complete the METHODOLOGY, EVALUATION and SUGGESTED methods in my paper for me please:

Verifiable E$-$voting: Comparing Homomorphic Encryption and Zero$-$Knowledge Proof$-$Based Schemes

Keywords: Security, Cryptography, Voting, Confidentiality

Abstract

Security in online voting systems is essential for safeguarding the democratic process, protecting voter rights and privacy, maintaining public trust, and upholding the integrity of election outcomes. This research focuses on two innovative methodologies, homomorphic encryption and zero$-$knowledge proofs, aimed at fortifying the trustworthiness of electronic voting systems. As online voting platforms continue to be used and slowly becoming the best option for voting as they have quite a number of advantages, ensuring the confidentiality and accuracy of ballots emerges as a concern. Through assessing the pros and cons of each approach in terms of security, verifiability, and scalability, this study helps us understand how these methods could be useful for online voting by looking at what experts have already said. Our discoveries will provide helpful advice to leaders, election workers, and tech experts as they work on making electronic voting fair and transparent.

$1.$ INTRODUCTION

The development of advanced innovations has revolutionised various parts of human existence, including the manner in which we direct elections. is just characterized as a technique with perceived decides that includes the demonstration of choosing, through casting a ballot, at least one people to hold a specific office or to represent a specific group $($Jinhui$,2023).$ E$-$voting systems that can be verified are a digital evolution of the electoral process. They combine the convenience of electronic voting with stringent security measures and transparent protocols to keep democratic elections honest. These systems authenticate voters through various secure methods, ensuring each individual can only cast one anonymous vote.

E$-$voting systems facilitate access to remote areas, enabling individuals to vote from any location via the internet, offering flexibility in casting their ballots. However, a notable drawback is their susceptibility to hacking, where without proper encryption measures, hackers can potentially intercept and manipulate vote information $($Tannishk$,2016).$ The prerequisites for an effective E$-$voting system include: stringent authentication to ensure only authorised voters participate, ensuring each voter's vote is unique to prevent multiple submissions, guaranteeing accurate results without manual interference, and providing verifiability both during and after the voting process.

Encryption serves as a means to secure messages or data by encoding them with a key, limiting access to authorised parties. While traditional encryption methods safeguard data during transmission, decryption is necessary for any operations performed on the data, posing potential vulnerabilities if the computing environment is compromised, which can lead to loss of data. Verifying electronic voting methods poses a significant challenge, as the actual implementation often diverges from public expectations. Therefore, it's crucial for voters to easily verify that their ballots are accurately recorded and counted after election results are announced.

To address this issue, a comparison between homomorphic encryption and Knowledge Proof$-$Based Schemes has been conducted to offer a recommendation regarding the preferred method. This review delves into the technical intricacies and practical implications of both approaches, evaluating their efficacy in safeguarding e$-$voting systems against tampering and manipulation.

$2.$ METHODOLOGY

In this section of paper, we aim to give an outline of the methodology adopted for conducting this literature review on zero$-$knowledge proof$-$based schemes in the scope of electronic voting.

$2\mathrm{.}1.$ Inclusion and Exclusion criteria for sources:

To come up with justified and unbiased work, we included scholarly articles, reputable conference papers, and reputable online resources published between the years $2019$ and $2023,$ as these are more recent and are of reference to the current world. All the above$-$mentioned sources were considered if they specifically discussed zero$-$knowledge proof$-$based schemes in the context of electronic voting systems. Most importantly, non$-$English publications were not considered for this work.

$2\mathrm{.}2.$ Database Considered for sources:

The literature search was primarily conducted in reputable academic databases such as IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar. Additionally, keyword$-$guided searches were conducted on chrome browser to obtain relevant articles on cryptography and security.

Table form representation

Criteria

Description

Keywords

Zero$-$Knowledge Proofs, Electronic Voting, Cryptography

Year Range

$20192023($older core ideas were considered$)$

Publication Types

Scholarly articles, confe