There will be elections in 15 municipalities in Mexico in 2021. Mexicans who have a Voting Credential will be able to register in the system.
Thanks to an electronic voting system that the National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico will enable, Mexicans residing abroad will be able to participate in the 2021 elections. According to the INE, this system will have a blockchain-based registration log and will guarantee that the vote of each person is secret using cryptographic encryption.
The INE explains in a video published on the electoralextranjero.mx portal the steps that voters must follow to be able to cast their vote within the system. The agency emphasizes that each voter must authenticate himself or herself in 2 steps, such as when accessing their e-mail.
The system will encrypt the vote cast and will send a QR code to the voter. In this way, the voter will be able to connect his or her identity with the vote, verifying that he or she has correctly registered it in the blockchain (or log) intended for this purpose. The INE has not yet specified which blockchain the system will use.
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Deloitte have validated the designed system. The tests that these institutions conducted sought to verify whether the system guaranteed the principle of “one vote per voter”. This also aimed to verify the freedom and privacy of the vote, as well as the casting, transmission, reception, and counting of the vote.
Deloitte reported that 123 findings, which do not represent a critical risk, remained to be solved. However, the system is capable of withstanding attack, not allowing software installation, and only allowing one vote per citizen. The INE will have to overcome the problems found in early 2021 when it will conduct a new evaluation.
Elections That Will Occur in Mexico
The INE of Mexico expects voters to use the electronic voting system in 2021. In these elections, the inhabitants of Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas will elect the representatives for the governorship of their states, a migrant council, or a council of proportional representation.
Since September 1st, Mexicans will be able to register on the “List of Voters Resident Abroad” (LNERE). For this purpose, they must first process their Voting Credential at the consulate closest to their residence. Upon receiving their credential, they must confirm receipt and proceed with the steps designated in the aforementioned video.
Elections on Blockchain in Mexico and Other Countries
Another country that recently used blockchain in its elections for the constitutional amendment was Russia. The tests had problems since the platform allowed knowing the voter’s choice before counting the results and was the victim of hacking attempts.
One of the most sensitive aspects within this class of systems is precisely taking care of the privacy of voters while they are using a blockchain. In the case of Mexico, the INE has the cryptographic keys needed to determine the identity of voters, who can only trust that the institution will do what is necessary to keep them safe.
By Alexander Salazar
