The Case For Voting On-Chain: Lessons From Venezuela and Beyond
Sitting on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela should be one of the world’s wealthier countries, so why do an estimated six out of every ten households live below the poverty line? One answer is corruption at the hands of politicians who, according to most experts and democratic governments, routinely commit electoral fraud as they cling to the levers of power.
This month saw Nicolas Maduro, who has been the president of Venezuela since 2019, win another election, having locked up political opposition leaders and, according to many observers, committed various forms of electoral tampering.
This is not a new story. Every year, millions of people suffer at the hands of corrupt leaders who stay in power by rigging elections and creating opaque electoral systems that are not open to scrutiny.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. The suffering of the Venezuelan people could potentially be alleviated by developing a transparent and honest electoral system using blockchain technology. Now more than ever, as democracy faces threats around the world, the use case for blockchain in politics is greater than ever.
The traditional voting system has not changed for hundreds of years. The process varies from country to country but remains fairly similar, with people ticking boxes on pieces of paper and depositing them in some sort of box.
Generally, this process is private. Giving people space from anyone who may attempt to intimidate them into voting a specific way. Once everyone has cast their anonymous ballot and the results are announced, election monitors should be given access to the vote tallies following the election so that the numbers can be cross-checked.
This system is more or less okay when it works. However, the reality for many people is that it simply doesn’t work. Much of the world faces constant threats and pressure at the ballot box, as we have seen recently in Venezuela and Iran.
The issues don’t end at the ballot box. After an election, everyone, especially election monitors, should be given access to the vote tallies so that the numbers can be cross-checked. In Venezuela, this is a legal requirement according to the country's electoral commission.
Maduro’s government has simply refused to hand over the information to the electoral commission. There’s very little anyone can do. The information is centralized and controlled by the country’s executive, who, in this case, answers directly to Maduro.
But there’s hope. Blockchain technology has the potential to drag elections into the 21st century and hard code transparency, privacy, and reliability into the voting process. Thus undermining the capacity of corrupt leaders to hide the truth about their unpopularity.
Blockchain Voting and Governance
Blockchain governance and voting is a method of casting and recording votes using blockchain technology, typically on a public blockchain like Ethereum. It offers a potential alternative to traditional voting systems, with the promise of enhanced transparency, security, and immutability.
Unlike traditional voting, where ballots are often physical or stored on centralized servers, blockchain voting leverages the decentralized nature of the blockchain to create a tamper-proof and auditable record of votes.
The Mechanics of On-chain Voting
On-chain voting involves directly interacting with smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Here's a simplified overview of how it might work:
Voter Registration: Voters are registered on the blockchain, often with a unique identifier linked to their identity. This process might involve identity verification to prevent fraudulent voting.
Ballot Creation: Election administrators create a smart contract that defines the ballot structure, including the candidates or options voters can choose from.
Vote Casting: Registered voters interact with the smart contract to cast their votes. Their choices are encrypted and recorded on the blockchain as transactions.
Vote Tallying: Once the voting period ends, the smart contract automatically tallies the votes. Due to the transparent nature of the blockchain, anyone can verify the vote count and the underlying transactions.
Results Announcement: The final results are declared, backed by the immutability of the blockchain, ensuring they cannot be altered or manipulated.
Key Advantages of Blockchain Voting and Blockchain Governance
Transparency: Every vote cast is recorded on the blockchain, making it publicly verifiable and auditable.
Security: The decentralized nature of the blockchain makes it resistant to hacking and manipulation.
Immutability: Once a vote is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, ensuring the integrity of the election results.
Accessibility: Blockchain voting has the potential to increase accessibility for voters, especially in remote or underserved areas.
Democracy is still young. The version we are fortunate to experience in the most democratically advanced countries is less than one hundred years old. It's a fragile concept that depends on honesty and accountability. Its capacity to function effectively relies on transparency, and on-chain voting offers more of this than any other form of data storage currently available to us.
The Venezuela election scandal is just the latest reminder of the under-deployment of blockchain technology by governments and institutions around the world. If you feel passionate about blockchain's potential to make democracy more secure, then join the R0AR crypto community today and be part of a future where privacy and transparency co-exist.
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