Decentralized and Automated Online Voting System using Blockchain Technology

. A decentralized and automated online voting system refers to an electronic voting method that leverages Blockchain technology to guarantee both transparency and security. It removes the need for intermediaries, making it more efficient and cost-effective than traditional voting methods. Aim of the paper is to develop an online voting system using Blockchain technology for secure and transparent voting. The proposed approach involves developing a decentralized voting system using Ethereum Blockchain technology. Smart contracts are used to manage the voting process and ensure its integrity. The datasets used in this paper will consist of mock voting data to simulate a real-world scenario. The results and discussions include an analysis of the system's performance in terms of security, scalability, and usability. Future enhancements include integrating biometric authentication for enhanced security and accessibility.


Introduction
Blockchain technology enables decentralized online voting systems, offering a platform that is transparent, secure, and efficient for the execution of elections.By leveraging Blockchain's properties, including immutability and decentralization, these systems aim to enhance trust and integrity in the voting process.Through cryptographic techniques, eligible voters can securely cast their votes, which are recorded as transactions.The elimination of intermediaries reduces costs and streamlines the voting process, while also promoting inclusivity and accessibility.While challenges remain, decentralized online voting systems have the potential to revolutionize elections by ensuring transparency, security, and democratic participation.
The history of decentralized online voting systems using Blockchain technology can be traced back to the early 2010s when the concept of using Blockchain for voting purposes began to gain attention.The emergence of Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin showcased the potential of Blockchain's secure and transparent nature.In 2014, the first notable paper, Follow My Vote, aimed to create a Blockchain-based voting platform.This initiative sparked further research and development in the field.Over the years, various papers and experiments were conducted to explore the feasibility and practicality of decentralized online voting systems.

Applications
1. Government Elections: Blockchain-based voting systems can improve the transparency and integrity of government elections.By eliminating the risk of tampering and ensuring immutability, these systems provide a reliable and auditable record of votes.various topics, allowing citizens to express their opinions and participate in decisionmaking processes.

Significance
The significance of decentralized and automated online voting systems using Blockchain technology lies in the transformative impact they can have on democratic processes and voting systems.Here are some key significances: Overall, the significance of decentralized online voting systems using Blockchain technology lies in their potential to uphold the principles of transparency, security, inclusivity, and trust, thereby strengthening democratic processes and ensuring fair and reliable elections.

Challenges
While decentralized online voting systems using Blockchain technology offer promising advantages, several challenges must be addressed for their successful implementation.Here are some key challenges: 1. Scalability: The scalability of Blockchain technology, especially in the context of public Blockchains, might encounter hurdles when managing a substantial volume of votes.Overcoming the challenge of maintaining optimal speed and performance while accommodating significant transaction loads is of utmost importance.2. Privacy: Balancing the need for transparency with voter privacy is a complex challenge.While Blockchain provides transparency and immutability, it can also expose voters' identities and voting preferences.Developing privacy-preserving techniques, such as zero-knowledge proofs or secure encryption, is crucial to protect voter privacy.3. Adoption and Usability: Gaining widespread adoption and acceptance of decentralized online voting systems among voters, election authorities, and stakeholders can be challenging.Educating users about the benefits, security measures, and ease of use is essential for widespread adoption.4. Security Risks: While Blockchain technology provides enhanced security, no system is entirely immune to attacks.Potential vulnerabilities, such as 51% attacks, doublespending, or manipulation of smart contracts, need to be identified and mitigated to guarantee the authenticity of the voting procedure.5. Voter Coercion and Bribery: In the context of online voting, there is a risk of coercion or vote buying, where voters are influenced or forced to vote in a particular way.Designing systems that can detect and prevent such practices is crucial for maintaining the fairness and integrity of elections.6. Legal and Regulatory Challenges: Integrating decentralized online voting systems into current legal and regulatory structures can present intricacies.Navigating the demands of adhering to electoral statutes, safeguarding data under privacy regulations, and resolving jurisdictional concerns presents notable complexities.

Existing methods
In this section, we describe the user interaction in the proposed decentralized and automated online voting scheme.The voter begins by accessing the system and undergoing facial scan authentication.The facial recognition system verifies their identity by matching the scanned face with stored data.If successful, the voter is presented with a list of candidates and can proceed to cast their vote.Unsuccessful matches result in denied access.Allocation of voters to electoral districts is assumed, generating district-specific candidate lists.Once the voting process is completed, votes are verified by multiple miners and valid votes are added to the public ledger.Blockchain technology and cryptographic hashes ensure verification and integrity.Each cast vote becomes a block in the Blockchain and is recorded in the database.Only one vote per person is allowed through unique facial recognition.Miners generate distinct transactions for each vote, rejecting malicious votes.Voters receive notifications with transaction IDs for vote tracking, while maintaining privacy regarding their specific vote.Voter identification remains concealed, protecting confidentiality.Akhil and team [1] delves into the practical application of an online voting system based on Blockchain technology.Within this document, the advantages of adopting Blockchain for voting purposes, including heightened security, transparency, and efficiency, are thoroughly examined.The authors put forth a concept of a decentralized and tamper-resistant system, assuring the credibility of votes while upholding voter confidentiality.The study delves into the integration of facial recognition and Blockchain to effectively address concerns related to online voting.On the whole, the research paper presents a viable blueprint for designing and constructing a secure and lucid online voting mechanism employing Blockchain technology.
Ahmed and team [2] delves into the conceptualization of a secure electronic voting mechanism grounded in Blockchain technology.The document introduces a theoretical model for the implementation of such a system, tackling the intricate challenges of security, transparency, and trustworthiness within the voting domain.The author underscores the imperative of upholding vote integrity and confidentiality while countering issues like double voting and manipulation [6] and [7].Capitalizing on the decentralized architecture of Blockchain, the proposed model establishes a safeguarded and tamper-resistant milieu for orchestrating elections.This scholarly work significantly contributes to the comprehension and advancement of secure electronic voting systems driven by the potential of Blockchain technology.
Amit Kumar and team [3] explore the development and implementation of a Blockchain and Aadhar-based voting system.The paper focuses on utilizing Blockchain technology and the Aadhar biometric authentication system to enhance the security, transparency, and efficiency of the voting process.The authors propose a novel approach that leverages Blockchain's decentralized nature and Aadhar's unique identification system to ensure secure and tamper-resistant voting.The paper likely discusses the design, implementation, and evaluation of the proposed system, highlighting its potential benefits and addressing any challenges or limitations encountered during the research [8].
Albin Benny [4] delves into the realm of developing an electronic voting infrastructure through the application of Blockchain technology.This research document delves into the expansive potential that Blockchain offers in tackling the persistent challenges of traditional voting systems, particularly concerning security, transparency, and reliability.The author introduces an inventive methodology that capitalizes on the inherent decentralized and immutable characteristics of Blockchain to guarantee a secure and inviolable voting experience [5].Likely encompassing discussions surrounding the system's blueprint, execution, and assessment, the paper underscores the benefits of the Blockchain-based e-voting mechanism and its potential to reshape the landscape of voting processes [9] and [10].Additionally, it might address any constraints or potential.

Problem statement
The paper titled "Enhancing Online Voting Security and Efficiency via Decentralization and Face Recognition on Blockchain Technology" is motivated by the aim to establish a trustworthy and effective avenue for online voting.The conventional online voting mechanisms are susceptible to hacking and deceitful practices, fostering skepticism.These apprehensions linked to voting can be tackled by harnessing the potential of Blockchain technology and facial recognition.These innovations provide an avenue that's both decentralized and resistant to tampering, offering an online voting solution.The paper's objective is to forge a secure, streamlined, and transparent online voting platform by means of decentralization.

Objectives
The main objective of electronic voting technology is to accelerate the process of counting ballots, reduce the costs associated with manual vote tallying, and improve inclusivity for voters with disabilities.This objective can be achieved by designing and developing a software platform for tasks such as voter registration, casting votes in elections, real-time compilation and monitoring of election outcomes, and importantly, facilitating remote voting.In this pursuit, Blockchain technology will be employed to analyze and establish a security strategy, ensuring the integrity and invulnerability of votes within the system, safeguarding against external breaches.The proposed decentralized and automated online voting system uses facial recognition technology to authenticate voters and ensure that each person can only cast one vote.Voters are presented with a list of candidates for their electoral district, and after successful mining, the Blockchain incorporates votes by adding them as a new block.The system relies on cryptographic hashes for end-to-end verification and achieves voter privacy by sending a notification with a unique transaction ID to the voter without revealing how they voted.The individual hash of every voter remains concealed and inaccessible to anyone, including the system operator or administrator.The system ensures verifiability of the voting process while maintaining individual voter privacy.

Login
This module describes two types of login functionality: 1) User Login 2) Admin Login.

Voting
In this module users can cast their votes.This module will describe a whole page where there will be a list of candidates noted with their symbols.

Voting creation
The admin can create a whole voting environment (i.e.arrange voting facility, specify time of voting, add candidates that have stood, and record the entry that particular person has voted, etc.).

Voting result
This module is the main module of our system as it gives the result of the voting.As we have used Blockchain technology our votes will not be not be altered and thus purity maintained and the proper candidate will be won.

User identification
This module system will authenticate users that a particular user is valid or not.This authentication will be done by a face recognition system where users will have to scan their face to access the voting portal in order to make the voting system crystal clear because due to this no other person can cast a vote in place of a particular user.

Admin login
Admin Login used for admin to Login in the System without email address and password admin or any other person cannot login using this module as shown in Figure 2.

Admin dashboard
Here, Figure 3 shows Admin Dashboard where admin get all the information like total number of users, candidates and elections available in the system and also navigate to other modules like user candidate, election changing phase or showing result.

View users
Admin can view details of the users as shown in Figure 4 can perform operations like edit users or delete users and add the user in the voting system.

Add user
Admin can add users in the system using this GUI where admin have to fill details like username, first name and other details after clicking on add user will get username and password in the email which is entered in the given form.

Add candidate
Admin can add candidates and in the voting phase users will vote for these candidates.

Add election
Admin can add new elections in the system with the unique election name and also add candidates from the available candidates with the dropdown menu of candidates.

Edit phase
From this Page Admin can change the phase of election.

Significance of the proposed method
The proposed methodology for the secure and transparent voting application has several advantages that contribute to its significance.Here are the advantages of the methodology: 1. Enhanced Security: The methodology utilizes facial recognition technology for logins and real-time authentication, which strengthens the security of the voting system.2. Transparency: Blockchain technology provides a transparent environment for the voting process.The use of Blockchain ensures that each transaction and vote is recorded in an encrypted ledger, which can be accessed by the public key.3. Fault Tolerance: The Ethereum network and Ganache, a private Ethereum Blockchain environment, are utilized in the methodology.This approach distributes the generated blocks among nodes, ensuring high fault tolerance.Even if some nodes fail, the system can continue to operate without compromising the integrity of the voting process.4. Efficient Database Management: The MongoDB database is used to store system data, including user, candidates and election details. 5. Administrative Control: The methodology includes an admin component responsible for verifying voters and candidates, arranging the voting schedule, and managing important notifications such as election results.6. Wallet Management: Users of the Blockchain technology can manage their wallets using MetaMask, which simplifies the process of completing transactions securely over the web.7. Efficient Smart Contract Deployment: Truffle, an environment based on the Ethereum Blockchain, is utilized for the migration and compilation of Ethereum contracts.This simplifies the deployment process and allows for the interaction with smart contracts on the private Blockchain.Truffle's capabilities enable smoother integration and utilization of Ethereum contracts within the system.Overall, the proposed methodology offers enhanced security, transparency, fault tolerance, efficient database management, administrative control, wallet management, and smart contract deployment.

Conclusion and future enhancements
The development and implementation of a decentralized and automated online voting system using Blockchain technology, particularly Ethereum, offer promising prospects for revolutionizing the way we conduct elections.This research has showcased the potential for increased transparency and security in the voting process by eliminating the need for intermediaries, reducing the risk of manipulation, and ensuring the integrity of the results through smart contracts.The mock voting data used in our study demonstrates the feasibility of this system in a real-world scenario, but further real-world testing is essential for a comprehensive assessment of its performance.The system's security, scalability, and usability have been evaluated, revealing its strengths and areas for improvement.
As part of future enhancements, integrating biometric authentication will not only bolster security but also enhance accessibility, making it more inclusive for a wider range of voters.In sum, this research takes a significant step towards a future where decentralized online voting systems using Blockchain technology become a trusted and viable alternative to traditional methods, ensuring the integrity of democratic processes while meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving digital world.
/doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20234300104646 430 2. Corporate Governance: Decentralized voting systems can be employed in corporate governance, allowing shareholders to securely cast their votes in shareholder meetings.Blockchain ensures transparency and reduces the potential for fraudulent activities.3. Proxy Voting: Blockchain-based systems enable secure and efficient proxy voting, allowing shareholders to delegate their voting rights to trusted entities.This streamlines the proxy voting process, reduces costs, and ensures transparency.4. Decentralized Organizations: Online voting systems on the Blockchain can be utilized in decentralized organizations, such as Blockchain-based papers and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).Members can participate in decision-making processes, such as protocol upgrades or fund allocations, through secure and transparent voting mechanisms.
5. Community Governance: Blockchain-based voting systems can empower communities to make collective decisions on matters such as local policies, funding allocation, or community initiatives.This enhances participatory democracy and increases community engagement.6.Union Elections: Trade unions can utilize decentralized online voting systems to conduct fair and transparent elections for union leadership positions.Blockchain technology ensures trust, accuracy, and accessibility for all members.7. Referendums and Polls: It facilitates secure and transparent referendums and polls on