on the Polys voting machine. Through this QR code, a person can also check through a special web application if his vote has been registered in the blockchain, but his name and selection will not be stored in the blockchain to avoid being detected.
Ένας κωδικός πρόσβασης μπορεί επίσης να συσχετιστεί και με εκλογές σε μια συγκεκριμένη περιοχή. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι όταν ψηφίζει, ο πολίτης βλέπει μόνο εκpersons for the local elections that concern him, even if he is in a polling station located in another region.
To enable checks and reports, a dedicated Polys printer can be connected to this distributed universal to provide an accurate written trace. This device is located at the constituency headquarters and issues a paper ballot once a decision has been made.
Voting machines can be connected to the Polys online voting platform through a blockchain system. This means that they share a voter register which eliminates the possibility of a voter voting twice, using different options.
As a result, tech-savvy users can vote with better safety from their smartphone or device using the online version, while those who prefer to visit polling stations can cast their vote in a Polys voting machine – with all votes concealed and counted automatically.
This automatic calculation function significantly reduces personnel and resource costs for organizers. It also means that the results are available as soon as the election procedure is complete, making the whole process much faster and more efficient.
"From the discussions with our clients, we understand the issues and the inconvenience they face during the organization of the classic paper voting. As we see from our Polys platform, e-voting can solve some of these issues, offering more opportunities for remote participation, as well as increasing the attendance of young people. However, if the polling stations were completely closed, this would deprive certain groups of people of the opportunity to participate in an electoral process and have their voices heard. That's why we introduced the new voting machines. "Working with the online platform, they enable citizens to vote using the method they prefer in a convenient and transparent way," said Roman Aleshkin, product manager at Polys.
With these prototypes, the company offers the ability to develop custom solutions and devices based on the Polys platform, to suit the specific needs and requirements of different voting systems.
Polys offers a blockchain-based voting platform in communities, non-profit organizations, student councils, primaries, etc. Among the company's projects is one of the largest voting campaigns in Volgograd, in which more than 82.000 citizens participated.
Read more about Polys voting machines and how to request a demo on the official website.
