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Municipal Electronic Voting Platform

Business Requirements Document (BRD)

1. Executive Summary

The Municipal Electronic Voting Platform aims to modernize local government elections by providing a secure, accessible, and transparent digital voting system. This platform will increase voter participation, reduce election costs, and maintain the highest standards of electoral integrity while providing real-time results and comprehensive audit capabilities.

2. Business Objectives

Increase voter turnout by 25% through convenient access methods

Reduce election operational costs by 40% compared to traditional paper ballots

Achieve 99.9% system uptime during election periods

Ensure zero security breaches or vote tampering incidents

Comply with all federal and state election regulations

Provide election results within 2 hours of poll closing

3. Stakeholders

Primary Users: Registered voters (approximately 500,000 in municipality)

Election Officials: Municipal clerk's office, poll workers

Candidates & Political Parties: Result verification and monitoring

Auditors: State election commission, independent observers

IT Administrators: System maintenance and security team

Accessibility Advocates: Ensuring ADA/WCAG compliance

4. Functional Requirements

4.1 Voter Registration & Authentication

Online Pre-Registration

Integration with DMV databases for identity verification

Document upload for proof of residency

Real-time eligibility validation

Multi-Factor Authentication

Government ID + SMS/Email verification

Optional biometric authentication for high-security mode

One-time voting codes sent via postal mail as backup

Account Management

Password reset via multiple channels

Profile updates (address changes, party affiliation)

Voting history access (dates only, not choices)

4.2 Ballot Casting Interface

Ballot Presentation

Dynamic ballot generation based on voter's precinct

Support for multiple election types (general, primary, referendum)

Candidate information with photos and party affiliations

Proposition full text with pro/con summaries

Voting Process

Clear selection interface with confirmation steps

Ability to review and modify before final submission

Undervote/overvote warnings

Session timeout protection (30 minutes)

Accessibility Features

Screen reader compatibility (JAWS, NVDA)

Keyboard-only navigation

High contrast mode and font size adjustment

Audio ballot reading option

Support for 15+ languages based on demographics

4.3 Security & Encryption

End-to-End Encryption

Homomorphic encryption for vote tallying without decryption

Separation of voter identity from ballot choices

Unique ballot IDs for verification without linking to voter

System Security

Air-gapped voting terminals in polling locations

DDoS protection with automatic scaling

Intrusion detection and automated response

Regular penetration testing requirements

4.4 Vote Verification & Receipts

Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)

Printed receipt with encrypted vote hash

QR code for independent verification

No human-readable vote choices on receipt

Online Verification Portal

Confirm vote was counted using receipt code

Cannot reveal actual vote choices

Available for 30 days post-election

4.5 Results & Reporting

Real-Time Dashboards

Turnout statistics by precinct

Demographics (age, first-time voters) without individual identification

System performance metrics

Results Publication

Embargo until polls close

Precinct-level breakdowns

Historical comparison tools

Export capabilities (CSV, PDF, API)

4.6 Audit & Compliance

Audit Trail

Complete system logs with tamper-proof storage

Every action timestamped and attributed

7-year retention policy

Risk-Limiting Audits

Random ballot sampling capability

Paper receipt comparison tools

Statistical confidence calculations

Chain of custody tracking

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