End-to-end Verifiability
The Key to Trustworthy Elections
Welcome! On this page, we dive into end-to-end verifiability, a key part of making elections trustworthy. With more people now looking for fairness, security, and verifiability in voting systems, it is crucial to understand what end-to-end verifiability is, why it is important, and how it works.
End-to-end Verifiability Explained
What Is End-to-end Verifiability?
At its core, an “end-to-end verifiable” electronic voting system is one in which all parts of the electoral process, from the casting of votes to the tallying and release of results, can be checked by election officials, independent auditors, and other stakeholders. Because of its open nature and security features, an end-to-end verifiable voting system is trustworthy by design and does not rely on vendors, developers, or other parties to confirm its integrity.
End-to-end verifiability makes it possible for digital elections to uphold all necessary democratic principles, including transparency, anonymity, and trust.
Why Is End-to-end Verifiability Important?
In a democracy, trust in elections is not something which can be simply guaranteed by remarks from politicians and administrators – it comes from elections being fully open to scrutiny and well-protected from tampering. When voting online, end-to-end verifiability is not just a desirable property of a system, but also the only way a digital election can meet the same standards as national elections when it comes to security, transparency, secrecy, and fairness.
How is End-to-end Verifiability Achieved?
Votes are cast the way voters intended
When a voter selects option A on a ballot, their ballot should show “option A” after it is encrypted.
Votes are received in the same way they were cast
Voters who selected option A will have their ballots marked “option A” make it into the public ballot box.
Votes are counted in the same way as they were received
When results are calculated, ballots with “option A” are counted as votes for option A.
Resources and Insights
RIPE NCC Raises the Bar for Secure and Verifiable General Meetings
03/01-2023 – Customer Stories
Read about how RIPE NCC embraced full end-to-end verifiability by carrying out their General Meeting and NRO NC Voting Events using Assembly Voting’s solutions.
What Is Black-box Voting and Why Should You Be Wary of Using It?
20 jul. 2023 – The Ballot
Not all online voting systems are built the same. Here, we explain what “black-box” systems are, why you should think twice before using them, and alternatives to them when voting online.
Black-box Voting vs. End-to-end Verifiable Voting
19 apr. 2022 – Company Blog
Is it possible for something to be both secret and transparent? That paradox is one of the biggest challenges facing developers working in the world of electronic voting. Our blog post takes an in-depth look at the topic.
RIPE NCC Raises the Bar for Secure and Verifiable General Meetings
03/01-2023 – Customer Stories
Read about how RIPE NCC embraced full end-to-end verifiability by carrying out their General Meeting and NRO NC Voting Events using Assembly Voting’s solutions.
What Is Black-box Voting and Why Should You Be Wary of Using It?
20 jul. 2023 – The Ballot
Not all online voting systems are built the same. Here, we explain what “black-box” systems are, why you should think twice before using them, and alternatives to them when voting online.
Black-box Voting vs. End-to-end Verifiable Voting
19 apr. 2022 – Company Blog
Is it possible for something to be both secret and transparent? That paradox is one of the biggest challenges facing developers working in the world of electronic voting. Our blog post takes an in-depth look at the topic.
Comply with Democratic Principles Using
End-to-end Verifiability
Many online election systems in use today suffer from technological and/or procedural gaps in their programming which open the door to speculation and doubts about the integrity of elections carried out using them. End-to-end verifiability closes these gaps by demonstrating that any election results are undoubtedly accurate.
Electa
(End-to-end verifiable)
Ensured eligibility
Verifying voter eligibility is crucial for maintaining the trustworthiness of digital elections. It prevents unauthorized voting and ensures each voter can cast only one ballot.
Anonymity proven by design
In digital voting, cryptographic techniques and mixing algorithms are used to ensure voter anonymity, making it impossible to link votes to individual voters.
Distributed trust
The system disperses responsibilities related to the conduction of elections amongst multiple parties, enhancing an election’s integrity.
Vote secrecy proven by design
Cryptographic techniques and threshold encryption safeguard both the integrity and secrecy of votes for a fair election.
Public ballot box
In digital voting, the “Public Ballot Box” acts as an open record for all election activities, allowing for thorough verification while keeping voter identities confidential.
Full auditability
The “Independent Audit” feature in Electa enables public, third-party verification, boosting any election’s transparency and security.
Integrity of election results proven by design
End-to-end verifiable digital voting ensures the integrity of results through cryptographic techniques and measures to guarantee transparency, making the election both tamper-proof and auditable.
Black-box systems
(Not end-to-end verifiable)
Ensured eligibility
In black-box systems, it is possible to conduct robust identity checks to make sure that only eligible voters may cast ballots.
Anonymity cannot be proven
In black-box systems, the inability to verify voter anonymity can discourage participation and make fraud detection harder, eroding trust and compromising an election’s integrity.
No distributed trust
A lack of distributed trust in blackbox voting centralizes control and threatens an election’s integrity, damaging public confidence.
Vote secrecy cannot be proven
Lack of verifiable vote secrecy in black-box systems can deter voters from casting ballots and leave them susceptible to coercion, undermining both an election’s integrity and public trust.
No public ballot box
The absence of a public ballot box in black-box systems renders them opaque and unable to be audited, affecting public trust while making recounts challenging.
Limited auditability
Limited auditability in black-box systems hampers transparency, makes error tracing difficult, and leaves the system vulnerable to fraud, sacrificing an election’s integrity.
Integrity of election results cannot be proven
When utilizing black-box systems, the inability to verify the integrity of results can raise doubts, enable manipulation, and complicate issue resolution, making measures like end-to-end verifiability crucial.
Electa
(End-to-end verifiable)
Ensured eligibility
Verifying voter eligibility is crucial for maintaining the trustworthiness of digital elections. It prevents unauthorized voting and ensures each voter can cast only one ballot.
Anonymity proven by design
In digital voting, cryptographic techniques and mixing algorithms are used to ensure voter anonymity, making it impossible to link votes to individual voters.
Distributed trust
The system disperses responsibilities related to the conduction of elections amongst multiple parties, enhancing an election’s integrity.
Vote secrecy proven by design
Cryptographic techniques and threshold encryption safeguard both the integrity and secrecy of votes for a fair election.
Public ballot box
In digital voting, the “Public Ballot Box” acts as an open record for all election activities, allowing for thorough verification while keeping voter identities confidential.
Full auditability
The “Independent Audit” feature in Electa enables public, third-party verification, boosting any election’s transparency and security.
Integrity of election result proven by design
End-to-end verifiable digital voting ensures the integrity of results through cryptographic techniques and measures to guarantee transparency, making the election both tamper-proof and auditable.
Black-box systems
(Not end-to-end verifiable)
Ensured eligibility
In black-box systems, it is possible to conduct robust identity checks to make sure that only eligible voters may cast ballots.
Anonymity cannot be proven
In black-box systems, the inability to verify voter anonymity can discourage participation and make fraud detection harder, eroding trust and compromising an election’s integrity.
No distributed trust
A lack of distributed trust in blackbox voting centralizes control and threatens an election’s integrity, damaging public confidence.
Vote secrecy cannot be proven
Lack of verifiable vote secrecy in black-box systems can deter voters from casting ballots and leave them susceptible to coercion, undermining both the election’s integrity and public trust.
No public ballot box
The absence of a public ballot box in black-box systems renders them opaque and unable to be audited, affecting public trust while making recounts challenging.
Limited auditability
Limited auditability in black-box systems hampers transparency, makes error tracing difficult, and leaves the system vulnerable to fraud, sacrificing an election’s integrity.
Integrity of election results cannot be proven
When utilizing black-box systems, the inability to verify the integrity of results can raise doubts, enable manipulation, and complicate issue resolution, making measures like end-to-end verifiability crucial.
Technical Documentation
Electa brochure
Curious about how end-to-end verifiability works in practice when voting online? Download our brochure covering Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa below to get an overview of the next generation of end-to-end verifiable voting systems.
Electa semi-technical documentation
For more in-depth information on how Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa is raising the bar for online voting solutions, take a look at the documentation we offer here. Inside, you will find detailed descriptions of Electa’s features and specifications.
Electa technical documentation
Download our technical documentation to read about how we achieve end-to-end verifiability in our systems. Inside, we cover Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa’s:
- Theoretical background
- Election protocols
- Auditing processes
- Election properties
Electa brochure
Curious about how end-to-end verifiability works in practice when voting online? Download our brochure covering Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa below to get an overview of the next generation of end-to-end verifiable voting systems.
Electa semi-technical documentation
For more in-depth information on how Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa is raising the bar for online voting solutions, take a look at the documentation we offer here. Inside, you will find detailed descriptions of Electa’s features and specifications.
Electa technical documentation
Download our technical documentation to read about how we achieve end-to-end verifiability in our systems. Inside, we cover Assembly Voting’s flagship product Electa’s:
- Theoretical background
- Election protocols
- Auditing processes
- Election properties
FAQ
Our Answers to Some of the Most Common Questions
The phrase “end-to-end” in the context of electronic voting systems simply means that the system can be thoroughly checked, from one “end” to the other, to ensure that there are no signs of tampering or interference in the system. Should anything suspicious occur, it will be immediately detectable by administrators and observers alike.
End-to-end verifiability is a property of voting systems which makes audits and proving the integrity of digital elections not only possible, but also easily achievable due to systems employing it being transparent and readily auditable by any relevant parties or stakeholders.
End-to-end verifiable voting systems, in addition to upholding transparency, are also recognized for possessing properties which make them more resistant to malfeasance. However, several of these properties require stakeholders in elections – from voters to administrators and third-party observers – to play an active part in upholding an election’s integrity.
It is crucial to note that the system is end-to-end verifiable, not end-to-end verifying. As such, it is of the utmost importance that all parties contribute to the smooth running of the election by checking their votes and the system at multiple points during a voting event.
The long and short answer to this question is an indisputable yes. While digital elections can and do occur on voting systems which are not end-to-end verifiable, leading computer scientists have come to the conclusion that it is not possible to have a fully secure, trustworthy, and transparent election over the internet without end-to-end verifiability. In other words, end-to-end verifiability is not the end point for the development of secure online voting systems, but rather the starting point.
As we touched upon above, what makes end-to-end verifiability indispensable in online voting is not one characteristic alone, but many. These include the ability to check all processes in an election, administrator powers being shared amongst several people, voter identities being separated from their votes, and so forth. While all of these aspects of a voting system are important for upholding an election’s integrity, only end-to-end verifiability can provide them all.
We previously touched upon how all parties involved in an end-to-end verifiable online election have important roles to play by checking their votes and the system. It may seem like this adds a layer of complexity to the voting process, but in reality these actions are comparable to what stakeholders in national or local statutory elections already must do: voters have to double-check their votes before casting them, administrators must be able to verify that only eligible voters may cast ballots, and observers (as well as the previous two) must be able to see that nothing out of the ordinary is occurring.
So, in short, the answer is no. End-to-end verifiability, as a system property established and maintained via mathematics and cryptography, is indeed complex from a computer science standpoint. However, from the perspective of voters, administrators, and observers, end-to-end verifiability actually simplifies the voting process by bringing online elections up to standard with the government-run elections with which we are accustomed.