Please describe your proposed solution.
1.- Context.
In developing countries, the adoption/implementation of electronic voting or telematic voting is not yet viable, mainly due to the low levels of confidence in the Electoral Organisms and the socio-political reality of the region.
2.- Current voting systems.
In most of these Latin American countries, the counting of votes in an election process (president of a country or deputies, etc.) is done manually, and these results are transferred to a sheet of paper called tally sheets.
Subsequently, the processing of the tally sheets is carried out in a computer system, in the following phases: scanning of minutes, entry of votes (ICR, Entry of Vores, QA), totalization and dissemination of results.
3.- Blockchain Scrutiny Systems
This project proposes the incorporation of blockchain in a scrutiny system commonly used in Latin America; that is to say that public scrutiny is maintained and the vote is counted one by one in front of the citizens and that later in the computation process blockchain technology is implemented.
a.- Digitize the scrutiny act (Acanning ).
A hash will be obtained from each image of the scanned records and will be published on the blockchain.
The images will be stored decentrally (this point will depend on several factors such as cost, maturity of some decentralized storage solution on the cardano blockchain);
b.- Intelligent character recognition.
The values obtained in the intelligent character recognition process will be assigned to a candidate within the chain of the cardano blockchain;
c.- Cut image in sections
A hash will be obtained from each image of the scanned records and will be published on the blockchain.
The images will be stored decentrally (this point will depend on several factors such as cost, maturity of some decentralized storage solution on the cardano blockchain);
d.- Fingering.
The users of the system called "digitators" will enter the values that are shown in the image (sections of the records that previously had to be cut), it should be noted that a validation of the hash of each existing image in the blockchain is previously performed.
The values entered by the “digitizer” users will be assigned to a candidate within the Cardano blockchain chain;
e.- Quality Control.
The “validation 2 of 3” is done on the Cardano blockchain.
In the case of requiring a new digitization (quality control), the votes entered by the users will be assigned to a candidate within the Cardano blockchain;
f.- Totalization.
The totalization process is the sum of the votes of each candidate and will be carried out in the Cardano blockchain.
g– Publication of results (dissemination of results).
The votes of the candidates will be published from the Cardano blockchain.
3.- Blockchain Scrutiny Systems
This project proposes the incorporation of blockchain in a scrutiny system commonly used in Latin America; that is to say that public scrutiny is maintained and the vote is counted one by one in front of the citizens and that later in the computation process blockchain technology is implemented.
a.- Digitize the scrutiny act (Acanning ).
A hash will be obtained from each image of the scanned records and will be published on the blockchain.
The images will be stored decentrally (this point will depend on several factors such as cost, maturity of some decentralized storage solution on the cardano blockchain);
b.- Intelligent character recognition.
The values obtained in the intelligent character recognition process will be assigned to a candidate within the chain of the cardano blockchain;
c.- Cut image in sections
A hash will be obtained from each image of the scanned records and will be published on the blockchain.
The images will be stored decentrally (this point will depend on several factors such as cost, maturity of some decentralized storage solution on the cardano blockchain);
d.- Fingering.
The users of the system called "digitators" will enter the values that are shown in the image (sections of the records that previously had to be cut), it should be noted that a validation of the hash of each existing image in the blockchain is previously performed.
The values entered by the “digitizer” users will be assigned to a candidate within the Cardano blockchain chain;
e.- Quality Control.
The “validation 2 of 3” is done on the Cardano blockchain.
In the case of requiring a new digitization (quality control), the votes entered by the users will be assigned to a candidate within the Cardano blockchain;
f.- Totalization.
The totalization process is the sum of the votes of each candidate and will be carried out in the Cardano blockchain.
g– Publication of results (dissemination of results).
The votes of the candidates will be published from the Cardano blockchain.
4.- Why implement this solution?
- Real transparency is provided in each phase of the counting process.
- All the information is public, so any citizen can oversee the elections.
- By having complete traceability of all transactions, the results cannot be altered.
- The entire system can be audited, in a public way, control institutions, political organizations and civil society can review the entire structure, flow, operation and data of the system.
5.-Legal validity.
In general terms, there are 3 forms of vote control.
Manual counting, also known as traditional or simply scrutiny, is the classic method of vote counting in an electoral process. In this system, voters cast their votes on physical ballots, which are then deposited in ballot boxes. Once the voting is complete, the ballot boxes are taken to a counting center where each vote is manually counted.
In the process of traditional scrutiny, electoral officials review and manually count each vote on the ballots, ensuring their validity and correctly assigning votes to each candidate or option. Once the manual counting is completed, the results are recorded in scrutiny records and later processed (vote tally) by a centralized system before being officially published or disclosed.
Telematic voting is a voting modality that allows citizens to cast their votes from any location using electronic devices connected to the internet, such as computers, smartphones, or tablets. Instead of physically going to a polling station, voters can vote remotely through secure and authorized online platforms.
Electronic voting is a voting modality in which voters cast their votes using electronic systems instead of traditional paper ballots and ballot boxes. This method utilizes computer and electronic technologies to register, count, and transmit votes efficiently and quickly.
The most common way to implement this type of voting is through electronic voting machines, where voters select their choices on a digital voting machine (physically similar to an ATM), and the system records the votes electronically.
<u>The vast majority of developing countries, such as Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, have laws that establish manual voting, using physical ballots that are later tallied in a centralized computer system called the scrutiny system. Our project adheres to these specifications, ensuring compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, while adding an additional layer of transparency to the existing systems.</u>
ECUADOR.
Electoral Organic Law (Pages 71,72,73)
https://institutodemocracia.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/codigo_democracia_2013.pdf
PERÚ
Organic Law of Elections (Pages 40,41,42)
<https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/Peru/leyelecciones.pdf>
BOLIVIA
GENERAL ELECTIONS REGULATIONS (Pages 8,9,10)
<http://www.coordinadoradelamujer.org.bo/protagonistas/archivos/normas/Res.%20021%20(Reglamento%20EG20).pdf>