ONLINE VOTING SYSTEM – Complete Project

1.1 Introduction

The Online Voting System is a web-based application designed to modernize, secure, and streamline the election process by enabling citizens to cast their votes electronically from any location. Unlike traditional manual voting systems—which rely heavily on paper ballots, physical presence at polling stations, and manual counting—this system introduces a digital alternative that enhances accuracy, privacy, transparency, mobility, and verifiability.

Electronic voting eliminates common issues such as long queues, human errors, duplicate or fake votes, ballot tampering, and time-consuming counting processes. Through secure authentication and OTP-based verification, voters can cast votes safely and confidently. This system significantly reduces the risk of violence at physical polling centers and increases voter turnout by providing convenience and accessibility.

The Online Voting System supports government-level elections and is specially designed for use in Pakistan. It helps administrators manage voter data, candidate information, constituencies, and election results efficiently. With encrypted data transmission and strict validation, the system ensures the integrity of each vote cast.

1.2 Background

Pakistan’s current election system is primarily manual and paper-based, requiring voters to visit polling booths physically, verify identity through CNIC, and cast votes on printed ballot papers. This process is slow, costly, and vulnerable to multiple challenges:

• Manual voter registration errors
• Misprinting or misplacement of names and CNIC numbers
• Duplicate voting or false registration
• Slow vote counting
• High cost of paper ballots
• Logistical challenges due to constituency-based voting
• Lack of instant confirmation, updates, or transparency

During national and provincial elections, each voter receives multiple ballot papers, increasing the complexity and the chance of errors.

The 2018 election turnout (51.7–55%) highlighted how many people could not vote due to inconvenience, long travel distances, or registration issues.

The growing digital transformation worldwide has encouraged many countries to adopt online or electronic voting systems. Considering the increasing use of smartphones and internet in Pakistan, an Online Voting System can resolve long-standing issues and enhance security, speed, and efficiency.

1.3 Purpose of the System

The primary purpose of the Online Voting System is to provide a secure, efficient, and user-friendly platform for casting votes electronically. The system aims to:

• Reduce the chances of corruption, fraud, and vote manipulation
• Increase voter turnout by enabling citizens to vote from anywhere
• Provide secure OTP-based login and verification
• Encrypt vote data at the voter’s end to protect privacy
• Simplify the work of presiding officers and Election Commission staff
• Automate vote counting for faster and more accurate results
• Reduce cost, paperwork, and manual errors

This system is designed to support government elections, organizational voting, and other online voting scenarios requiring strong validation and security.

1.4 Scope of the Project

The scope of the Online Voting System includes:

• Allowing voters to cast votes securely through the internet
• Providing login and verification via SMS OTP
• Displaying party details, candidate profiles, and manifestos
• Automating voter registration checks and vote authentication
• Eliminating manual paperwork, reducing cost and time
• Providing real-time results and summaries
• Reducing human error and maintaining data consistency
• Enabling presiding officers to manage voters and elections
• Offering nationwide accessibility—no need to visit a specific polling station

The system significantly reduces the workload of the Election Commission by computerizing major tasks such as:

• Registration
• Verification
• Vote casting
• Vote counting
• Result reporting
• Candidate and party management

Key benefits include:

• High security
• Environment-friendly (no paper ballots)
• Easy to update, manage, and store voting records
• Reduced data redundancy
• Faster election process
• Accurate and transparent results

Overall, the system provides a modern, efficient, and scalable solution for conducting elections digitally.

1.5 Objectives

The main objective of this project is to develop a secure and fully automated online voting platform that ensures integrity, transparency, and ease of voting.

Specific Objectives:

• Implement an automated online voting workflow
• Ensure that only eligible voters with verified CNIC can vote
• Allow OTP-based login for voters and presiding officers
• Enforce voting time limits (no votes after closing time)
• Avoid duplicate or multiple votes by a single voter
• Provide voters with a complete list of candidates
• Enable voters to view their registration details
• Allow viewing of full election results and summaries
• Generate printable reports of results
• Display winning candidate and vote counts
• Provide a search module for voter and candidate details
• Create an easy-to-use, secure vote casting interface
• Provide election management tools for admins

These objectives ensure a transparent, corruption-free, and easily manageable election process.

1.6 Intended Audience and Reading Suggestions

This document is intended for:

• Voters who wish to cast their vote securely from anywhere
• Presiding Officers responsible for election management
• Administrators overseeing the entire election system
• Developers and system designers working on future enhancements
• Election Commission officials reviewing system reliability

Readers can use this documentation to understand the system requirements, workflow, security measures, and overall purpose of the Online Voting System.

1.7 Document Conventions

To maintain clarity:

• “Admin” refers to the system administrator
• “Presiding Officer” refers to the individual managing the polling process
• “Voter” refers to the registered citizen casting the vote

Formatting conventions:

• Document printed on A4 size
• Font: Times New Roman
• Body Text: Size 12
• Main Headings: Size 16, bold
• Subheadings: Size 14, bold
• Sub-sub sections: Size 13, bold

Internal codes:

• ODA: Vote Casting Module
• LM: Login Module
• RUM: Registered User Module
• AM: Administrator Module
• ER: Entity Relationship

2.1.2 Product Features

The Online Voting System supports the following key features:

User & Access Features

• Secure login using SMS OTP
• Voter, Presiding Officer, and Admin accounts
• Notifications on presiding officer login
• Attractive Graphical User Interface
• Ability to vote from any location nationwide
• Secure and encrypted vote casting
• Search candidates, voters, or officers by name
• Ability to view candidate details
• View results of national and provincial assemblies

Voting Features

• Cast a vote only once
• No manipulation of submitted votes
• Automatic vote counting
• Real-time display of winners
• Time-limited voting window
• Entire vote casting process fully secure

Administrative Features

• Manage candidates
• Manage presiding officers
• Manage parties
• Filter and sort voting data
• Print results and reports
• Start or stop election control
• Complete election management system

2.1.3 Design and Implementation Constraints

• System developed using HTML, CSS, PHP, and modular architecture
• Uses APIs for plugin development
• Synchronization through USB 2.0 (if external hardware is integrated)
• Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X (if desktop version used)
• System memory limited to 2GB (device constraint, if applicable)
• SD card support for additional storage
• Application language: English only