With the controversy in Catalonia ongoing, and the aftermaths of a day where governmental powers exceeded their boundaries, scattering riot police to key polling booths to cease a vote which they deemed illegal, one question comes to mind: what if we could digitalize voting?
Controversial votes, such as this one, can quickly turn violent. Voters fight for their democratic right, and won’t be halted by the presence of police in their battle to cast their ballot — but what if there was a way to vote without the need to cast a physical ballot? Could the violence in Catalonia have been avoided?
The violence around elections isn’t purely isolated with Catalonia — in the past few months alone there have been instances in both Kenya and Venezuela, with violence halting the democratic process.
Boule is setting out to change everything, by simplifying the process and empowering security through Blockchain cryptography. Digitalizing the voting process will give everyone the chance to cast their ballot in a safe, quick, and cost-efficient way, without the need to travel to polling booths. In fact, Boule is up to 10 times more cost-efficient than traditional paper voting.
The transition from polling stations to remote online voting will take time. During this transition, online voting will take place during a set period before “offline” voting gets underway, ensuring those who have already voted cannot do so twice. We want to see greater participation in politics: a more liquid democratic power that is accountable to all.