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I think a way around this is: everyone gets randomly generated keys every election, like how everyone gets randomly numbered paper ballots. Currently, you can c

I think a way around this is: everyone gets randomly generated keys every election, like how everyone gets randomly numbered paper ballots. Currently, you can check if your numbered ballot was counted after you voted, but you can't verify the ballot wasn't tampered with. With keys, you can verify your vote was counted and not tampered with. If you don't want people to know how you voted, destroy your key. I'll admit that this still has the some of the same flaws as paper ballots: government doesn't track which key/ballot is assigned to you, and effectively centralized issuing of keys/ballots. But the advantage is: it's harder to forge or tamper with a ballot

amelius 8y ago
Someone could still force you (physically, blackmail, etc) to give them your key.
- monocasa 8y ago
  Or just pay you. A huge portion of the populace would vote "the correct way" for a remarkably tiny kickback. We saw rampant vote buying during the gilded age.
- kenhwang 8y ago
  Sure, just like how you can just steal physical absentee ballots out of mailboxes and mail them in. There's no such thing as perfect security. The problem of secure elections is how secure is secure enough? How many keys/ballots can you feasibly steal before getting caught? Is that number significant enough to change an election? Historically, it hasn't been.
  - amelius 8y ago
    But it's a fundamental requirement of elections that nobody should be able to force/bribe someone else to vote for a specific candidate.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> With keys, you can verify your vote was counted and not tampered with. If you don't want people to know how you voted, destroy your key If you can prove how you voted, this will be the subject of vote buying (or negative retaliation for failure to prove “correct” votes.) History has demonstrated that over and over again, which is why secret ballots for normal public elections and recorded votes in representative bodies where you want voters to be held accountable are norms.
- kenhwang 8y ago
  Completely forgot about vote buying for a moment. Secret, but verifiable is a hard problem.

amelius 8y ago

Someone could still force you (physically, blackmail, etc) to give them your key.

monocasa 8y ago
Or just pay you. A huge portion of the populace would vote "the correct way" for a remarkably tiny kickback. We saw rampant vote buying during the gilded age.
kenhwang 8y ago
Sure, just like how you can just steal physical absentee ballots out of mailboxes and mail them in. There's no such thing as perfect security. The problem of secure elections is how secure is secure enough? How many keys/ballots can you feasibly steal before getting caught? Is that number significant enough to change an election? Historically, it hasn't been.
- amelius 8y ago
  But it's a fundamental requirement of elections that nobody should be able to force/bribe someone else to vote for a specific candidate.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> With keys, you can verify your vote was counted and not tampered with. If you don't want people to know how you voted, destroy your key If you can prove how you voted, this will be the subject of vote buying (or negative retaliation for failure to prove “correct” votes.) History has demonstrated that over and over again, which is why secret ballots for normal public elections and recorded votes in representative bodies where you want voters to be held accountable are norms.

kenhwang 8y ago
Completely forgot about vote buying for a moment. Secret, but verifiable is a hard problem.