Whaleshares Logo

Blockchain Voting Can Help Safeguard and Streamline Elections

wstanley226Posted for Everyone to comment on, 4 years ago3 min read

Note: This is a crossposted piece of content for blurt.world that I created on 9/22/20. I own and have created this content, see details below.

democrats-3594094_1920.jpg

The USPS filed for a patent to create a blockchain voting system. The United States' 2020 election will occur during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and vote by mail elections have been proposed. The majority of the public is opposed to voting by mail, and there are several reasons goven including security and access concerns. Is a blockchain system of voting a way to address these concerns and streamline the process?

Vote by mail is a system that has come under scrutiny by both Democrats and Republicans in the United States. A number of states conduct vote by mail, and there are pros and cons to this method. Security is essential for mail-in ballots, as is the condition of voting materials received.

Could blockchain help secure and streamline the voting process?

The current voting process in the United States and in many other places across the globe involves voters heading to polling stations and filling out ballots. The polling station has anonymity, security and an easy-to-use paper ballot or touch screen. It serves the function of voting well and is easy to complete. A major concern about polling stations are long-lines that may make voting difficult if one has to wait for long periods of time and the fact that social-distancing required for the COVID-19 Pandemic may be difficult to accomplish while in a polling place.

The problems of our current voting system that could be solved by utilizing a blockchain technology akin to a smart-contract or application are accuracy of data, security of data and immediacy of results.

The problems regarding using a blockchain to record and process voter data is potential results tampering, computational errors, mistrust of results and a potential lack of access to the internet.

In 2018, a blockchain called Voatz was used to collect data from service members for an election. This blockchain was successful in collecting votes and ensuring each voter was verified as a voter of record with appropriate documents. A blockchain is an immutable record, and in this case, it performed as intended. But, security is a question we need to address.

In 2019, an election was conducted in Moscow utilizing a blockchain technology running on the Ethereum blockchain. It was found that this technology was easy to hack and change. This is problem we need to tackle, and it requires research and development. Smart-contracts and apps that feed into blockchain technologies need to be sophisticated and airtight to make this acceptable to the public.

In time, blockchain technology will be ready to be used on a large-scale. The public at large is resistant to both computer and mail voting, and we need to work on the security and user-friendliness of the systems.

Originally published in my blurt account at the link below:
https://blurt.blog/blurtech/@anarchy999/blockchain-voting-can-help-safeguard-and-streamline-elections

Also published in my Steemit account at myblurtrides1 and my Whaleshares account.

Sources:

Image from Pixabay.

https://www.cdotrends.com/story/15019/us-elections-will-blockchain-help

Sign Up to join this conversation, or to start a topic of your own.
Your opinion is celebrated and welcomed, not banned or censored!