Online Voting for Credit Union Elections Helping increase voter turnout & provide accessible, efficient and secure election processes.
In a time of cyber-security awareness, Federal Credit Unions and other Financial Institutions continue to prepare for cyber-attacks. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 has forced Credit Unions and Financial Institutions to implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of member information. However, when it comes to voting for their most influential leadership positions, many organizations continue using traditional channels to cast their ballot, traditional channels that do not cater to advanced security and transparency process: in-person paper voting, in-person voting machines, and unsecured telephone & email voting. These outdated and unsecure voting channels could jeopardize the integrity of your elections and cause harm to your members. By providing your organization with an advanced security and verifiability framework, online voting will allow you to: Improve election efficiency by decreasing traditional election costs such as printing and travel associated with the election process and improve ROI Increase member turn-out and participation by providing more accessible voting channels Increase membership confidence and organizational transparency with end-to-end verifiability of the voting and tallying processes. Online Voting a secure, accessible and fully auditable voting channel which allows voters to cast their vote privately from their desired location using a secure internet connection and the device of choice. EFFICIENCY ACCESSIBILITY SECURITY VERIFIABILITY AUDITABILITY Operational efficiencies Increase membership Guaranteed vote and voter Individual and universal Generated reports through resulting from significantly participation in elections by privacy, end-to-end election verification allows members the verifiability process reduced costs & delivery of enabling remote members, security and full verifiability to check if their ballot has allows the solution to be more timely and accurate be it military or members with via advanced patented been cast-as-intended, audited by independent results. disabilities to cast their vote cryptographic protocols. recorded-as-cast and experts before, during, and securely and privately over counted-as-recorded. after the election. the internet.
ONLINE VOTING TRADITIONAL ELECTIONS VS MODERN ELECTIONS One member, one vote; this is the core belief behind every credit union. Your members are your most important asset and keeping them actively engaged in your organization's leadership elections will increase perceived value to them. However, much like in public elections, members are disenfranchised due to the inconvenience and uncertainty of traditional voting methods. PAPER VOTING POSTAL VOTING ONLINE VOTING ACCESSIBILITY Voting physically at designated polling place Voting physically at an embassy or via postal services Voting from anywhere with and internet connection TRANSMISSION Paper ballot transmission can be unattended at various points before tally Postal ballots can take weeks, are unattended and there is no guarantee of delivery Vote data is transmitted immediately, privately and securely (end2end encryption). Any unauthorized attempt TALLY Tallying relies on human interaction and prone to human errors Tallying relies on timely delivery of ballots & human interaction, prone to human errors Tallying technology ensures timely reports & eliminates human errors TRANSPARENCY Observers only present at one polling place Observers only present at one polling place Technology allows full election observation SECURITY Vote counted and entered into tally as cast cannot be guaranteed Vote integrity, vote counted and entered into tally as cast cannot be guaranteed Vote integrity, voter privacy and vote counted and entered into tally as cast is fully guaranteed
ONLINE VOTING PERCEPTIONS VS REALITY End-to-end security and full verifiability are crucial to all stages of an election. They not only protect the security and privacy of the vote and voter, but also prevent internal and external manipulation and guarantee that the process is transparent and verifiable by outside parties. There are service providers in the private industry that offer basic security for online voting processes, however, most only provide standard IT security such as HTTPS, SSL, or TSL encryption. Standard encryption and decryption methods are more vulnerable to external and internal attacks, leaving your member s data susceptible to malicious attacks. In spite of its 12 years of successful implementations, online voting continues to be surrounded by a series of misconceptions relative to the technology and the security protocols used. Scytl Online Voting advanced security and verifiability protocols greatly surpasses standard IT security measures and has been tested to a point where all those incorrect perceptions are proven wrong. Many organizations now realize the importance of advanced security protocols and are aware of the added value to the organization and the peace of mind it gives their members. ONLINE VOTING IS NOT COSTLY: actually, online voting technology helps reduce election costs and complexity due to less ballot printing, staff requirements, mailing requirements, etc. ONLINE VOTING DOES NOT COMPROMISE VOTING PRIVACY: The use of advanced technology, cryptographic mixnets, shuffling and re-encrypting/ decrypting votes breaks the correlation of votes to voters, ensuring full anonymity. WITH ONLINE VOTING VOTES CANNOT BE MODIFIED WHEN SENT OVER THE INTERNET: Once voters submit their ballots, these are encrypted on their device, are still encrypted when transmitted and remain so until the counting process. This ensures that if for whatever reason a transmission channel is compromised, the vote cannot be altered as it is securely encrypted. WITH ONLINE VOTING VOTES CANNOT BE MODIFIED ONCE IT IS IN THE SERVER WHERE VOTES ARE COUNTED: Once ballots arrive on the voting server, online voting immutable logs use cryptographic processes to ensure the logs cannot be changed preventing vote tampering on the server as well as highlighting any unfruitful attempt at tampering. WITH ONLINE VOTING VOTE INTEGRITY IS ASSURED: With online voting voters have the possibility to verify not only that their vote has been cast as they intended, but that it has been recorded and tallied as they intended, ensuring full integrity.
ONLINE VOTING SECURITY BEFORE & AFTER The latest advancements in online voting technology ensure stronger protection against the challenges posed by online voting while COMMON TECHNIQUES BEST PRACTICE TECHNIQUES constantly maintaining the credibility of the election. By using methods such as digital signatures, universal verification PRIVACY SSL based encryption Database encryption Military grade encryption Information protection 3 layers of personal data encryption End-to-end encryption protocol Cryptographic mixing protocol Secret sharing cryptographic keys Advanced encryption mechanics and cryptographic mixing, voters Integrated authentication protocol can be sure that their identities are never exposed and that their vote is kept secret. AUTHENTICATION User password access control Multi-factor strong authentication Strong role-based access control When implementing an inherently tamper-proof solution, it is important to understand the differences between basic security VERIFIABILITY Logs monitoring System & application logs Source code open for review Operation traceability Cryptographic cast -as-intended Cryptographic counted-as-cast Digital signatures and the advanced security techniques necessary to ensure a fully secure and verifiable online voting process. INTEGRITY Procedural integrity checks SSL security Cryptographic immutable logs Digital signatures End-to-end security Security cross checks data integrity
26% 74% 35% 65% 58% 42% THE 4 STEPS IN THE ONLINE VOTING PROCESS Online voting processes are comprised of 4 steps that allow voters to cast their ballots quickly, privately and safely and ensure timely and auditable election results. AUTHENTICATION VOTING TRANSMISSION TALLYING ID VOTING CARD USER XXXX-XXXX RETURN CODES XXXX-XXXX XXXX-XXXX XXXX-XXXX XXXX-XXXX A B C 0011100011010 00111011011100 11101101000101 C A B C 74% 65% 42% / Supports any type of voter authentication, be it pre-existing or the adoption of a new voting authentication method. Digital certificates: the foundation of Scytl authentication process, privacy and integrity On site: Standard or Electronic ID, Biometrics Remote: Electronic ID, Digital certificates, Voting credentials, Webcrossing / Single voting interface for both remote and on-site users. Voter privacy is ensured through ballot encryption Voter eligibility is ensured through digital signatures of election data Results integrity is guaranteed thanks to the traceability of voting operations and the vote s digital signature Accessibility for all remote members and those with disabilities. / Results are received from all polling places and different voting channels such as poll-site voting, Internet voting and postal voting. Ballots can be transmitted immediately through the internet to election servers Ballots can be differed if polling stations are not equipped with internet connections. For onsite / non-internet connected kiosks, ballots can be transferred physically to central servers or transmitted securely via telephone networks / After the election is closed, all the online votes are consolidated and transferred securely for Mixing by the electoral organization. Quorum of electoral board members is required to regenerate the election key to decrypt votes. The mixing process decrypts the votes and breaks the correlation between encrypted votes & voters ensuring voter privacy. Results can be published on interactive online portals with graphics and drill-down capabilities (polling place, district, etc.)
26% 74% 35% 65% 58% 42% HOW ONLINE VOTING WORKS 1 2 3 4 5 A B C Internet 0011100011010 00111011011100 11101101000101 / Members vote online on the device of choice / Votes are encrypted and digitally signed on the voter s devices / Votes are securely and privately transmitted over the internet / Votes are validated by the centralized server and included in the digital ballot box / Digital ballot boxes are closed and vote cleansing, mixing and shuffling begins 9 8 7 6 A B C A C 74% 65% 42% B / Results publication C B A 10 RECEIPT ELECTION REPORTS / Vote tally / Vote decryption process in completed / Quorum of supervisory / election committee builds key to allow vote decryption / Voters receive vote receipt for voting results verification
KEY ONLINE VOTING BENEFITS Accessibility Online voting is specifically designed to be accessible for remote members, members with disabilities, and members serving in the military. Addressing the challenges and eliminating the barriers of disenfranchised members via online voting technology ensures that they can vote and participate in the election process on equal terms as other members: privately, securely, and independently. Ease-of-use: simple steps to casting a vote. Voters can easily navigate through voting platform. Increases flexibility sending: allows for flexible and extended voting times. Voters can vote at their own convenience from any device with an internet connection. Increases participation: allows for remote voting. Enfranchise your members from remote locations with online voting. Increases accessibility: empowers voters with limited access to onsite and mail-in voting. Enfranchise members with disabilities and remote members (members serving in the military, expats, hospitalized, etc.) ONE BILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD LIVE WITH DISABILITIES 35 MILLION VOTING-AGE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE U.S. 1 2 3 4 6 5 THAT IS 1 IN 7 PEOPLE OBJECTIVES OF SECURE & ACCESSIBLE ONLINE VOTING 80% LIVE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 15% OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION LESS THAN HALF VOTED IN 2012 INCREASE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PARTICIPATION 8 7
26% 74% 35% 65% 58% 42% 26% 74% 35% 65% 58% 42% 84% 16% 74% 65% 42% KEY ONLINE VOTING BENEFITS Efficiency Optimizing the electoral process leads to cost savings and overall sustainability by decreasing the dependence on traditional resources. Improved sustainability: eliminates the need for paper ballots, toner, and recycling for election processes. IMPROVED SUSTAINABILITY SAVING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TREES AND TONS PAPER AND TONER REQUIREMENTS NO PRINTED ELECTION TRAINING TRAINING MANUALS AND TESTS ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR BALLOT PRINTING 74% 65% 42% ELIMINATION OF PAPER, TONER & RECYCLING NEEDS FOR VARIOUS ONLINE ELECTION PROCESSES 84% 16% 74% 65% 42% Carbon footprint reduction: eliminates the need for transportation with traditional method (registration, voting, streamlined logistics and ballot production). CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION ELIMINATE THE NEED TO TRAVEL BOTH REGISTER AND VOTE SIGNIFICANT CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION BY ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR TRAVEL AND MATERIALDELIVERY 74% 65% 42% STREAMLINED LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS Election budget savings: significant reduction in production costs and election management efficiencies. Efficient and accurate results publication: by reducing human interaction and errors, election results will be more accurate and timely. ELECTION BUDGET SAVINGS PRODUCTION COSTS OF REGISTRATION, TRAINING AND VOTING MATERIAL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ELECTION MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCIES REALIZED ACROSS ALL ONLINE RELATED PROCESSES 34% SAVINGS IN ELECTION MANAGEMENT BUDGETS
KEY ONLINE VOTING BENEFITS Verifiability Individual and universal verification allows members to check if their ballot has been cast-as-intended, recorded-as-cast and counted-as-recorded, providing election and voting transparency. Cast-as-intended: Voters will receive unique secure codes corresponding to each candidate before the election. Once the voter has cast their vote online, they will receive return codes confirming their voting options. If the return code doesn t match, we can assume that their vote has been tampered with or manipulated. Recorded-as-cast: Voters receive a voting receipt based on a fingerprint of the encrypted vote. During the voting process, the servers publish the fingerprints of the encrypted votes. The voting receipt will allow voters to check that their vote has been recorded properly. Counted-as-recorded: Through this verification process and the use of Zero Knowledge proofs, observers monitoring the election can determine if the vote was manipulated when the contents of the encrypted votes were obtained. These proofs do not contain any information that can allows correlation between the votes and the members increasing transparency while preserving voter privacy.
KEY ONLINE VOTING BENEFITS Auditability In order to ensure election integrity to your members, a means for the election process to be audited by independent authorities is required. Generated reports through the verifiability process allow the solution to be audited by independent experts before, during, and after the election. Digital signatures: Encrypted votes need to be digitally signed by voters before they are cast. This prevents the manipulation of the votes after being cast and also ensures the eligibility of the votes stored in the ballot box by means of verifications of the digital signatures. ELECTION AUTHORITY EA ELECTION AUTHORITY EA ELECTION AUTHORITY EA Immutable logs: Logs using cryptographic systems are generated and stored to facilitate election monitoring. These logs are used to record activity which can then be audited and reviewed to ensure election integrity. Immutable Bulletin Board
KEY ONLINE VOTING BENEFITS Security End-to-end security is crucial to all stages of an election and is provided via advanced patented cryptographic protocols. It not only protects the security and privacy of the vote and voter, but also prevents internal and external manipulation and guarantees that the process is transparent and verifiable by external sources and auditors. Privacy: Online voting ensure full vote and voter privacy. Integrity: Guarantees votes are not tampered with or modified, ensuring full election integrity. Patents: Scytl has capitalized on its more than 22 years of research to develop election-specific cryptographic security technology protected by more than 40 international patents and patent applications, positioning Scytl as the company with the largest patent portfolio of the industry. DA! YES! AKO! NËSE! IF! NO! SE! KAMA! AN! SI! OUI! 中頻! AKO! JO! LAA!
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION GUIDELINES The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) standards and guidelines for safeguarding member information is an important set of criteria to ensure the privacy of a credit union member s personal information. These guidelines are in place to protect personal information against threats or hazards that can harm your members and your organization. Most credit unions have considered these guidelines and designed an information security program to control identified risks. However, some organizations have not reflected these security measures when nominating and selecting potential candidates for influential leadership positions. Traditional methods and online voting technology with standard IT security do not ensure the privacy and transparency of your member s vote. Ensuring voter confidence in your member's vote will bring added value to your organization and build greater relationships between your members and leaders. If you re considering implementing security measures for your next elections, please consider the following guidelines when making your decision: NCUA INSPIRED GUIDELINES TO SAFEGUARDING MEMBER ELECTIONS Authenticate Access Controls and permit access only to authorized individuals. Access Restrictions of Electronic Ballot Box that contains members votes. Encryption of the member information and vote cast information. Monitoring systems and procedures to detect any attempted attacks or intrusions on the votes. Response systems in place to detect any suspicion of vote manipulation. Prevent & Protect the loss or manipulation of Member Vote THE SCYTL ONLINE VOTING DIFFERENCE Scytl Online Voting s unique authentication methods ensure that only authenticated members are able to access the voting portal and cast their vote. Scytl Online Voting has unique encryption protocols in place that ensure only the Board of Executives or authorized individuals can download ballots. Scytl Online Voting s security protocols and authentication ensure the privacy of your member s vote and membership information. Scytl Online Voting security protocols include the use of immutable logs which can detect any attempt of vote manipulation or removal from both internal and external attackers. Scytl Online Voting s verification processes provide reports for third party auditors to detect any attempts at manipulation during or after the election. Scytl Online Voting s security measures and protocols prevent any manipulation or mishandling of your member's vote, ensuring voter privacy and election integrity.
ORGANIZATIONS ALREADY BENEFITING FROM SCYTL ONLINE VOTING As online voting technology continues to evolve, both governments and private organizations across the globe continue to embrace the new voting channel either as a standalone channel or as an additional and complimentary channel to paper and postal channels - and are leveraging the benefits it provides to both their members and the organization. Online voting means I can vote anonymously like everybody else. It means independence, it means being sure that my voice has been heard and that my vote counted. Jennifer, Visually impaired voter, Vision Australia For the second consecutive year our citizens of Girona have expressed their trust in the online in participation encourages us to continue leveraging the use of innovative tools like online voting. Deputy Mayor & Councilor of Finance Not only was the election convenient an opportunity for our members to experience online voting which can potentially transform the future of elections in the United States. Diane Allen, NFWL Chair Senator of New Jersey Scytl consistently exceeded our expectations by providing us with the highest level of service throughout the project. Our members clearly understood their roles throughout the election process and provided positive feedback about the Online Voting solution. Patricia Mercado, Organization of American States (OAS) Staff Federal Credit Union
CHECKLIST FOR DELIVERING SECURE, ACCESSIBLE ONLINE VOTING FOR CREDIT UNION ELECTIONS Conclusion: as you advance down the road of online voting evaluation for your next election, best practices recommend that all the t s are crossed and the i s dotted before embarking on projects such as these. More accessibility, higher efficiencies, proven security and verifiability and global experience managing online voting in different countries and organization types are of paramount importance and will be the key to ensuring a successful online voting experience for your election staff and your voters. Scytl Online Voting technology provides advanced security measures guaranteeing that voters are authenticated, voter privacy is protected, and member s votes and election results were not manipulated by external hackers or internal technical staff with system privileges. These security protocols will ensure a secure and fair election and bring added value to your members and your organization. Easy access for remote and overseas voters Accessible to persons with disabilities Guaranteed voter privacy and vote integrity Voter verification for cast-as-intended, counted-as-cast and recorded-as-cast Possibility of source code publication for certification and third party audit Observer, participants and independent auditor validation and verification Full system auditability by independent experts and academics Technology tested and proven in a vast number of secure online voting projects
Online Voting for Credit Union Elections Helping increase voter turnout & provide accessible, efficient and secure election processes.