RU2368010C2 - Method for voting with application of electronic cards and device for its realisation - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics, computer engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention is related to method for voting with application of electronic cards. Method includes preparation of electronic card, such as programmable smart-card, for identification of will declaration subject by introduction of information required for identification of will declaration object, insertion of prepared card by will declaration subject into unit of device identification for voting. In case of positive identification result, input of data about selected version by will declaration subject in voting unit, accounting of voting results. After will declaration subject inputs data about selected version, voting result is printed on paper copy so that will declaration subject may only see the open part of paper copy, where results of his or her personal voting are printed or part of tape without printing. Device for voting comprises unit for voting connected to central unit and identification unit, device for data input, electronic data base of will declaration subject and programmer of electronic cards.

EFFECT: higher reliability and efficiency of voting process.

9 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The invention relates to computer technology and can be used in various elections, referenda, opinion polls, competitions, election of candidates for elected positions (public figures), as well as in automated voting systems, including in the State Automated System of the Russian Federation " Elections".

There is a known method of voting using paper ballots (Federal Law of September 19, 1997 No. 124-FZ "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights to Participate in the Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation"). This method is based on manual data entry operations by filling in a paper ballot or ballot paper by hand and counting the number of votes of voters or referendum participants. This method is associated with large time, organizational and material costs for the preparation and conduct of elections.

Closest to the proposed is a method of voting using electronic cards according to the patent of the Russian Federation No. 22212056, cl. G07C 13/00, priority dated 12/27/2001. This method includes preparing a means for identifying a subject of will expression by entering into this means (electronic card) the information necessary for identifying a subject of will expression, introducing a prepared means of identification for an identification subject (electronic card) into the identification unit of the voting device and, if the identification result is positive, entering by the subject expression of will in the block for voting data on his chosen option.

This method is as follows. Before voting, members of the commission give the subject of will expression an electronic card for identification, confirming his right to vote, which is activated by a unique identification number, in the booth for secret ballot, the subject of will expresses the indicated card into the computer, as a result of which the voting program is activated, voting is carried out by entering by the subject of will to the specified form of the visual image of the electronic newsletter on the touch screen of the computer, the sign of the choice in the field, corresponding to the object of expression of will, in favor of which a choice has been made, at the same time, a record is made of the choice made in the computer and the unique identification code is deleted from the means for identification, which are given to the commission for organizing the voting of other subjects of expression of will. The generated image form of the electronic newsletter, reflecting the choice of the subject of will expression, the latter displays using the means of creating tangible media on paper and lowers into a sealed ballot box.

This method leads to a partial decrease in the complexity of the preparation and conduct of elections, simplification of their procedure. However, all stages of the preparation of the ballot (its printing) and, possibly, the counting of ballots extracted from the mailboxes are preserved, which leaves a reserve for finding less labor-intensive and simpler and cheaper ways of voting.

The task was to develop a voting method using electronic ballots that would be simpler, more reliable, faster and less time-consuming due to the further exclusion of manual processing stages with high reliability of the results.

This problem was solved by the present invention.

In the method of voting using electronic cards, including preparing an electronic card to identify the subject of will expression by entering information necessary for identifying the subject of will expression, introducing the subject of will expression of the prepared card into the identification unit of the voting device, and if the identification result is positive, the subject will enter the expression of will in the block for voting data on his chosen option, accounting for voting results according to the invention, as An electronic card is used for identification using a programmable smart card with the ability to record information in the form of an electronic code; after the subject has entered the data on his / her choice, the result of voting is printed out on paper so that only the part of the paper is open for the subject of the expression of will the results of his personal vote or part of the tape without printing are printed, and the voting results are recorded in the data processing unit by summing up expression for each of the options chosen by the subjects of voting, followed by a comparison of the results of summation.

When preparing an electronic card for identifying a subject of will expression, an access code, a configuration of the type of elections available for a given voting subject and a polling station number are preferably added to this tool. If necessary, other data can also be entered.

The voting unit preferably comprises a data input device made in the form of a touch screen, so that with a positive identification result, areas of the surface sensitive to mechanical stress are highlighted on the touch screen, each of which is in one-to-one correspondence with the options between which there should be a choice is made in the voting process, after which the voting entity enters data on the option he has chosen by means of mechanical action on one or more -mentioned areas.

The surface areas of the touch screen that are sensitive to mechanical stress can have a rectangular shape and, after their selection, contain the names of the options between which a choice should be made in the voting process.

The mentioned surface areas of the touch screen may have another shape, for example round, elliptical. The use of a rectangular shape is most convenient from the point of view of optimal use of the surface area of the touch screen.

The voting unit may also comprise a screen and a data input device made in the form of a keyboard, so that if the identification is positive, options appear on the screen between which a choice must be made during the voting process, after which the subject of will expresses data on the option he has chosen by keyboards.

The task can also be solved using another object - a device for voting using electronic cards.

A device for voting using electronic cards is known, comprising a voting unit connected to a central unit and an identification unit and containing a data input device (Certificate No. 25628 for a utility model, priority date 26.02.2002). This device does not fully solve the task.

To solve the problem, a device for voting using electronic cards containing a voting unit associated with a central unit and an identification unit and comprising a data input device according to the invention further comprises an electronic database of subjects of will expression and an electronic card programmer, the central unit being made in the form of a data processing unit, connected with an identification unit and an electronic database of subjects of will expression, is configured to connect intera or modem, while the electronic card programmer is connected to the electronic database of the subjects of will, connected to the identification unit, and the voting unit is connected to a control printer configured to print on the tape so that only that part of the tape is open for the subject of will, on which are printed the results of his personal vote or part of the tape without printing.

The implementation of the Central block in the form of a block for data processing is well known to specialists. Examples of data processing blocks that can be used here are given below.

The control printer preferably includes a panel with a window with the possibility of passing the ribbon behind this window.

The data processing unit may be configured to connect a portable device for electronic voting.

The portable device for electronic voting preferably comprises a voting unit associated with an identification unit connected to an electronic database of subjects of will expression, wherein the voting unit, identification block and electronic database of subjects of will expression are configured to be connected to a data processing unit.

The data input device is preferably made in the form of a touch screen or in the form of a keyboard.

The technical result of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of obtaining and processing the election results, the reliability and reliability of the election process and is provided by the above set of features.

The following are definitions of some structural elements or their functions are mentioned.

An electronic card is understood as the main element issued to the subject of will expression in the form of an electronic means of identification, confirming his right to vote (smart cards are used, for example, of type SLE4442).

By an electronic database (or memory card) is meant an electronic storage medium, preferably with a certain degree of protection, containing an election configuration, and also intended for recording and storing synchronously with the selective process both all recorded intermediate data and the resulting information forming the final voting protocols (used, for example, flash cards such as SD and card readers for this type of card).

A programmer is an electronic device designed to prepare, issue (restore) electronic cards of a given configuration.

Verification card - a physical (paper) information carrier containing a copy of the data recorded by the voting device in a single procedure for the expression of the will of the voter and obtained by printing on a printer.

Touch monitor - an electronic screen that displays the ballot in a given visual configuration, allowing the voter to individually make their choice.

As the aforementioned blocks can be used any commercially available blocks that can be used to perform their intended functions, in particular:

The control printer is constructed as described in the present description and formula, and may include components of a serial printer, for example, Star Electronics mini printer T Star 643C.

As the identification unit, for example, the hardware of the manufactured electronic card reader can be used, for example, an ACR90 microprocessor card reader from Advanced Card Systems Ltd.

As a medium for an electronic database and for storing data processing results, any media known to those skilled in the art can be used, such as non-volatile memory cards similar to Panasonic SD cards.

As a voting unit, any graphic monitor supporting graphic images can be used, for example, a touch monitor with a screen resolution of 1024 × 768, an analogue of a NEC 1560NX product. If the monitor is not a touchscreen, a regular computer keyboard and a regular monitor, which are used with computers, can be used.

As a modem, you can use any modem suitable for transmitting data over the Internet, for example, any external modem that supports data transfer via the V56k, OMNI 56k protocol.

As a processing unit, computer technology of any architecture, such as IBM PC or Macintosh, can be used.

As an electronic card programmer, known equipment used for this purpose can be used, for example, the hardware of an ACR30S microprocessor card reader from Advanced Card Systems Ltd.

The portable electronic voting device uses a series of LCD displays with a resolution of 320 × 240.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a device for voting using electronic cards.

Figure 2 shows the ability to print control printer on a paper tape so that the subject of the will is open only that part of the tape on which the results of his personal vote are printed.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a portable device for electronic voting.

Figure 4 shows a variant of the industrial design of the claimed device with a device for data input, made in the form of a touch screen.

Figure 5 shows a variant of the industrial design of a portable device for electronic voting.

Figure 6 shows a variant of the industrial design of the electronic card programmer, made in the form of a separate module or built into the claimed device.

The voting device using electronic cards contains a voting unit 1 connected to the data processing unit 2 and an identification unit 3. The voting unit 1 contains a data input device made in the form of a touch screen 4. The voting device also contains an electronic database 5 subjects of will and programmer 6 electronic cards. The data processing unit 2 is connected with the identification unit 3 and the electronic database of 5 subjects of will expression, is configured to connect a printer or modem through ports 7. The programmer 6 of electronic cards is connected with the electronic database 5 of subjects of expression of will. The latter is connected to the identification unit 3. The voting unit 1 is connected to the control printer 8 through port 9. The printer 8 is configured to print on a paper tape so that only the part of the tape on which the results of his personal vote are printed is open to the subject of will expression. This is achieved as follows (Figure 2): the control printer 8 includes a panel 9, made integral with the printer housing 8 with a window 10 with the ability to pass the tape 11 between the rotating rollers 12 behind this window 10. The data processing unit 2 can be connected to a portable device 13 for electronic voting.

The portable device 13 for electronic voting contains a voting unit 1 associated with the identification unit 3 connected to the electronic database 5 of the data of the subjects of will, while the voting unit 1, the identification unit 3 and the electronic database 5 of the data of the subjects of will are configured to connect to the block data processing 2. A portable device 13 for electronic voting (or several such devices) can be connected to the data processing unit 2 of the main device, for example, with a large number of stve voting.

Figure 4-6 shows options for industrial designs of the claimed device and some of its blocks.

In these diagrams, reference numeral 14 shows a power supply unit comprising a battery (or other power supply) 15 and a voltage converter 16. 17 denotes a microprocessor unit, 18 - a touch panel controller, 19 - a liquid crystal monitor, 20 - a monitor touch panel, which is an input device, 21 - an output device, 22 - a device for reading SD-memory cards with a FLASH connector 23, a reader electronic cards 3 with a controller 24, a control printer 8, a printer of the final protocols 25 and a modem 26; in FIG. 5, the corresponding positions also indicate the keyboard 27, the liquid crystal displays 28 and 29, the analog unit 30 connected to the microprocessor unit 17 through numbers analog converter 31, with output to the speaker 32 through the filter 33 and amplifier 34. Position 35 denotes the controller of the device 3 for reading electronic cards in Fig.6. The microprocessor unit 17 may combine several functional units. For example, the microprocessor unit 17 shown in FIG. 4 combines the following functional units: a data processing unit 2 and an electronic database 5. The control printer 8 can also be integrated into the inventive device or executed in a separate housing and connected to the remaining units of the device with an interface cable .

Based on the convenience of operation, the claimed device can be made in a single housing or some units can be made in a separate housing. For example, the programmer 6 and the data processing unit 2 can be made in a separate housing and connected to the remaining blocks by a wireless or wired communication device, which are well known to specialists.

The principles of operation, as such, of each of the mentioned blocks are known to specialists. The principles of their coordination are also known. The technical effect is achieved by implementing the combination of features mentioned in the formula.

The method is carried out and the device operates as follows.

Before voting, members of the commission using a programmer 6 and an access card similar to an electronic voting card, but containing a special code and initial information about the polling station and election configuration (number of election types), prepare an electronic voting card (using a programmable smart card) and give it to the subject of will. When preparing a smart card, the data contained in electronic database 5 is used. The electronic card (EC) thus prepared contains an access code, a configuration of the types of choices available for the subject of will expression, and a unique number of the polling station. When preparing the EC, the members of the commission can make the required changes to the election configuration individually for each subject of will expression. Alternatively, for a voter who voted on one of the types of elections ahead of schedule (by absentee ballot), a code is forbidden in the programmer when preparing it in the programmer, prohibiting the program from displaying this type of election on the screen. If necessary, other data may be entered into the EC. When issuing the card, a corresponding entry is made in block 5. This prevents the EC from being issued again to the same subject of will expression.

The subject of will expression in the booth for secret voting enters the specified EC card into the identification unit 3 of the claimed device or portable voting device 13, the program uses the blocks 2 and 5 to check the corresponding EC fields (access code, polling station number, election configuration, etc. ) and in case of coincidence of the data recorded in the electronic base 5 (memory card) of the voting device, an image of inscription buttons representing rectangular active areas is formed on the monitor screen 19 in which contains the names of the selected positions (candidates, political parties, movements, referendum issues, etc.) depending on the types of elections corresponding to the ballot. If one of the EC parameters (invalid PIN code of the card, incorrect access code of the EB, another number of the polling station) does not match the reference, the program displays the message “E-newsletter is invalid. Invalid parcel number (or others). Contact the election commission. ” Using programmer 6, the commission reviews the status of the EC and decides on further actions.

Voting is carried out by selecting with a finger (stylus) on the touch panel 20 or using another pointer on the graphic display means of the inscription related to the object of expression of will, in favor of which the choice is made. At the same time, a message box is displayed on the screen with a full description of the selected object of expression and a request to confirm the choice or return to the list. When you press the confirmation of your choice in the data processing unit 2 of the voting device, a record is made of the choice made, adding one to the vote counter for the corresponding option, a record is made in database 5 about the fact of voting by this subject, an entry is made on the EC that on this issue, the subject of will expressed a choice and may proceed to the next question or complete the voting procedure. After the choice has been made for all the proposed options, the control ticket is printed on the control printer 8 with the contents of the results.

The control printer 8 (control ticket printer) is used to visually display the results of the will of each voter in the voting process. Thus, the subject of the will has the opportunity to make sure that the result of his will is recorded on paper (security tape, which is closed by a casing with a transparent protective window 10). At the same time, the result is accessible to the subject of will only for visual control in the window 10 of the printer: in each case of voting, the subject of will before the vote begins to see a blank sheet in the control window of the printer - a piece of paper tape without labels. After the voting procedure is completed, the subject of will expression in the control window 10 of the printer appears a piece of paper tape with printed results of the selection by this citizen. After removing the electronic ballot from the voting device in the control window 10 of the printer again appears a piece of paper tape without labels. Verification cards can then be used to verify the accuracy of election results if necessary.

If, during the voting process, the subject of will expression will extract the EC from device 3 without completing the procedure of expression of will for all types of choices available to him, a message will appear on the screen asking you to insert the EC and continue the procedure. At the end of the voting, the ECs are handed over a commission, which, using the programmer, returns the EC to its original state (“nullifies”), ready to issue a will to another subject.

At the end of the election period, using an access card similar to an electronic newsletter but containing a special code, commission members get access to the function of counting votes and compiling a final protocol, transmitting data by telecommunication to a higher election commission.

The start and end time of the election, for example, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., is set by the chairman of the election commission before the start of the election in the service mode of the program.

Access to the service mode is carried out using an access card (electronic key), located only with the chairman of the election commission, similar to the EC, but containing a special code.

Electronic key - an electronic storage medium necessary for physical access to the basic procedures: directly to launch the program and the operation of the device; basic system settings; the election process itself; the resulting data of the process of expression of will; to create and print voting protocols; transferring results via communication lines to a higher commission (for this purpose, for example, smart cards such as SLE4442 and card readers such as ACR90, ACR30U, ACR38 are used).

The vote count and the final protocol with the election results are generated automatically, the fields required by the commission members are filled in using the on-screen keyboard and displayed on the means (printer) of creating material media (paper). An electronic copy of the protocol can be transmitted via communication channels (as an option, using a modem) to a higher election commission.

Claims (9)

1. A method of voting using electronic cards, including the preparation of an electronic card to identify the subject of will expression by entering information necessary for the identification of the subject of will expression into the identification block of the voting device, and if the identification result is positive, the subject will enter the expression of will block for voting data on his chosen option, accounting of voting results, characterized in that as an electronic card for identification uses a programmable smart card with the ability to record information in the form of an electronic code; when preparing an electronic card for identifying the subject of will expression, an access code is entered into it, the configuration of the type of choices available for the given voting subject and the number of the polling station, after the subject makes the will data about the option he has chosen is printed on the control printer of the control ticket with the contents of the results, and the voting result is available subject only for visual control in the window of the control printer, and the voting results are recorded in the data processing unit by summing up each of the options selected by the voting subjects, while control cards can be used to verify the accuracy of the election results. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the voting unit contains a data input device made in the form of a touch screen, so that with a positive identification result, areas of its surface that are sensitive to mechanical stress are highlighted on the touch screen, each of which is in one-to-one correspondence with the options between which a choice should be made during the voting process, after which the voting entity enters data on the option he has chosen by means of mechanical action on well, or multiple areas mentioned. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the surface areas of the touch screen that are sensitive to mechanical stress have a rectangular shape, and after their selection contain the names of the options between which a choice should be made in the voting process. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the voting unit contains a screen and a data input device made in the form of a keyboard, so that with a positive identification result, options appear on the screen, between which a choice must be made in the voting process, after which the subject of will expresses data on the option he has chosen using the keyboard. 5. A voting device using electronic cards, comprising a voting unit associated with a central unit and an identification unit, and comprising a data input device, characterized in that it further comprises an electronic database of subjects of will expression and an electronic card programmer, the central unit being made in the form of a data processing unit, connected with an identification unit and an electronic database of subjects of will expression, made with the ability to connect a printer and / or modem, while the electronic card programmer is connected to an electronic database of subjects of will, connected to the identification unit, and the voting unit is connected to a control printer, in the housing of which there is a panel with a window, and which is configured to pass the tape between the rotating rollers behind this window for printing on tape a control ticket with the content of the voting results, while the voting result is available to the subject only for visual inspection in the control printer window. 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the data processing unit is configured to connect a portable device for electronic voting. 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the portable device for electronic voting contains a voting unit associated with an identification unit connected to an electronic database of subjects of will expression, while the voting unit, identification block and electronic database of subjects of expression of will with the ability to connect to a data processing unit 8. The device according to any one of paragraphs.5-7, characterized in that the data input device is made in the form of a touch screen. 9. The device according to any one of paragraphs.5-7, characterized in that the device for data input is made in the form of a keyboard.

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