Distributed E-Voting and E-Bidding Systems Based on Smart Contract

Abstract

Traditional voting and bidding systems largely rely on paperwork and human resources throughout the voting process, which can incur high costs in terms of both time and money. Electronic voting and electronic bidding systems can be used to reduce costs, and many new systems have been introduced. However, most systems require a powerful and trusted third party to guarantee system integrity and security. With developments in blockchain technology, research has begun to highlight the core concept of decentralization. In this study, we introduce the first decentralized electronic voting and bidding systems based on a blockchain and smart contract. We also use cryptographic techniques such as oblivious transfer and homomorphic encryptions to improve privacy protection. Our proposed systems allow voters and bidders to participate in the opening phase and improve participant anonymity, the privacy of data transmission, and data reliability and verifiability. Moreover, compared with other electronic voting and bidding systems, our systems are safer and more efficient.

Recent Advances in Smart Contracts: A Technical Overview and State of the Art

“…Tso et al present an e-voting system where users participating in a vote can use a smart contract to check if their vote was validated [26]. If an anomaly is detected in their votes, they can directly report to the election committee.…”

“…In [26], Tso et al also propose an e-bidding system based on smart contracts that allow participants of bidding to check if their bids were correctly taken into account. Their system also ensures that participants can pay the amount they bid by using a system of bonds.…”

A Survey on Privacy Protection of Blockchain: The Technology and Application

“…Homomorphic encryption technology is of great significance in the field of blockchain. In terms of privacy protection, the distributed electronic voting and electronic bidding system [32] use homomorphic encryption technology to improve the anonymity of participants, the privacy of data transmission, and the reliability and verifiability of data. This technology can realize that the receiver can only get the final result, but cannot get every ciphertext message.…”

Consortium Blockchain-Based Microgrid Market Transaction Research

“…It can reduce the cost of market operations and enhance the security and transparency of user information and transaction data. In recent years, blockchain technology has been applied in the research of finance [37][38][39], supply-chains [40,41], medical care [42][43][44], and smart cities [45,46]. With the deepening of research on blockchain technology, the technology is gradually being applied in smart grids [47][48][49][50][51].…”