Methods for Ensuring the Credibility of Electronic Secret Voting

摘要

One of the most important problems with electronic secret voting is the difficulty of verifying the integrity of the counting procedures. From a technological point of view, the possibility of miscounting or manipulating the voting system is extremely small, but technological explanations are not enough to calm the worries of voters with little knowledge of computer security. This paper examines several methods of electronic secret voting whereby participants can understand that the possibility of manipulation or miscalculation is small. The methods presented in this paper are for use with Japanese electoral laws, but can be adapted to a wide range of electronic voting and different legal systems. This paper also examines the validity of the methods in adapting to an electronic decision support system for local government.