A Quantum-Secure Voting Framework Using QKD, Dual-Key Symmetric Encryption, and Verifiable Receipts
Taha M. Mahmoud, Naima Kaabouch
TL;DR
This work tackles the threat of quantum-capable adversaries to electronic voting by proposing a quantum-secure voting framework that integrates Quantum Key Distribution (BB84), Dual-Key Symmetric Encryption, and verifiable receipts. The system uses MQTT to simulate both classical and quantum channels, employs QASM 3 for quantum information sharing, and applies a Dual-Key scheme to enable privacy-preserving tallying while maintaining verifiability through receipts. Simulation results indicate high throughput and low latency, with careful attention to quantum noise and key-size optimization. The approach offers a scalable, practical path toward secure, transparent, and verifiable electronic voting in the quantum era, though real-world deployment will require infrastructure investments and further hardware validation.
Abstract
Electronic voting systems face growing risks from cyberattacks and data breaches, which are expected to intensify with the advent of quantum computing. To address these challenges, we introduce a quantum-secure voting framework that integrates Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Dual-Key Symmetric Encryption, and verifiable receipt mechanisms to strengthen the privacy, integrity, and reliability of the voting process. The framework enables voters to establish encryption keys securely, cast encrypted ballots, and verify their votes through receipt-based confirmation, all without exposing the vote contents. To evaluate performance, we simulate both quantum and classical communication channels using the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol. Results demonstrate that the system can process large numbers of votes efficiently with low latency and minimal error rates. This approach offers a scalable and practical path toward secure, transparent, and verifiable electronic voting in the quantum era.