Prime III: Studying Usability & Security in Electronic Voting for Everyone

美国人拥有的最重要的权利之一是选举权。然而，从最近的全国选举中可以明显看出，目前的投票制度并不总是充分为所有人，特别是那些有某些残疾或不识字的人，提供独立、私下和安全地投票的途径。统计数据表明，这是一个严重的问题，因为在美国，多达四分之一的成年人是功能性文盲，几乎五分之一的人自我报告有某种残疾。我们只能预计这个问题在未来会变得更加严重，因为残疾的可能性随着年龄的增长而增加，人们的寿命也在延长。考虑到这些因素，PI设计了一个名为Prime III的直接记录电子（DRE）投票系统的原型，其目标是实现可用的安全性-即，一个安全且选民信任的系统，同时也易于使用。为此，开发Prime III有两个重要的研究组成部分：人机交互（HCI）和安全性。在原型机中，人机交互问题通过结合口语、触摸屏和其他多模式技术得到了解决，以增强以前没有帮助就无法投票的人的能力。关于安全性，各种专家注意到的问题（例如对黑客的脆弱性、恶意工作人员、错误代码、缺乏重新计算能力和人为错误）已经通过诸如冒名顶替文件、多种加密技术和开放源码格式等解决方案得到解决。在奥本大学校园里，PI对Prime III原型机进行了一项非正式的研究，结果很有希望，绝大多数用户更喜欢Prime III，而不是现有的替代品。这笔资金将使PI能够完善他对该系统的初步设计，并在老年人、功能性文盲和视障人士等有投票权的人群中进行更大规模的研究。用这笔资金进行的研究将在阿拉巴马聋哑人和盲人研究所开始，并将在阿拉巴马州的尤宁镇继续进行。尤宁镇的市长，尊敬的菲利普·怀特，已经慷慨地同意参加PI的研究。更广泛的影响：Prime III将扩大包括文盲问题在内的各种残疾选民的参与。预计该系统最终将作为未来人机界面的模型，其中需要将可用性问题与安全问题结合起来。

One of the most important rights that Americans have is the right to vote. However, as has become apparent from recent national elections, current voting systems do not always adequately provide a way for all people, especially those with certain kinds of disabilities or who are unable to read, to vote independently, privately and securely. Statistics indicate this is a serious problem, in that up to one fourth of the adults in the United States are functionally illiterate, and almost one in five self-report a disability of some type. We can only expect the problem to become more acute in the future, because the likelihood of a disability increases with age, and people are living longer. Considerations such as these have led the PI to design a prototype direct recording electronic (DRE) voting system called Prime III, with the goal of achieving usable security - namely, a system that is secure and that voters trust, yet which is also easy to use. To this end, development of Prime III had two important research components: human-computer interaction (HCI) and security. HCI issues have been addressed in the prototype through a combination of spoken language, touch screen, and other multimodal technologies, in order to enhance the ability of people who previously could not do so to vote without assistance. With respect to security, concerns that have been noted by various experts (such as vulnerability to hackers, malignant workers, faulty code, lack of recount ability, and human error), have been addressed through solutions such as imposter files, multiple encryption techniques, and an open source format. An informal study conducted by the PI with the Prime III prototype on the campus of Auburn University yielded promising results, with the vast majority of users preferring Prime III over currently available alternatives. This funding will allow the PI to refine his initial designs for the system, and to conduct larger scale studies among voting populations such as the elderly, the functionally illiterate, and those who are visually impaired. Studies to be conducted with this funding will begin, specifically, at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, and will continue in Uniontown, Alabama, whose Mayor, the honorable Phillip White, has graciously agreed to participate in the PI''s research.Broader Impacts: Prime III will broaden the participation of voters with various disabilities including those with illiteracy issues. It is anticipated that the system will ultimately serve as a model for future human-computer interfaces where there is a need to blend usability issues with security concerns.