Accuracy: The fundamental requirement for voting systems

Storer, T. and Lock, R. (2009) Accuracy: The fundamental requirement for voting systems. In: The Third International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security, ARES 2009, Fukuoka, Japan, 16-19 Mar 2009, pp. 374-379. ISBN 9781424435722 (doi: 10.1109/ARES.2009.133)

Abstract

There have been several attempts to develop a comprehensive account of the requirements for voting systems, particularly for public elections. Typically, these approaches identify a number of "high level" principals which are then refined either into more detailed statements or more formal constructs. Unfortunately, these approaches do not acknowledge the complexity and diversity of the contexts in which voting takes place. This paper takes a different approach by arguing that the only requirement for a voting system is that it is accurate. More detailed requirements can then be derived from this high level requirement for the particular context in which the system is implemented and deployed. A general, formal high level model for voting systems and their context is proposed. Several related definitions of accuracy for voting systems are then developed, illustrating how the term "accuracy" is in interpreted in different contexts. Finally, a context based requirement for voting system privacy is investigated as an example of deriving a subsidiary requirement from the high level requirement for accuracy.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Storer, Dr Tim
• Authors: Storer, T., and Lock, R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• Research Group: Software Engineering and Information Security
• Publisher: IEEE Computer Society
• ISBN: 9781424435722
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 IEEE
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.