Overview
This section on "How it works" is based on Ben Adida's documentation, my own experience with trying it out and my reading of the academic literature. My aim is for it to be helpful for the general user (as opposed to a cryptographic expert who should consult the academic literature instead). Nevertheless, the cryptographic aspects are key security features and I will do my best to explain their implementation in lay-person terms.
The following is a very brief summary of the key screens:
- pre-voting phase: the election setup
- voting phase: the voting booth
- post-voting phase: election results.
Pre-voting phase: the election setup
The election administrator:
- visits the election site (eg https://vote.heliosvoting.org)
- logs in
- sets up the election.
If the administrator sets up the election for only those voters whose names are uploaded, the server sends an email to each voter. The email contains the election url, fingerprint and the log-in id and password of the voter.
What the administrator sees
What the administrator sees after logging in
Voting phase: the voting booth
The voter:
- visits the link in the emaiil
- is presented with the voting booth
- selects their choices
- submits their ballot to the server.
The email the voter receives contains:
Election URL: https://helios.wrmack.com/helios/e/Election_three/vote
Election Fingerprint: stRyU7w/Ephk/ioLSXAGk5lHIwd+7KJ8lZa3lO2fD1I
Your voter ID: ********
Your password: ********
What the voter sees after clicking the election url
Post-voting phase: the election results
Once voting is over, the election administrator causes the votes to be tallied. The election administrator can send an email to each voter giving them a link to this screen:
