CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
The advancement in technology in recent years, where online systems boost work
speed, reduces mistakes and promote the generation of accurate results, having a
manual voting system becomes a misfortune (Aziz, 2011). With the onset of
technology and computers, computerized processes have been invented world over to
improve efficiency and credibility of voting processes. Two distinct approaches in
computerized voting processes are electronic voting and online voting. While online
voting aims to provide a web-based interface via which voters can cast their votes and
get results of the election process, electronic voting has to do with the registration
process being carried out electronically e.g., use of biometrics and coded voter cards
that that can be scanned by an electronic device to authenticate the voter. Thus, an
electronic voting system may end up having human clerks tallying the votes upon
termination of the election process (Emaase, 2011).
Online voting and electronic have become the technologies that most democracies and
also universities in the 21st century are using. Voting on the internet has its own
disadvantages based on the areas of secrecy and protection against coercion and/or vote
selling. In Nigeria only a few universities, have tried to implement voting via the
internet but they have not been successful on designing a standalone voting system
customized for the particular university. According to the Elections journal of British
Columbia District, Canada, online voting refers to a voting method that transmits voted
ballots via the public Internet through a web browser or client application accessed
through an internet-connected personal computer, smart phone or tablet.
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In an article titled “Why America Can’t vote online” it states that Canada and Estonia
are among the pioneers of online voting, with the town of Markham, in Ontario, having
offered online ballots in local elections since 2003 (Anand & Pallavi, 2012).
David Chaum (2004) advocates for a process, whereby voters could get receipts for
their votes. This receipt would allow them to verify whether their votes were included
in the final tally or not, and to prove that they voted without revealing any information
about how they voted. The inclusion of this improves credibility in the election process
and anonymity of voters. He suggests that e-voting is technologically viable with
application of cryptography and security reinforcement algorithms.
Matt Schultz and Tom Miller (2012) protested that database matching in online voting
processes had loopholes as illegal voters managed to get registered. This is a challenge
that comes when a system provides online registration and should be well addressed to
ensure such incidences never occur. The duo proposes a personal identity number to
uniquely identify each voter and facilitate cross checking. Their insight was therefore
of great aide in the design considerations for the overall building of this project. Dr.
Michael Shamos (1993) presents Six Commandments summary of requirements for a
voting which though similar to others' requirements, he maintains himself as less afraid
of the catastrophic failures and sweeping fraud made possible by imperfections in
electronic voting machines. Shamos is also much less impressed with paper ballots. He
places a great deal of faith in decentralization to make fraud difficult to commit and
easy to detect. Online voting should be a solution to curb the challenge of cheating in
elections and provide a baseline for online voting system as that such a system should
provide a high level of security and establish five core requirements of an electronic
voting system to address issues of privacy, authentication, anonymous, uniqueness and
coercion (Kalaichelvi & Chandrasekaran, 2012). University of
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Texas [A&M University] online voting system shows that web technologies can be
harnessed to facilitate voting processes and one no longer needs to be physically at the
Campus setting to exercise their democratic right as a student. The system exposes a
web interface via which students log in and cast their votes during the electioneering
period (Nzoka & Ananda, 2015). In Nigeria, universities and colleges have to rely on
the human clerk electoral processes. Online voting replaces some of the traditional
methods of voting that are still being used in modern day by some countries and
colleges across the world
The methods can be divided into five;
1. Paper-based voting: The voter gets a blank ballot and use a pen or a marker
to indicate he want to vote for which candidate. Hand-counted ballots is a time
and labour consuming process, but it is easy to manufacture paper ballots and
the ballots can be retained for verifying, this type is still the most common way
to vote.
2. Lever voting machine: Lever machine is peculiar equipment, and each lever
is assigned for a corresponding candidate. The voter pulls the lever to poll for
his favourite candidate. This kind of voting machine can count up the ballots
automatically. Because its interface is not user-friendly enough, giving some
training to voters is necessary.
3. Direct recording electronic voting machine: This type, which is abbreviated
to DRE, integrates with keyboard; touch screen, or buttons for the voter press
to poll. Some of them lay in voting records and counting the votes is very
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quickly. But the other DRE without keep voting records are doubted about its
accuracy.
4. Punch card: The voter uses metallic hole-punch to punch a hole on the blank
ballot. It can count votes automatically, but if the voter’s perforation is
incomplete, the result is probably determined wrongfully.
5. Optical voting machine: After each voter fills a circle correspond to their
favourite candidate on the blank ballot, this machine selects the darkest mark
on each ballot for the vote then computes the total result. This kind of machine
counts up ballots rapidly.
However, if the voter fills over the circle, it will lead to the error result of optical-
scan.
2.2 Case Study: University Of Abuja Voting System
An online voting system is a web-based that facilitates the running of elections and
surveys online. Users are individuals who interact with the system. All user interaction
is performed remotely through the user's web browser. Users are provided with an
online registration form before voting user should fill online form and submit details
these details are compared with details in the school’s database and if they match then
user is provided with username and password using this information user can login and
vote. If conditions are not correct entry will be cancelled. It contains two level of
user’s administrator level and voter level where each level has different functionality.
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2.2.1 System Background
The system is developed to provide users with a simple and self-explanatory Graphic
User Interface (GUI). Users are supposed to register and login in the system then pick
their favourable candidates to register his vote.
Online voting system is a voting system by which any Voter can use his/her voting rights
from anywhere in country. Online voting system contains:
a) Voter’s information in database.
b) Voter’s Names with ID and password.
c) Voter’s vote in a database.
d) Calculation of total number of votes.
Various operational works proposed in the system are: Recording information of the
Voter in database. Checking of information filled by voter. Discard the false
information. Each information is sent to administrator.
2.2.2 System Workaround
Remote users are eligible to access and exercise voting in the Voting System. Results can
be viewed by the administrator without counting the votes cast. All the counting is
computerized.
2.2.3 Product Functions
The product has a server back-end which takes care of authenticating the users and
maintaining necessary data structures.
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2.2.4 Overview of Data Requirements
The internal memory requirement will be constant or linearly dependent on the number of
users depending on the provision of changing the vote at a later time. The external data
about the candidates
2.2.5 Constraints
Login and password are used for identification of Voter.
2.2.6 Features on the System
Online voting is software system through which a voter can give votes through
registering themselves on the voting website. all the information in sites which has
been entered are stored in database for each page in the website have its own database
table. It deals with design, build and test the online voting system that facilitates user
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[Link] Home
It is the welcome page of the website, having all the feature options of the website.
Figure 1 Homepage
[Link] Registration
This is the register page, where the voter, candidate and can register themselves. They
all have to enter basic information best of their known .All the information registered in
the website are saved in the respective database not require geographical proximity of
the voters. For example, soldiers abroad can participate in elections by voting online.
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Figure 2. Voter Registration Page
[Link] Login
User Login: After registering into the website, this information is saved to the
database and sent to the election commission. The user can Login to the website with
his unique USERNAME and PASSWORD generated through registration. There is a
option for FORGOT PASSWORD, in case user forget his password then he/she can
go with option of forgot password. Candidate Login: After registration candidate
can see his/her profile and can edit his/her profile. The candidate has facilitated with
all the latest news update regarding election.
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Figure 3. Login Page
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Kalaichelvi V., & Chandrasekaran M. (2012). Design and analysis of secured electronic
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[Link]
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