Online voting moves a step closer for 2020 election

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a technique to allow people to cast their election vote online Credit: PA Wire

Voters could be able to use a pocket-sized device to cast their vote online in future general elections, researchers claim.

A team from the University of Birmingham is developing a secure technique which they claim could be ready to use by the 2020 or 2025 general elections.

They have written a paper looking at the use of a credit card-sized device, like those issued to many online banking customers, in conjunction with a voter's computer.

Professor Mark Ryan, who led the research team, said: "It is called Du-Vote, and we have been developing it over the past two years.

"From the voter's perspective, it's straightforward: you receive a code on the device and type it back into the computer."

The university believes the technique it is developing has "even greater security than those used by banks", because it can detect electoral fraud even if the device's own infrastructure has been built or compromised by a malicious adversary, such as a foreign government, criminal gangs, or fraudsters.