Enhancing Democratic Processes: A Survey of DRE, Internet, and Blockchain in Electronic Voting Systems

Electronic voting (e-voting) systems have significantly improved the traditional voting process by addressing key concerns such as security, public acceptability, and convenience. However, these systems often face unique challenges, such as ensuring voter privacy and verifiability, preventing coercion and double voting, and maintaining scalability while protecting participant confidentiality. This study critically analyses and compares various e-voting schemes and technologies, evaluating their security features, verifiability mechanisms, and potential vulnerabilities. This paper reviews Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting, internet voting, and blockchain-based e-voting systems. In so doing, we provide an understanding of cryptographic primitives employed in e-voting systems and how they address specific characteristics and challenges associated with each voting scheme. Furthermore, we examine the applications proposed by previous studies in the context of these voting systems, assessing their strengths, limitations, and impact on democratic procedures. The cryptographic primitives reviewed include techniques like homomorphic encryption, blind signatures, and zero-knowledge proofs, which can enhance voter privacy, verifiability, and resistance to coercion and double voting.