The Swiss city of Zug, known for its proactive support of the blockchain industry, is launching a voting pilot that will base both polling system and residents’ IDs on blockchain technology.
The pilot phase got started in November and now has over 200 residents signed up for the new service, according to the announcement.
By using their digital ID, local residents will be able to cast votes in the one-off blockchain polling pilot, though the city government indicated that the vote is a “consultative test” and the results will not be binding.
Over in Russia, Moscow’s municipal government announced in March that it was extending its use of a blockchain-based voting platform to the city block level.
And, in the same month, the U.S. state of West Virginia launched a voting pilot project for absentee voters in the military by using a mobile application powered by blockchain technology, while Sierra Leone also notably piloted the tech in a presidential election.
Expanding on the blockchain-voting pilot that allowed overseas military operatives and families to vote during the November 2018 mid-term elections, the mobile voting app will now be used during the 2020 presidential elections, which is a concern to some security experts according to MIT Technology Review, April 18, 2019.
West Virginia is gearing up to deploy a blockchain-based voting application for elections in November. The idea is being met with growing amounts of criticism from security experts and election specialists, but those spearheading the initiative are moving forward.
Tsukuba is now the first Japanese city to test a voting system that incorporates blockchain technology. From West Virginia to Switzerland, blockchain’s incorporation into voting systems has created a buzz.
Blockchain technology’s mainstream foray has continued to gather steam, with West Virginia and Ohio making moves that will see the technology make inroads into those states. West Virginia will give its citizens serving overseas the privilege of being the first people in the US to use a blockchain-powered mobile application to cast their votes. While […]