Long-term verifiability of remote electronic elections

Abstract

Retention of election documents is essential for verifying the proper conduct of an election ex post. The documents retained provide for later review in case an election contest is filed. Moreover, the principle of public elections laid down in German basic law implies the need for public verifiability. This applies to remote electronic voting in particular as physical observation is not achievable in this case. Although the retention obligations on paper-based elections are governed by electoral law, specifications for e-voting are still an open issue. We therefore address the following questions. With which existing legal obligations on retention of election data is it necessary to comply? How can they be transferred to the scenario of remote electronic elections? We approach the issue as follows. Based on an analysis of the retention obligations specified in German electoral law, we identify the conditions that must be documented and are thus subject to long-term verifiability. Then we investigate how they can be adapted to the scenario of remote electronic elections. We also recommend how to conclusively document that these conditions have been met. Our work contributes to establishing the basis for legally binding e-voting in Germany. As electoral law in Europe is rather consistent, this contribution might be useful to other countries as well. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.