92 Copyright © 2014, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 5 A Synthesis of Vote Verifcation Methods in Electronic Voting Systems ABSTRACT A large amount of research has been conducted to improve public verifability of e-voting systems. One of the challenges is ensuring that diferent and apparently contradicting requirements are met: anonymity and representation, vote secrecy and verifability. System robustness from attacks adds further complex- ity. This chapter summarizes some of the known vote verifcation techniques and highlights the pros and cons of each technique. Also, it reviews how diferent verifcation technologies cover diferent phases of the voting process and evaluates how these techniques satisfy the e-voting requirements. INTRODUCTION The way people vote has evolved from paper based systems, where voters use paper to write down their votes, to the use of special mechanical or electronic machines to cast votes electronically. The technologies available are rather diverse and include: punched card systems, optical scan systems, Direct Recording Electronic (DRE), and online (Internet) voting systems. The e-voting systems have many potential advantages: it can facilitate vote casting, it may reduce voter’s mistakes (e.g., under-voting and over-voting), it can speed up the election processes, and it allow underserved (e.g., illiterate and impaired) voters to vote in independence. In spite of the advantages of e-voting, concerns about security and various accidents occurred during elections have slowed its adoption. The research in the area has thus focused on methodologies and technologies to support security properties of e-voting systems. Another area of investigation has focused on the usability advantages, promoting new ways of casting preferences and votes. A large research area is allocated to solve the verifiability problem, which is how to allow voters and other partici- Ali Fawzi Najm Al-Shammari Free University of Bolzano, Italy Adolfo Villaforita Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Italy DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5820-2.ch005