At the core of democratic elections lies the notion of the system of governance, where the majority of voters directly elect the representatives of the governing body. Therefore the traditional paper-based election system is created in a way to reinforce the authority of the state. The election process from start to finish is managed centrally. Therefore it is important that elections are free and fair, and the rules and procedures apply equally to all.
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However, almost always elections are dented by reports ranging from mere practical issues to intimidation, including long queues, incorrect registration rolls, overcrowded polling places, malfunctioning voting machines, misinterpreted voting procedures by election staff, illegal votes, etc.
For instance, during the last presidential elections in the US, Time reported:
“Problems with mail-in ballots in California. Overcrowded polling places in Arizona. Missing names on the voter rolls in New York”.
A promising alternative for conventional election, e-voting is believed to speed up, simplify and reduce the cost of elections, E-voting critics point out the difficult decision of the type of e-voting system to be selected as well as the local specifics that need to be considered which includes; a separate network vs a centralized alternative, supervised (attending a polling place) or unsupervised voting (online), on a personal mobile device vs using a special equipment, etc
The security and anonymity of the vote must also be guaranteed. As pointed out in the EPRS’ report:
“Now there is a further choice to be made: to continue trusting central authorities to manage elections or to use blockchain technology to distribute an open voting record amongst the citizens. Many experts agree that e-voting for national elections would require revolutionary developments in security systems. However, there are many other kinds of regional and organisational election that could be digitised more simply through the use of blockchain, making it simpler to involve more people in taking important decisions, adopting long-term strategies, making investments and selecting people for a wide range of positions.”
Blockchain as the best alternative
Essentially blockchains have got what it takes to create fast, low cost and safe public ledgers that can track anything of value and keep a record of ownership history, including non-financial records related to casting votes. The power of giving the control to the voter, instead of to the central authority is believed to additionally add value to the voting process as a whole:
“Blockchain-enabled e-voting (BEV) would empower voters to do these tasks themselves by allowing them to hold a copy of the voting record. The historic record cannot be changed, because other voters would see that the record differs from theirs. An illegitimate vote cannot be added, because other voters would be able to see that it is not compatible with the rules (perhaps because it was already counted or is not associated with a valid voter record). BEV would shift power and trust away from central actors, such as electoral authorities, and foster the development of techenabled community consensus.” (EPRS Report)
Elements to be considered when reviewing blockchain based e-voting
The challenges of remote participation, accessibility to all voters, the guarantee of anonymity and the trust in the security and legitimacy of the system. Because blockchain-enabled e-voting is democratic, in its essence it is decentralized, controlled by peers. The basis for its acceptance would be the guarantee that all voters would agree that the process is transparent, reliable and legitimate, therefore acknowledging its results as fair and valid.
With blockchain, election promises to be transparent, free and fair, and above all done with ease
The question remains if electoral bodies will be able to test and adopt it considering the extent to which it would reflect the values and structure of their society, politics, culture and state of democracy.
Thanks for your attention this is it just my humble opinion.