Chirotonia: A Scalable and Secure e-Voting Framework based on Blockchains and Linkable Ring Signatures

TL;DR

This paper introduces Chirotonia, a scalable, secure e-voting framework utilizing blockchain technology and linkable ring signatures to ensure vote integrity, voter anonymity, and resistance to double voting, with a practical open-source implementation.

Contribution

It presents a novel, comprehensive e-voting framework combining blockchain and secure cryptographic signatures, emphasizing scalability and security guarantees.

Findings

Framework ensures decentralization, transparency, and tamper-resistance.

Secure linkable ring signatures protect voter anonymity and prevent double voting.

Open-source implementation demonstrates practical feasibility.

Abstract

In this paper we propose a comprehensive and scalable framework to build secure-by-design e-voting systems. Decentralization, transparency, determinism, and untamperability of votes are granted by dedicated smart contracts on a blockchain, while voter authenticity and anonymity are achieved through (provable secure) linkable ring signatures. These, in combination with suitable smart contract constraints, also grant protection from double voting. Our design is presented in detail, focusing on its security guarantees and the design choices that allow it to scale to a large number of voters. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept implementation of the proposed framework, made available as open source.