General, direct, free, equal, and secret: What are secure elections?

How can an electoral system guarantee the integrity of the electoral vote? How secure are online voting systems and where do their limits lie? In their talks, Felix Dörre and Michael Kirsten (KIT | KASTEL - Institute of Information Security and Dependability) will examine computerized approaches that contribute to securing the integrity and confidentiality of (online) voting processes. 

‘General, direct, free, equal, and secret’ - these are the five fundamental principles of German electoral law. Despite this, the voting process - be it via ballot paper, postal vote or digital - is afflicted with concerns about electoral fraud and manipulation. A free and equal election ensures that voters can express their genuine will without distortion and that every vote counts equally. Voters who are familiar with the approximate distribution of votes and the calculation methodology in which the voting system is rooted, can tamper with said system in order to lend more weight to their own vote. In his talk, Michael Kirsten presents logic-based methods for developing trustworthy voting systems that are resistant to such strategies.

Though online voting is not yet possible in Germany, the desire for online voting systems is on the rise and has led to the emergence of a multitude of commercial providers. Most providers claim to place great value on security, but only few are actually delivering on this claim. Just how secure is online voting? Felix Dörre presents a range of widely used cryptographic mechanisms that increase the security of an online voting system and also points out their limitations.

»What are secure elections?« is an event accompanying the current exhibition »Digiloglounge N°3. But is it safe?« where »Die Unwissende Wahlmaschine« [The Ignorant Voting Machine] is currently on display. The interactive installation was developed by Felix Dörre with the project group ‘Kryptographie und Sicherheit’ [Cryptography and Security]. Michael Kirsten and Felix Dörre will provide insight into their areas of research and invite you to join the discussion.

In 2024, almost half of the world's population will be called to the (digital) polls. In Germany, three key state elections are also due to take place in September. How can free and fair elections be ensured and which trustworthy technologies can be used to safeguard privacy and autonomy in democratic processes? Join us in the discussion.

Tour of the exhibition

You will have the opportunity to visit the exhibition »Digiloglounge N°3. But is it safe?« at 6pm (free of charge) to try out »Die Unwissende Wahlmaschine« [The Ignorant Voting Machine] for yourself. The meeting point for the guided tour with the speakers is in the foyer of ZKM.

Digitalization in Dialogue – digilog@bw

The evening is part of the project digilog@bw, a research network of Baden-Württemberg universities, research institutions and the ZKM | Karlsruhe, in which more than 50 scientists have been involved since 2019: from the humanities, social sciences, law, economics, media and communication sciences, ethics and computer science, as well as interdisciplinary technology.

Further information

For further information, please contact Marianne Schädler:
marianne.schaedler@zkm.de