Microsoft's open 'ElectionGuard' SDK aims to secure democratic elections

At its Build 2022 developer conference, Microsoft today announced an open up source tool for helping to protect elections. Called "ElectionGuard," the software development kit (SDK) is focused on making sure that votes are verifiable, secure, and auditable.

In terms of verification, ElectionGuard enables voters to rail their votes through a web portal with a unique code; they tin can also optionally confirm that their votes were correctly tabulated and not contradistinct or tampered with, and properly counted. The ElectionGuard SDK volition likewise allow anyone to build their own election verifier, allowing news media, observers, voters, and candidates to ostend votes were accurately recorded.

To secure things, Microsoft is using a type of encryption called "homomorphic encryption." With a lot of the work washed past Microsoft Research to make information technology work in election systems, homomorphic encryption allows "mathematical procedures – similar counting – to exist washed with fully encrypted data." From Microsoft:

By running an open up election verifier, anyone tin securely confirm that the encrypted votes accept been correctly aggregated and that this encrypted tabulation has been correctly decrypted to produce the final tally. This process allows anyone to verify the correct counting of votes past inspecting the public ballot record while keeping voting records secure. The use of homomorphic encryption to enable verification is dissever from and in addition to the process of paper ballots counted as an official election tally.

On the auditing front, the ElectionGuard SDK tin be used to back up an "enhanced form of statistical auditing." Using an encrypted, electronic record of every election, election officials tin use ElectionGuard to select ballot records at random and compare them against their paper record to ensure the integrity of an election.

Microsoft has also built a reference voting machine with enhancements to make voting a less onerous process. In ane case, people volition exist able to research candidates and brand their vote selections at home. After they've made their selections, the tin then print a QR lawmaking that volition automatically populate their ballot at their voting place when scanned.

Microsoft says it is already working with election systems vendors to incorporate aspects of the ElectionGuard SDK in current voting machines and those that are still in development. The ElectionGuard SDK is expected to be available through GitHub this summer, according to Microsoft. ElectionGuard also complements the launch of Microsoft 365 for campaigns to help protect political campaigns from hacking.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/microsofts-electionguard-aims-help-secure-democratic-elections

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