EVM randomisation for the first time. Aha, how clever ! EVM Nos. assigned to DEO known !!

jun 24th, 2009

there needs to be far more systematic public-private key encryption of the voting lists etc. as outlined in the tanenbaum paper in ieee computer may 2009. this randomization garbage is just a band aid meant to make the thing more opaque. it is just 'security by obscurity' which doesn't work in practice.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: S. Kalyanaraman

So, selective district level tampering of EVMs for district level constituencies were possible during 2009 polls. Together with new smarter EVMs introduced for 2009 elections, the responsibility for EC for auditing the systems increased many fold. Was EC equal to the gigantic system auditing task? Was systems audit in fact done for the EVMs with smarter programs? The public nature of the election process demands answers from EC. 

Who is to bell the cat?

kalyanaraman

http://sites.google.com/site/hindunew/electronic-voting-machines

EC to undertake EVM randomisation for the first time

Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 5, 2009, 16:20 IST

In a bid to prevent any tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission (EC) has decided to use for the first time a two-stage randomisation of the machines to avoid pre-programming in favour of any particular candidate.

Under the process, the machines will be selected randomly before being sent to the polling stations to make sure that nobody comes to know beforehand to which polling station a specific EVM will be used.

"EVM randomisation procedure is being introduced in this general elections. This is a precautionary measure to ensure that nobody can know beforehand about which constituency or polling station a specific EVM will be sent or used," a senior election official told PTI here.

During the first stage, serial numbers of the EVMs will be listed under the jurisdiction of a District Election Officer. Then, the EVMs, to be used in a particular constituency, will be randomly selected through a computerised process.

Further randomisation will be done by Returning Officer afterwards to determine which specific EVM will be used in a particular polling station of that constituency.

EVM randomisation procedure was introduced in the recent assembly elections, including to that of the Delhi assembly, the official said.                                                                                                                                   

http://www.business-standard.com/india/printpage.php?autono=58029&tp=on