Method of Validating an Electronic Vote

Abstract

An electronic voting method, system and apparatus is disclosed. A vote message is received at a network node, the vote message comprising a sender identifier, event identifier and a timestamp. The sender identifier, event identifier and timestamp are read, and it is determined from the timestamp that an event window was open and whether the window was a first or subsequent window. In the event that the window is the first window, the vote and sender identifier are stored at a database. In the event that the window is a second or subsequent window, the sender identifier is compared to sender identifiers stored at a previous window and if a match is found the vote is marked as validated and the vote stored at the database.

1 . A computer-implemented method of validating an electronic vote, adapted to be executed as a set of instructions by a processor, the method comprising:
 receiving at a network element via a communication network a vote message comprising a sender identifier, vote data and a timestamp;   determining from the timestamp that the vote message was received in a time window relating to an event;   accessing stored messages received at the network element during a previous time window relating to the event and stored at a data storage node;   validating the vote message by matching the sender identifier to a stored sender identifier in one of the stored messages; and   storing the validated vote message at the data storage node.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the event is an event occurring in a real-time video broadcast. 
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 2 , wherein the start of the time window relating to the event is defined by the time of broadcast of additional information regarding the event. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the end of the previous time window relating to the event is defined by the time of broadcast of the additional information regarding the event. 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 2 , wherein the start of the previous time window relating to the event is defined by the first time of broadcast of the event. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of comparing the vote data from the validated vote message to vote data from the stored message having the corresponding sender identifier. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
 repeating the steps of the method to obtain a plurality of validated vote messages; and   generating statistics from the vote data in the plurality of validated vote messages and the stored messages.   
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the vote data comprises a vote code indicating a voter's opinion regarding the event. 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the vote message further comprises an event identifier, wherein the step of determining further comprises verifying that the event identifier identifies the event, and wherein the step of validating the vote message further comprises matching the event identifier to a stored event identifier in the one of the stored messages. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of transmitting a notification message to at least one user terminal indicating the start of the time window. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving at a front-end server an unprocessed message comprising the sender identifier and vote data;   determining the time of receipt of the unprocessed message at the frontend server;   adding the time of receipt to the unprocessed message as the timestamp to form the vote message; and   providing the vote message to the network element.   
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for execution by a processor to perform a method of validating an electronic vote, the method comprising:
 receiving at a network element via a communication network a vote message comprising a sender identifier, vote data and a timestamp;   determining from the timestamp that the vote message was received in a time window relating to an event;   accessing stored messages received at the network element during a previous time window relating to the event and stored at a data storage node;   validating the vote message by matching the sender identifier to a stored sender identifier in one of the stored messages; and   storing the validated vote message at the data storage node.   
     
     
         14 . A networked server computer, comprising:
 at least one processor;   a data store;   a communication interface connected to a communication network and arranged to receive a vote message comprising a sender identifier, vote data and a timestamp; and   a memory arranged to store executable instructions arranged to cause the at least one processor to:
 determine from the timestamp that the vote message was received in a time window relating to an event; 
 access stored messages received during a previous time window relating to the event and stored in the data store; 
 validate the vote message by matching the sender identifier to a stored sender identifier in one of the stored messages; and 
 store the validated vote message in the data store. 
   
     
     
         15 . An electronic vote validation system, comprising:
 a networked server computer, comprising:
 a processor, 
 a data store, 
 a communication interface connected to a communication network and arranged to receive a vote message comprising a sender identifier, vote data and a timestamp, and 
 a memory arranged to store executable instructions arranged to cause the processor to:
 determine from the timestamp that the vote message was received in a time window relating to an event, 
 access stored messages received during a previous time window relating to the event and stored in the data store, 
 validate the vote message by matching the sender identifier to a stored sender identifier in one of the stored messages, and 
 store the validated vote message in the data store; and 
 
   at least one front-end server computer, comprising:
 a processor; 
 a communication interface connected to the communication network and arranged to receive an unprocessed message comprising the sender identifier and vote data; and 
 a memory arranged to store executable instructions arranged to cause the processor to:
 determine the time of receipt of the unprocessed message at the at least one front-end server; 
 add the time of receipt to the unprocessed message as the timestamp to form the vote message; and 
 provide the vote message to the networked server computer via the communication interface.