Polys from Kaspersky: The company just announced it in a press release. The question is which Western government will trust a Russian company in its elections, 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 alongside the Polys online voting system, so all votes – whether cast at polling stations or in personal Appliances – transmitted and processed in combination in a secure manner. This gives election participants a choice of how to vote, while ensuring that organizers can introduce a secure online voting option with guaranteed privacy protection.
Electronic voting has many benefits for both organizers and election participants, including: the ability to vote remotely, the automatic calculation of results, the easing of technical challenges, and the provision of a central managementof the procedures.
However, online voting can be a barrier for non-regular users 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 problem, the Polys voting machine has been created 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.
A password can also be associated with elections in a specific area. This means that when voting, the citizen only sees representatives for the local elections that concern him, even if he is in a polling station located in another constituency.
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.
The voting machines can be interfaced with the Polys online voting platform through a blockchain system. This means they share a voter register which eliminates the possibility of a voter voting two times, using different options.
As a result, tech-savvy users can vote safely from their smartphone or device using the online version, while those who prefer to visit polling stations can cast their ballot on a Polys voting machine - with all votes hidden and to be counted automatically.
This automatic calculation function significantly reduces the cost of staff and resources for the organizers. It also means that the results are available as soon as the election process is completed, making the whole process much faster and more efficient.
«Από τις συζητήσεις με τους πελάτες μας, κατανοούμε τα ζητήματα και την ταλαιπωρία που αντιμετωπίζουν κατά τη διοργάνωση της κλασικής ψηφοφορίας με χαρτί. Όπως βλέπουμε από την Polys πλατφόρμα μας, η ηλεκτρονική ψηφοφορία μπορεί να λύσει κάποια από αυτά τα ζητήματα, προσφέροντας περισσότερες possibilities for participation from a distance, as well as to increase the attendance of young people. However, if polling stations were to be closed completely, this would disenfranchise and alienate certain groups of people from participating in an electoral process and making their voices heard. This is why we introduced the new voting machines. Working together with the online platform, they enable citizens to vote using their preferred method in a convenient and transparent way,” commented Roman Aleshkin, Head of Product 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.
