Decentralized and Secure Blockchain-Powered Smart Card-Based Cloud Voting System

Voting is one of the most fundamental and important pillars for smooth functioning of a democracy. The conventional voting system based on a ballot system or Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is susceptible to multiple limitations such as fake votes, rigging of Electronic Voting Machine and manipulation of votes. In this context, the authors propose to upgrade the conventional approach of voting by implementing a voting system based on emerging technologies such as Cloud and Edge Computing. This proposed system of Cloud Voting is based on a smart card, namely, Multipurpose Electronic Card (MEC). The Multipurpose Electronic Card provides an integrated and unified interface for delivering electronic services to the populace of the country. The online voting is further prone to issues of privacy and security threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and manipulation of votes. These issues can be handled with the efficient and emerging technology of Blockchain. Here, the authors present techniques to impart immutability, security and decentralization to the proposed system of Cloud Voting System (CVS) by using Blockchain technology. In addition to this, the authors have performed the eligibility test of voters based on their fingerprints using hashing technique of SHA-256 algorithm, which enhances the security and reliability of the proposed system. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).