Theory and Security of Voting Systems (TSVS, SoSe 2026)

Lecture 2 hours, Kirsten; exercises 2 hours, Kirsten

For BSc students, the course is officially called "Theory and Security of Voting Systems for Bachelor".

Overview

Voting is an important part of democratic societies and potentially has a broad impact. Yet, with or without the use of modern technology, voting is full of algorithmic and security challenges, and the failure to address these challenges in a controlled manner may produce fundamental flaws in the voting system and potentially undermine critical societal aspects.

In this lecture, we discuss voting systems from various perspectives, notably social choice theory, security, and cryptography. What should a voting system fulfill? When is a voting system secure, even independent of the involved software? Which mechanisms should be investigated for that matter? Which methods are suitable to address these challenges?

We will investigate cryptographic voting systems, algorithmic tallying procedures, statistical methods to test the reliability of an election result, and distinguish the different layers of a voting system.

Required Knowledge

Foundations on cryptography and security, as taught, for instance, in the lecture IT-Sicherheit, are recommended.

Organization

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