An Anywhere-Voting Scheme for Brazilian Elections

• Grant number: 24/06106-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Antonio Simplicio Junior
• Grantee: Leonardo Toshinobu Kimura
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Even though voting is compulsory in Brazil, the country suffers from significant abstention rates, an issue that may potentially harm the government's legitimacy. One way to increase voter participation is by facilitating the electoral process itself. In particular, in Brazil, voters must vote exclusively at designated polling places, which often results in long commutes, especially for those who are traveling or have recently relocated. One promising solution are "anywhere voting" solutions, which essentially allow voters to cast their votes in any polling station. However, implementing the anywhere voting concept presents significant challenges, particularly concerning the need to prevent double voting. While many countries address this issue simply by employing electronic poll books connected to the Internet, this approach is vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks. In addition, they are not suitable for remote places with poor connectivity (and even electricity) infrastructure, which are not uncommon in Brazil. Therefore, this research aims to develop an anywhere voting scheme suitable for the adversarial context of Brazil. Meanwhile, we seek to ensure verifiability, vote privacy, and integrity properties, despite the high risks of impersonation, denial-of-service, and vote-buying attacks.