No need to return to the country to vote? To address voting inconvenience, cybersecurity company Kaspersky has launched the blockchain voting system Polys.

The cybersecurity company Kaspersky recently showcased its prototype voting system based on Polys blockchain, offering a secure alternative to current election methods.

• Online and On-site Voting in Parallel
• Digital Voting Systems Still Face Risks

Polys is one of the projects of Kaspersky Innovation Hub, aimed at developing an online secure voting platform for use in enterprises, universities, and political parties.

Online Voting Based on Blockchain Saves a Lot of Manual Paperwork

Kaspersky points out that Polys is the first application that combines an online voting system with distributed ledger technology, providing voters with the option to vote at polling stations or via mobile devices, and incorporating the security of blockchain technology to eliminate the possibility of double voting.

The voting process involves providing verified voters with a unique QR code or token for scanning to cast their votes, which will be automatically encrypted and tallied. Voters can verify that their votes are anonymously stored on the blockchain through an application. This enhances election security and reduces costs in terms of personnel and resources.

According to a report, Roman Aleshkin, Product Manager of Polys, stated:

Through our interactions with users, we understand the challenges and inconveniences faced by traditional voting methods. As seen on the Polys platform, digital voting can address some of these issues, providing more opportunities for remote participation and even increasing the willingness of young people to vote.

However, completely phasing out traditional polling stations would deprive certain people who desire to participate in elections and voice their opinions. Therefore, we have also introduced new voting machines to allow the public to vote in the most convenient and transparent manner.

Online Voting Systems Still Need to be Tested

It was previously reported that during the Democratic Party caucus in Iowa on February 3, the voting application used experienced a major malfunction for unknown reasons, causing a complete breakdown of the electoral process. The lack of transparency in the system has drawn criticism, and security experts have pointed out the risks of centralized systems.

While online voting offers many advantages, such as allowing voters to participate remotely without queuing at polling stations, there are risks associated with individuals who do not have access to or do not use electronic devices. According to data from the National Statistics Office, in 2018, there were 5.3 million adults in the UK who were still "non-users of the internet."

In addition, Ronald Rivest, a cryptography expert and professor at MIT, pointed out that although blockchain technology may find suitable applications in many other areas, it may not be the best choice for voting mechanisms:

Voting is a field that does not require high technology; anonymous and non-anonymous voting only complicates the auditing process.

Furthermore, MIT discovered security vulnerabilities in the blockchain voting platform Voatz on February 13. The audit report indicated that Voatz's vulnerabilities allow for altering, halting, or exposing users' votes.

As a result, West Virginia has decided not to use Voatz for upcoming primaries.

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