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• NOTA BENE - WORK IN PROGRESS - Your Inputs & Thoughts

• To Technology Laboratory - To Technology Laboratory - Overview Projects - To Brain - Study E-Voting System Requirements - To Technology Laboratory LimeSurvey and GRDM - To comma Workbench Helios Voting

Helios Voting - Technology Background

• Status as of autumn 2009

• Today no reliable / open-audit OSS - Open Source Software e-voting system / e-(market)survey is system / available.

• For a starting point have a look at E-Voting System - Requirements or E-Voting System - Progress & Notes.

• There are some different Application, that seem to be able, Helios Voting seems to be a quite interesting candidate although it is still under continuous development.

• Some Facts & Links:

  • Project Homepage: http://www.heliosvoting.org

  • License: GPL v3 according to License Text

  • Main developer: Ben Adida, Harvard University

  • Github Repository: http://github.com/benadida/helios/ under GPL v3

  • Issue Tracking: http://helios.lighthouseapp.com/projects/15637-helios/overview

  • Programming Language: Python (?)

  • See GoogleTechTalk 20071207: Theory and Practice of Cryptography - Verifying Elections with Cryptography on by Ben Adida on YouTube

  • Presentation - Helios Voting - USNIX 20080801 .pdf Download

  • Paper - Helios Web-based Open-Audit Voting - USENIX 20080801 .pdf Download

  • Presentation - An Overview on Cryptographic Voting Systems - QUT-ISI 20081119 .pdf Download - source: MSE Seminar on E-Voting at Institute for Internet Technologies and Applications - HSR, Switzerland by Prof.Dr. A. Steffen

  • Presentation - Verifiable E-Voting with OpenSource -LinuxTag 2009 .pdf Downlaod - source: MSE Seminar on E-Voting at Institute for Internet Technologies and Applications - HSR, Switzerland by Prof.Dr. A. Steffen

Technology Findings & Snippets

• 20090830 - e-mail Fred T. - another voting system

• http://blog.heliosvoting.org/ - With Helios, you get a tracking number of your ballot so you can be certain it counted.

• 20090906+ MathieuSimon:

  • Was poking around with a demo server cacertdemos.simonu.ch but Helios seems not to be working on a standalone system now.
  • Contacted the developer on topic if and how Helios could be installed, and got response
• Personal opinion:

• Helios might be a very app considered, that the developer really studies crypto - so he might know what he does.

• Pros:

  • Compared to GRDM Helios Voting looks far more advanced

  • It IS maintained and developed

  • Demo Systems are available -> This looks mature

  • Developer is available and seems very kind -> *thumbs up*

  • Open source under latest GPL v3 - Protection of patents lawsuits maybe better?

• Cons:
  • As of September 8th Helios does NOT run on a standalone system
  • Helios, although now at V 3.0 is not finished in development

  • Runs only on Google App Engine an the moment click here for Information on the App Engine. - source: en.wikipedia.org

• Question from Ian G: Does it meet our E-Voting System Requirements?

• Well I think that it could fulfill parts of it, on other sides it does have other concepts without using certificates.
• E.g.
  • R2 Transparency: Was designed for auditability from ground up
  • R2.1 Voters can verify if their vote has been counted and if yes, correctly
  • R3: It seems that there can be made open and closed ballots
  • A ballot once opened can't be changed until closing of ballot
  • Ballot is encrypted (forever)

  • Usability: It "looks" usable (me thinks so)

  • R7: As far as I can remember from the testing system, ballots can be limited in time.

• Status: Mathieu Simon is on e-mail contact with the developer for a first test deployment on Google App Engine without any need for Google authentication. (To be followed hopefully).

• Status2: Ben is back and willing to do a special installation of a (still not standalone) preview of newest Helios voting just for CAcert stay tuned in february

• See as well on Technology Laboratory LimeSurvey and GRDM

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