{"id":111480,"date":"2020-11-14T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/"},"modified":"2020-11-14T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-14T15:30:00","slug":"blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"# Blockchain voting is the alternative for trusted democratic elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28d0e5d4767\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28d0e5d4767\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#The_current_voting_system_in_the_digital_age\" >The current voting system in the digital age<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#American_electoral_jurisdictions_and_blockchain-based_pilot_projects\" >American electoral jurisdictions and blockchain-based pilot projects<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#The_positions_of_American_political_personalities_on_mobile_voting\" >The positions of American political personalities on mobile voting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#A_blockchain_solution_that_can_enable_a_virtual_election_in_the_US\" >A blockchain solution that can enable a virtual election in the U.S.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#Cybersecurity_in_a_blockchain_vote\" >Cybersecurity in a blockchain vote<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockchain-voting-is-the-alternative-for-trusted-democratic-elections\/#Key_takeaways\" >Key takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># Blockchain voting is the alternative for trusted democratic elections <\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjAtMTEvNTE4NmQwMzgtNzk3Ny00YjcxLWJkNjctMDJjNWQ1MmZlMjUxLmpwZw==.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-5a136f3a>The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people\u2019s lives, the relationship between governments and citizens, and the entire world economy, and of course, it has had a major impact on the United States presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Due to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> isolation, a large number of American voters <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eac.gov\/election-officials\/voting-by-mail-absentee-voting\">opted<\/a> to vote by mail, which increased vote counting time, led candidate and acting President Donald Trump to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-supreme-court-election-votes\/2020\/11\/04\/4f528162-1ea1-11eb-90dd-abd0f7086a91_story.html\">judicialize<\/a> the electoral process with actions in several states, and triggered intense debates about the veracity and legitimacy of the current American electoral system.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Blockchain voting systems could be the future, but current flaws persist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_current_voting_system_in_the_digital_age\"><\/span>The current voting system in the digital age<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Currently, many have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osce.org\/files\/f\/documents\/2\/a\/466794.pdf\">proposed<\/a> \u201cmobile\u201d voting as an alternative more compatible with current times, allowing people to vote without leaving their homes.<\/p>\n<p>We are able to shop online, there are professions that are performed 100% remotely \u2014 which has intensified with the current pandemic \u2014 but electoral participation still needs to be exercised in person and in a specific location.<\/p>\n<p>Now, does this not go against the digital age where information and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> serve as facilitators of communication, data transfer and business transactions?<\/p>\n<p>How does one make mobile, or remote, voting possible without compromising the security of electoral participation? The addition of blockchain solutions to the mobile voting process can give confidence to the electoral system and bring peace to the electoral process.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Electronic voting with blockchain: An experience from Naples, Italy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The combination of sequential hashing and cryptography in a distributed structure allows for the protection of voters\u2019 identity and the verification of absolutely all votes entered in the blockchain platform, which can enable secure and transparent voting mechanisms with electoral vote monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine how good it would be to check if your vote was actually counted for the candidate chosen by you, with the absolute guarantee of the secrecy of your vote? All of this is possible with blockchain technology.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>The promise and reality of blockchain\u2019s role in global elections<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"American_electoral_jurisdictions_and_blockchain-based_pilot_projects\"><\/span>American electoral jurisdictions and blockchain-based pilot projects<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Electoral jurisdictions in several U.S. states have tested mobile-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lication-based blockchain voting for state, federal and municipal elections \u2014 primarily to enable remote voting by military and civilian residents abroad via smartphones and tablets, rather than the traditional and mail, fax and paper methods.<\/p>\n<p>West Virginia, for example, enabled mobile voting via blockchain for its state and federal elections back in 2018. Denver, Colorado; Utah County, Utah; and two counties in the state of Oregon also tested pilot projects for their 2019 municipal elections. In total, 29 counties in five states <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/edge\/theedge\/is-voting-by-mobile-app-a-better-security-option-or-just-a-bad-idea\/b\/d-id\/1336152\">tested<\/a> Voatz\u2019s mobile voting app in official elections.<\/p>\n<p>In all of the examples mentioned above, to the surprise of many and according to the authorities responsible for voting via blockchain, the electoral process proved to be easier and more accessible.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, there are already advocates of the use of blockchain in American elections.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_positions_of_American_political_personalities_on_mobile_voting\"><\/span>The positions of American political personalities on mobile voting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As a result of the good performance mentioned in the previous paragraphs, there are already notable figures in American politics raising the banner of blockchain mobile voting, such as Bradley Tusk \u2014 an American businessman, philanthropist, political strategist and founder of Tusk Philanthropies; Mike Queen \u2014 deputy chief of staff to the West Virginia Secretary of State; and Jocelyn Bucaro \u2014 director of elections in Denver.<\/p>\n<p>But because we are living in the age of polarization, there are also people strongly against mobile voting, including voting via blockchain. In that sense, we can refer to Jeremy Epstein, a member of the Association for Computing Machinery\u2019s US Technology Policy Committee. Here, it is important to note that Epstein \u2014 who was a vice chair of the committee at the time \u2014 co-authored an electoral security <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/page\/email-and-internet-voting-the-overlooked-threat-to-election-security\/\">report<\/a> titled \u201cEmail and Internet Voting: The Overlooked Threat to Election Security,\u201d which was developed in conjunction with Common Cause, the National Election Defense Coalition and the R Street Institute.<\/p>\n<p>The report points to blockchain and internet voting as a target for online attacks by foreign intelligence, saying the transmission of ballots over the internet \u2014 including by email, fax and blockchain systems \u2014 makes them vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the pros and cons, are there solutions already in place that can protect citizens from electoral fraud? How would identity verification be used in the process? What projects and solutions can we think of implementing for identity verification in the voting process, and how would they work?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_blockchain_solution_that_can_enable_a_virtual_election_in_the_US\"><\/span>A blockchain solution that can enable a virtual election in the U.S.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Voatz application, for example, looks for vulnerabilities and signs of commitment or vulnerability from the start. If the app finds that a smartphone has been compromised, it does not allow the user to vote. If the application passes security tests and third-party tools linked to it, the voter is authenticated on their mobile phone by a fingerprint or facial recognition.<\/p>\n<p>The voter then provides their government identification, usually a driver\u2019s license or passport, and takes a selfie for further authentication. Finally, the voter touches the fingerprint reader of their cell phone to verify that the smartphone is actually in the voter\u2019s hands. In this step, the Voatz application combines the selfie taken by the voter with the image of the identity document and, after rechecking all the registration information given, confirms that the voter can vote.<\/p>\n<p>Voters can use their own additional authentication factor, such as an Apple Watch, Google Authenticator or a YubiKey. And if they wish, they can still receive an SMS message or email as an additional authentication factor.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cybersecurity_in_a_blockchain_vote\"><\/span>Cybersecurity in a blockchain vote<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Regarding cybersecurity, as \u201call\u201d software has vulnerabilities, it cannot be ignored that denial-of-service and distributed denial-of-service attacks are legitimate <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awakesecurity.com\/blog\/research-democratic-candidates-fail-domain-security\/\">risks<\/a> in a mobile vote. Therefore, it is important to look for backup <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/national-security\/senate-intelligence-report-finds-extensive-russian-election-interference-n1034736\">methods<\/a> for possible infrastructure failure in the case of a DoS attack on the mobile voting system.<\/p>\n<p>The blockchain part of the process is the least worrying in terms of security. It is just one component of the voting process, which also includes the steps of identity security, verification and validation.<\/p>\n<p>Blockchain, in the case of Voatz, is for the specific application for which it was built: to distribute voting records so that it is more difficult to attack remotely. It also has cryptographic audit evidence of each transaction.<\/p>\n<p>The main security risk in voting via blockchain is in the interface with the electoral jurisdiction, where the ballot is also printed with a hash or encrypted key on top. After it is stored, it is finally digitized in the election systems and software ballot-reading systems. At this stage, the electoral process \u201cis out of reach\u201d for Voatz.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to cybersecurity issues, another point in a blockchain vote that has been questioned is: How would the voting book be processed and the ballots verified in a blockchain solution?<\/p>\n<p>Taking the Voatz app as an example again, it uses a 32-node blockchain infrastructure on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, each hosting 16 nodes in the United States. Cloudflare is among several companies that provide DDoS-protection services, and Voatz has said that the system employs end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication for infrastructure nodes.<\/p>\n<p>Another blockchain voting solution was used in Colombia in 2016. \u201cBlockchain Voting for Peace\u201d is a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oecd.org\/gov\/innovative-government\/embracing-innovation-in-government-colombia.pdf\">case study<\/a> by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development of a referendum held in Colombia back then. In it, the nonprofit organization Democracy Earth Foundation creates a blockchain platform to allow Colombians living abroad to symbolically participate in the plebiscite on the peace treaty between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as FARC. The interesting thing here is the possibility of democratic coverage provided by the blockchain.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_takeaways\"><\/span>Key takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>From what we have seen so far, it is not an exaggeration to imagine that in the near future, many countries will see blockchain technology as an ideal voting method for a society that is increasingly digitized faster than ever.<\/p>\n<p>However, even if the maturity of the technology is reached and it effectively brings greater legitimacy to the electoral process and veracity to the voting system, will we be able to overcome the cultural barriers and digital illiteracy that still exist in today\u2019s world?<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-content__disclaimer\"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author\u2019s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.<\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<div style=\"background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;\"><strong>Tatiana Revoredo<\/strong> is a founding member of the Oxford Blockchain Foundation and is a strategist in blockchain at Sa\u00efd Business School at the University of Oxford. Additionally, she is an expert in blockchain business applications at MIT and is the chief strategy officer of The Global Strategy. Tatiana has been invited by the European Parliament to the Intercontinental Blockchain Conference and was invited by the Brazilian parliament to the public hearing on Bill 2303\/2015. She is the author of two books: <em>Blockchain: Tudo O Que Voc\u00ea Precisa Saber<\/em> and <em>Cryptocurrencies in the International Scenario: What Is the Position of Central Banks, Governments and Authorities About Cryptocurrencies?<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"law_decoded\"><\/template><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Due to social isolation, a large number of American voters opted&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2020-11\/5186d038-7977-4b71-bd67-02c5d52fe251.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74894,73602,70288,32681,4965,67874,70473],"class_list":["post-111480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-blockchain","tag-colombia","tag-elections","tag-politics","tag-technology","tag-united-states","tag-voting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}