Secure quantum protocols for voting
by
J.A. Vaccaro
University of Hertfordshire
Coauthors: A. Chefles (University of Hertfordshire), J. Spring (University of Hertfordshire)

We introduce quantum protocols for ensuring the secrecy of the individual votes of a number of voters. The votes are recorded in a distributed system using local operations yet the tally of the votes exists nonlocally. At every stage the tally remains hidden to local observers which ensures the secrecy of individual votes. The exact value of the tally during the voting can only be determined if all parties share a maximally entangled state and they cooperate. If one party, say a scrutineer, refuses to cheat in this manner, the absolute secrecy of the tally is guaranteed. At the end of the voting process the tallyman and scrutineers are given access the whole system, which allows them to determine the value the tally.

Date received: April 1, 2004