Secure system for electronic voting

• US 7,237,717 B1
• Filed: 11/08/2003
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smart Mobile, Inc.
• Original Assignee: IP Holdings Incorporated (IP Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Rao, Sunil, Rao, Raman, Rao, Rekha
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAIL, ALLYSON NEEL
• Application Number:
  US10/705,739
• Time in Patent Office: 1,333 Days
• Field of Search: 235/386, 705/12
• US Class Current: 235/386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/953 Querying, e.g. by the use of web search engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/30 Writer recognition; Reading and verifying signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0092 Nutrition
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0057 using diplexing or multiplexing filters for selecting the desired band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/11 Arrangements specific to free-space transmission, i.e. transmission through air or vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/04 using two or more spaced independent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0404 the mobile station comprising multiple antennas, e.g. to provide uplink diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 : MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15 : Active relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 : Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 : Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2867 : Physical combinations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 : Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/08 : each combination of signals in different channels being represented by a fixed frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 : using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 : using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 : Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 : specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 : for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 : Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 : Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 : Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 : User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 : with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 : by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 : using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 : for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 : to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72466 : with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/58 : including a multilanguage function
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 : with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 : Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 : specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 : embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 : involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 : Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 : Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0062 : Network aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 : using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/65 : Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/68 : Gesture-dependent or behaviour-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 : Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 : for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 : Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 : Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 : Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 : Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 : adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

An electronic voting system comprising of one or more intelligent fixed in place voting machines, mobile voting machines and one or more trusted servers connected by secure wired or wireless communication means to enable electronic voting. A secure system for electronic voting by means of dynamically reconfiguring the mobile device as a mobile voting machine, said mobile voting machine communicating voice and data information with one or more trusted election servers to enable electronic voting in real time by leveraging the processing power/databases resident on the mobile device and or the processing power/databases resident on the trusted election servers. A system for providing disabled voters with enhanced utility by means such as language translation, speech recognition and other features by enabling the desired and enhanced functionality by using the processing power of the mobile device by itself and or in conjunction with the processing power of the local, central and or network server.

Claims

1. A secure system for electronic voting, comprising:

a) an intelligent voting machine configured for communication, computation, command and control of information including one or more of audio, video, images, photos, graphics, text, speech, voice, data and information;

wherein said intelligent voting machine is hardware configured for operation in conjunction with one or more types of inputs including one or more of a keyboard input, a touch screen input, a voice input, audible inputs, data inputs and biometric inputs; and

wherein said intelligent voting machine includes hardware configured for operation in conjunction with one or more types of outputs including one or more of a keyboard output, a touch screen output/display, text output, image output, photo output, graphics output, video output, a voice output, audible outputs, and data output;

wherein said intelligent voting machine includes internal processing, storage, database, authorized software and application capabilities;

b) one or more trusted servers with associated storage devices including a local server with an associated storage device, a central server with an associated storage device, a network server with an associated storage device;

c) means for secure wired or wireless real time communication between the intelligent voting machine and the local server and other trusted servers/storage devices that are one or more of co-located and remotely located,

means for locating the intelligent voting machines in polling booths, at polling stations and at selected locations,

means for secure real time communication between one or more intelligent voting machines and the local trusted server,

means for secure real time communication between the trusted local server/storage devices and other trusted servers located remotely from the polling booths/stations by secure communication links;

d) means for utilizing the processing power, databases, data, software and applications of the intelligent voting machine in conjunction with the processing power, databases, data, software and applications of the trusted local server or in combination with the processing power, databases, data, software and applications of a remotely located trusted central server, a remotely located trusted network server and other local/remotely located trusted servers;

e) means for defining an authorized set of voter authentication protocols,

means for secure real time authentication of a voter in conjunction with the authentication data related to the voter maintained on an independent and trusted escrow server including authentication while assuring anonymity of the voter,

means for providing authenticated and consistent information related to election issues, candidates and other matters from an approved source such as a trusted server in one or more selected formats including one or more of text, image, graphics, audio, video, and data formats;

f) means for informed selection and casting of votes by the voter in conjunction with one or more of a user selected input method and a system defined input method and one or more of a user selected output method and a system defined output method,

means for recording the selection of the voter in real time within the intelligent voting machine, within a local server, within one or more trusted and escrow servers,

g) means for tracking, counting and tabulating election results in real time within the intelligent voting machine, the local server, and one or more trusted/escrow servers, including

means for counting and tabulating the election results without identifying a particular voting machine or polling station,

means for utilizing a plurality of intelligent voting machines, sequentially/concurrently/in selected order for secure electronic voting at a selected time and within a selected time period by one or more voters,

means for safe guarding, certifying and providing the election results at a selected time and in a selected manner in conjunction with one or more trusted escrow servers.

2. An intelligent voting machine for secure electronic voting, comprising:

a) a touch screen enabled input/output and display,

a built in processor,

an internal hard disk storage,

a removable memory storage,

an activation mechanism for activation of the voting machine by one or more of a card activation method, password method, and one or more methods that relate to biometrics of a specific voter,

a print capability enabled by built-in means or external means,

a secure wired or wireless communication capability with a secure path for communication between the intelligent voting machine, a local server and the secure printer;

b) means for the voter to initiate and terminate the print action,

means for the voter to obtain a secure print out of a ballot as cast by the voter,

means for the secure print out being a true representation of the ballot as cast by the voter,

means for stamping of the print out by voter registration number or other methods wherein the specific voter is identified or the identity of the specific voter is masked, including means for time stamping and location stamping of a polling station on the print out,

means for the secure printer to provide an alert to the voter to take the printout upon failure by the voter to take the print out;

c) means for secure destruction of the print out related to a previous first voter, in the event the print out is not taken by the first voter;

means for one or more of shielding and destruction of the print out of the first voter to prevent compromise of the print out by a next subsequent voter;

d) means for a secure wired or wireless connection between the intelligent voting machine and one or more trusted/escrow servers including a local, central and network servers for authentication of the voter and approved election information;

means for leveraging the processing power, storage, databases, software and applications resident within one or more of the intelligent voting machine and the processing power, storage, databases, software and applications resident within one or more of the trusted servers;

means for secure selection/casting of the votes by the voter in conjunction with a secure paper record of said votes as cast by the voter;

means for real time recording of the votes within the intelligent voting machine and one or more of a trusted local server, a trusted central server, and a trusted network server.

3. A secure system for mobile electronic voting, comprising:

a mobile device, including one or more of a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant PDA, a laptop computer and mobile devices, the mobile device configured for communication, computation, command and control, wherein

said mobile device is configured for one or more types of input/output methods including one or more of voice, audio, speech, text, data, display, touch screen input/display, and keyboard methods;

one or more trusted servers with associated storage devices, including a trusted local server, a trusted central server and a trusted network server;

means for dynamically configuring the mobile device as a mobile voting machine in a standalone manner using an application hosted on said mobile device or in conjunction with the software available from/resident on an authorized trusted server,

means for secure wired or wireless communication between the mobile device and the trusted servers/storage;

means for dynamic reconfiguration of the mobile device in a stand alone manner or in conjunction with the trusted servers to the original non mobile voting machine configuration upon conclusion of the mobile electronic voting;

means for controlling the mobile device as a mobile voting machine under processors of one or more of the mobile device and one or more of the trusted local, central and network servers;

means for a unique electronic key to be assigned by the trusted election server to the mobile device of an eligible voter;

means for activating the electronic key at a precise local date and time of an election precinct at a start of an absentee voting period and means for deactivating the electronic voting key at the precise date and local time of the election precinct at a conclusion of the absentee voting period;

means for activating the electronic key at a precise local date and time of an election precinct when polls open for voting and means for deactivating the electronic voting key at the precise date and local time of the election precinct when the polls close; and

means for enabling/disabling the mobile electronic voting privileges to ensure that a specifically authorized voter casts votes in accordance with election laws of the selected region using an authorized mobile device.

4. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

a) means for uniquely identifying the mobile device by one or more of IPv6 identification number, EIN number, and telephone number for the purpose of authenticating the mobile device for a selected mobile electronic voting activity;

b) means for using one or more legally approved voter profiles for authentication purposes, wherein the specific individual exercising the mobile electronic voting privileges is authenticated in accordance with laws related to said mobile electronic voting in a selected voting region,

means for authentication of the specific voter by comparison of the data related to that specific voter maintained in databases/lookup tables of one or more trusted/escrow servers, including means for comparison in conjunction with the data bases/lookup tables resident on the mobile device;

c) means for online registration with a trusted election server of the mobile device by device identification method,

means for online registration of a specific individual as a voter within a voting region with a specific and unique voter profile,

means for the voter profile to indicate party affiliation and or independent status,

means for eligibility of the voter to be determined by a registrar of voters or other authorized bodies.

5. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for location determination of the mobile device by a trusted GPS server means,

means of wired or wireless communication with the GPS server and one or more trusted servers,

means for the precise determination of the physical location of the voter and the mobile device,

means for determination of the eligibility of a voter based on presumed/actual location of the voter in conjunction with the designated/approved mobile device;

means for enabling/disabling the mobile electronic voting privileges of a mobile device and a voter;

including means for enabling/disabling of the mobile device based on presumed/actual physical location and the relationship of the presumed/actual physical location to the designated voting precinct location in the event laws mandate a physical presence with a precinct/region.

6. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for time determination of the mobile device by a trusted time keeping server,

means of wired or wireless communication with the trusted time keeping server and other trusted servers;

means for the precise determination of the physical location and time of one or more of the voter and mobile device,

means for determination of the eligibility of the voter in conjunction with the designated/approved mobile device based on presumed/actual location and time,

means for enabling/disabling the mobile electronic key and the voting privileges by time based factors including means for enabling/disabling of the mobile device based on the time at presumed/actual physical location and the relationship of the time at presumed/actual physical location to the time at the designated voting precinct location.

7. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for precinct level time stamping the mobile electronic voting wherein the mobile electronic voting actions/activity related to a voter and a corresponding mobile device is recorded within one or more trusted servers and the mobile device,

means for time stamping based on the time relative to the presumed/actual physical location of one or more of the voter and mobile device where said time determination and location determination are enabled by a trusted time keeping server and a trusted location determining GPS server respectively,

means for time stamping either or both of the times where the mobile device is located and the time at the central precinct level.

8. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for precinct level location stamping of the mobile electronic voting actions/activities of a voter by a trusted server,

means for location stamping based on physical location of one or more of the voter and mobile device, by a trusted server,

means for voter identity stamping by a trusted server,

means for ensuring that duplication of voting by the same individual and other unauthorized actions are precluded and a complete record tracking the detailed actions/activities of a voter and the associated mobile device is maintained on one or more trusted servers.

9. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for precinct level location stamping of the mobile electronic voting by a trusted server,

means for location stamping based on physical location of the voter and mobile device by a trusted server,

means for voter identity stamping by a trusted server,

means for acquiring the ballot data displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device frame by frame or all of the frames for print out and storage purposes;

means for real time provision of an electronic validated receipt by the trusted election server to the mobile device and or to another stationary device,

means for enabling a print out and or storage of the actual ballot cast by the voter in conjunction with the trusted official election server and the processing/storage capabilities of the mobile device for printing concurrently, for printing in conjunction with a local or remote printer and for storage and printing at a selected time,

means for ensuring that the voter has a complete validated and certified record tracking detailed actions of said voter and the associated mobile device hosted at the mobile device or available from on one or more trusted servers concurrently or at a selected time wherein said records are enabled in print form, in an electronic record form or one or more forms for use at a selected time.

10. A secure system for mobile electronic voting of claim 3, comprising:

means for high speed wired or wireless communication between the mobile device and one or more of the trusted servers, including

one or more public/dedicated wired or wireless communication paths,

means for the mobile device to communicate for the purpose of mobile electronic voting, using a selected/assigned encryption/decryption protocol in conjunction with a trusted server,

means for the trusted server to randomly enable one or more encryption/decryption algorithms/protocols specific to a selected mobile device to limit discovery and intrusion, including means for said encryption/decryption protocols/algorithms to be variable in time for limiting discovery/intrusion, and means for encrypted and secure communication of voting actions and voting data on one or more public/dedicated wired and wireless communication channels of the mobile device.

11. An apparatus for mobile electronic voting, comprising:

a mobile voting machine configured for mobile electronic voting, the mobile voting machine including one or more of a mobile device, a cellular telephone, PDA, laptop computer configured for performing mobile electronic voting, the mobile voting machine including;

a processor hosting at least one application;

one or more input/output methods that include one or more of a touch screen, a display, a keyboard, a speaker and a microphone,

means for communication of voice and data by wired or wireless methods,

means for the mobile device to emulate the functions/features of the mobile voting machine by internal reconfiguration,

means for reconfiguration of the mobile device as a mobile voting machine in conjunction with a remote server,

means for defining an authorized set of voter authentication protocols,

means for secure real time authentication of a voter in conjunction with the voter authentication protocols, wherein the voter authentication protocols are maintained on the remote server,

means for providing at the mobile voting machine authenticated and consistent information related to election issues and candidates in one or more selected formats including one or more of text, audio, video, and data formats,

means for receiving via the mobile voting machine a vote cast by the voter,

means for recording the vote in real time at one or more of the mobile voting machine and the remote server.

12. A secure and comprehensive stationary and mobile electronic voting system, comprising:

a) a separate and distinct sub system comprising intelligent voting machines located at polling stations,

means for high speed wired or wireless communication between the intelligent voting machine and one or more trusted local, central and network servers,

means for using processing power/databases/software of the intelligent voting machine by itself or in conjunction with the processing power/databases/software of the trusted local, central and or network servers;

b) a separate and distinct sub system comprising at least one mobile device configured as mobile voting machines for voting from any location,

means for high speed wired or wireless communication between the mobile device and one or more trusted local, central and network servers,

means for using the processing power/databases/software of the mobile device by itself or in conjunction with the processing power/databases/software of the trusted local, central and or network servers;

c) means for an authorized election body to use/deploy the two separate and distinct sub systems, namely the intelligent voting machines system and or the mobile device system in a standalone manner or in combination enabling the voters a choice to vote at a polling station using an intelligent voting machine or from any location using their mobile device,

d) means for maintaining confidentiality of a ballot cast by a specific voter using one or more methods, including

dynamically decoupling voter ID, biometrics and other voter information and its relationship to the ballot cast by that specific voter upon initiation of a selections process and cast ballot function,

maintaining the voter ID and voter related information on a separate trusted escrow server, wherein said trusted escrow server provides independently validated voting credentials/certificate in real time to the mobile device, and

providing a corresponding validated voting credentials/voting certificate in real time, stripped of an actual identity of the voter in said information,

maintaining secrecy of the ballot as cast by a specific voter,

means for delivery of uniform, timely, secure, secret, anonymous and convenient voting services to the voters in accordance with local, state and federal laws governing each election.

13. A secure electronic voting system of claim 12, comprising means for eliminating disparities relative to information and time between an absentee ballot voter and a voter casting a ballot on the election day at a polling station, wherein the absentee ballot voter is provided with a deadline for casting the vote that is equivalent to the deadline provided to the voter casting the ballot at the polling station.

14. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for authentication of the voter in conjunction with a specific type of machine being used such as the intelligent voting machine or the mobile device,

means for executing one or more authentication tasks in a stand alone manner by utilizing the processing power/databases/software resident within the intelligent voting machine/mobile device or in conjunction with the processing power/databases/software of one or more of the trusted local, central and or network servers;

means for using one or more levels of authentication of the voter as appropriate for the intelligent voting machine or the mobile device,

means for authentication by photographic method, drivers license, passport, birth certificate, social security number, identity card number, video, audio, voice print, finger print, digital signature, hand writing recognition, signature recognition, voting machine ID number and other methods;

means for using one or more identification methods for determining voter and or voting machine identity singly and or in selected combination as appropriate for each sub system, in conformance with election laws.

15. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for enabling real time access to approved and trusted information one or more of before and during the activity of casting the ballot by means of the intelligent voting machine or the mobile device,

means for providing the authorized real time information to the voting machine by secure wired or wireless communication with a trusted local, central, network server, escrow server, time keeping server, GPS server;

means for the appropriate information to be displayed or presented on a desired device using a desired interface at a desired time in one or more windows within a display,

means for the voter to view the information in one or more windows for comparison and decision analysis on candidates and issues,

means for information to include candidate profiles, photos, video, audio, and positions on the issues and other information,

means for selection of the desired input/output and display method on the intelligent voting machine or the mobile device,

means for the information request/delivery, the ballot selections, actuations, and casting of the ballot by full function keyboard, partial function keyboard, special function keyboard, macro functions, touch screen, voice, audio, sound, text, image, photo, symbol driven, object driven, icon driven, braille and other methods;

means for configuring the intelligent voting machine or the mobile device interface, input, output and display functions in a standalone manner by using one or more of processing power/databases of the intelligent voting machine and the mobile device and the trusted local, central and or network servers,

means for informed real time decision, selection and casting of the ballot by the voter at the time and using the voting machine.

16. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 15, comprising:

means for real time text to speech and speech to text conversion,

means for voice input and output in one or more languages,

means for language translation of text and speech from a first language to one or more second languages;

means for the appropriate text to speech, speech to text and language translations/conversions by using the processing power/databases/software of one or more of the intelligent voting machine of the mobile device or the trusted local, central and or network servers;

means for ballot selection and casting of the ballot in one or more languages.

17. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 15, comprising:

means for a trusted second individual to assist a first individual who is an eligible voter,

means for validating the eligibility of the first individual and provisionally enabling the first individual,

means for acquisition of an identity and signature of a second individual in a touch screen window or by other input and authentication means in conjunction with one or more of the selected voting machine and the trusted local, central and or network server,

means for the authentication and approval of the second individual to act in a fiduciary capacity with specific power of attorney privileges for the first individual voter,

means for the second individual to determine the ballot choices of the first individual by the appropriate methods,

means for the second individual to cast the ballot as a proxy for the first individual;

means for a third individual and or additional witnesses to be authenticated and approved by trusted servers to act as a witness or witnesses,

means for witnessing and authenticating by one or more witnesses to ensure that the second individual is performing the actions intended by the first individual voter.

18. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 17, comprising:

means for the second individual to remotely perform actions desired by the first individual using a stationary or mobile device,

means for the first individual to remotely monitor and review by appropriate and desired interface, input and output method, the actions of the second individual;

means for the first individual and the third individual acting as a witness, to remotely monitor and review by appropriate choice of the desired interface, input and output means the real time actions of the second individual;

means for wired or wireless connectivity and collaboration between the first individual, second individual, third individual and other individuals, the stationary devices in use, the intelligent voting machines in use, the mobile device/mobile voting machine in use and the trusted servers,

means for a disabled voter to cast a vote using one or more of remote, contemporaneous, designated time, and delayed collaboration among one or more of the communication devices, voting machines and the servers.

19. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 15, comprising:

means for a disabled voter to select the desired input/output/display and interface that is of assistance to overcome a disability,

means for the disabled voter to be adequately informed using one or more selected input/output interfaces,

means for the disabled voter to cast the ballot in a desired manner and at the desired time within the approved election period or at the polling station,

means for the disabled voter to receive a receipt about the ballot as cast by the disabled voter said receipt being in the manner that is most useful to the disabled voter.

20. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for tracking the actions of the specific voter and the voting machines used by the voter in real time,

means for detecting the actions of multiple voting by the same individual on behalf of the voter and or on behalf of other voters,

means for locking out a particular voter or the particular intelligent voting machine or the mobile device from accessing the trusted election servers,

means for fraud detection, determining fraud trends, isolating fraud prone machines, fraud prone precincts and providing alerts in real time for action by law enforcement authorities,

means for providing a trail of the fraudulent activity for review and correction of any voting discrepancies by authorized election body and judicial officials.

21. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for providing one or more layers of security for conducting elections in a fair and transparent manner,

means for locking in selected functionality and locking out selected functionality of the trusted election servers by a function-lock and time-lock feature,

means for automatically initiating the function-lock and time-lock features at the desired time on one or more of the selected secure and trusted servers and terminating the function-lock or time-lock automatically after a set time period duration or at a set time,

means for limiting the access, alteration of the functions and other features during the function-lock and time-lock sequence,

means for override of the function-lock and the time-lock features by authorized override procedure obtained by judicial orders or other official directives,

means for the prevention of premature release of the polling data and the coordinated release of certified results at the desired locations, at the desired time and in the desired sequence.

22. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for validating and certifying the election results by an escrow server and by a designated election official,

means for providing accurate, timely and final certified results to the public soon after the polls close by leveraging computational capabilities of one or more trusted servers acting in a standalone manner and or in conjunction with each other.

23. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for configuring a hierarchy of trusted election servers with one or more servers connected by a secure communication path and one or more servers connected by a plurality of secure communication paths;

means for locating the trusted election servers in one or more geographically separated locations,

means for the trusted servers to be under the supervision of election authorities, bipartisan commissions, and neutral bodies,

means for achieving redundancy in real time storage of the election data at one or more of the intelligent voting machines, the mobile voting machines, and the precinct level servers by enabling dynamic sweep of the data from each voting machine and the servers for remote and secure storage,

means for defining sweep nodes, sweep periodicity from each node, and sweep duration for the dynamic sweep,

means for randomly transferring the data on randomly selected redundant communication lines to limit intrusion and achieve a high level of data integrity and security.

24. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for dynamically configuring features of the intelligent voting machine for new functions and new elections by software communication and download/upload of the functional instructions and content from a trusted local server, central server, and a network server,

means for dynamically configuring features of the mobile voting machine for new functions and new elections by software communication and download/upload of the functional instructions and content from a trusted local server, central server, and a network server,

means for dynamically configuring the mobile communication device with the approved functional instructions at a designated time and for designated elections using the processing power of one or more of the mobile device and one or more of a local, central and network server.

25. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for a mobile electorate including one or more of disabled individuals, students, business travelers, and military personnel to participate in elections with ease,

means for enabling a single mobile device for one or more functions including communication, computation, control, command and electronic voting functions.

26. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for electronic voting in corporate governance matters and share holder matters,

means for conducting the voting in conjunction with trusted servers/escrow servers maintained by third parties,

means for using stationary and mobile devices including one or more of personal computers, laptop computers, cellular telephones, and PDAs for electronic voting.

27. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for using the mobile device for auction and other transactions,

means for preventing fraud during the auction in conjunction with a trusted third party server,

means for authentication of the parties to the auction by a trusted third party server,

means for execution and compliance to terms by the parties to the transaction by an escrow server.

28. A secure system for electronic voting of claim 12, comprising:

means for using the mobile device for opinion surveys,

means for preventing fraud during conduct of the opinion survey in conjunction with a trusted third party server,

means for authentication of the parties to an opinion survey by a trusted third party server,

means for computation and analysis of the results by an escrow server.

29. A method comprising:

establishing a secure communication link between a mobile device and a remote server;

dynamically configuring the mobile device as a voting terminal;

authenticating in real-time a voter, the authentication using an authentication protocol of the remote server and information of a voter received via the mobile device;

presenting current issue information to the voter using the mobile device, the current issue information including one or more of audio, video, and text information of a plurality of issues for which the voter can cast votes;

assigning an electronic key to the mobile device of the voter;

activating the electronic key at a date and during a time period of an election, wherein the date and the time period are controlled by a location of one or more of an entity and a jurisdiction hosting the vote;

controlling voting privileges of the voter at the mobile device during voting according to rules of one or more of the entity and the jurisdiction;

receiving via the mobile device at least one vote cast by the voter under the voting privileges;

recording the at least one vote in real-time at one or more of the mobile device and the remote server.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the mobile device includes one or more of a cellular telephone, wireless communication device, Internet Protocol (IP) telephone, WiFi telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), and personal computer.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the configuring includes configuring an input device of the mobile device to receive the at least one vote.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the input device includes one or more of a keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, a receiver, an input configured to receive biometric data.

33. The method of claim 29, comprising one or more of tracking, counting, and tabulating votes in real time at one or more of the mobile device and the remote server.

34. The method of claim 33, comprising automatically counting and tabulating votes from a plurality of mobile devices without identifying the mobile devices used to cast the votes.

35. The method of claim 33, comprising presenting tabulated vote counts.

36. The method of claim 29, comprising printing at the mobile device one or more of the current issue information and the at least one vote cast.

37. The method of claim 29, wherein the authenticating includes identifying the mobile device using one or more of an IPv6 identification number, electronic identification number, and telephone number.

38. The method of claim 29, wherein the authenticating of the voter includes authentication using one or more of photographic, drivers license, passport, birth certificate, social security, identity card, video, audio, voice print, finger print, digital signature, hand writing, and signature data.

39. The method of claim 29, comprising registering the mobile device as the voting terminal with the remote server.

40. The method of claim 29, comprising registering an individual as the voter with the remote server.

41. The method of claim 29, comprising generating a voter profile of a voter using one or more of the mobile device and the remote server.

42. The method of claim 29, comprising automatically and in real-time determining eligibility of the voter.

43. The method of claim 29, comprising determining a location of the mobile device.

44. The method of claim 29, comprising converting the current issue information, wherein the converting includes one or more of text to speech conversion, speech to text conversion, image to text conversion, text to image conversion, converting from a first spoken language to a second spoken language, and converting from a first written language to a second written language.

45. The method of claim 29, comprising converting the at least one vote, wherein the converting includes one or more of text to speech conversion, speech to text conversion, image to text conversion, text to image conversion, converting from a first spoken language to a second spoken language, and converting from a first written language to a second written language.

46. The method of claim 29, comprising decoupling identification information of the voter from the vote.

47. The method of claim 29, comprising receiving identification information of a witness to the vote.