Factcom envisions a new generation of voting system based on blockchain

The blockchain network has the properties of transparency and decentralization, and can establish anti-repudiation and anti-damage data records, which can be applied to a wide range of fields such as authentication and authorization.

So far this year, well-known financial institutions, banks, governments, law enforcement agencies, and top educational organizations have spent millions of dollars researching these applications.

Some funds have invested directly in several blockchain startups, aiming to build authentication, authorization and record verification platforms and develop smart contracts based on them. Startups such as Bitproof and Ascribe are using blockchain technology to develop decentralized, automated and tamper-proof recordkeeping systems, allowing individuals to embed property claims and intellectual property rights into blockchain-based smart contracts.

Bitproof believes:

“We live in a fragmented world. From finance to private property, much of our lives is based on contracts, but those contracts are just pieces of paper that are easily forged.”

Austin-based Factom has released a number of products to support startups and research institutions in deploying and building blockchain applications, such as blockchain networks, which include data management, auditing and compliance systems.

According to foreign media reports, because of the transparency of these networks, the solutions provided by Factom are suitable for almost all organizations. Large financial institutions can deploy Factom to audit all financial transaction data in real time, and health organizations can track communication data for the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Factom believes its infrastructure could also be used by governments to create decentralized, automated voting systems.

Factom CEO Peter Kirby said:

“We dream of a next-generation voting system, built on blockchain technology, that would allow each person to cast one vote (and only one vote). The results would be verified by mathematics, rather than having people manually counting and reporting the results.”

More and more organizations and political groups are proposing to develop a blockchain-based system to create a more fair and transparent voting environment. In 2014, the Danish political party Liberal Allicance proposed the use of electronic voting technology.

Mikkel Freltoft Krogsholm of Liberal Alliance said:

“Blockchain is trustless because the technology runs automatically without human intervention, and it’s open source and transparent so anyone can understand what’s going on. It doesn’t get more liberating than that – so it was an obvious choice.”

One of the new projects recently created by Nasdaq is to migrate shareholder proxy voting mechanisms to blockchain solutions. In October, CEO Bob Greifeld announced that Nasdaq will verify blockchain technology to better manage and streamline proxy voting procedures and establish a new Nasdaq market in Estonia.

In the United States, a blockchain technology company is using distributed ledger technology to replace aging voting infrastructure with a secure, open-source solution. "America's voting machine technology is a potential disaster," the company believes.

Blockchain technology companies believe:

"Many states' voting machines are more than 10 years old. Not only are they too old to be used, but the cost of operating and maintaining them is also increasing because some of the original parts have been discontinued. Election fraud has undermined democracy."

Some developing countries, such as Guatemala, have suffered from serious election fraud or voting fraud, and these countries can also benefit from decentralized blockchain election systems or electronic election systems.

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina recently resigned in the face of massive protests and public outrage after admitting his involvement in a major corruption case. President Jimmy Morales, who was elected on October 25, has not yet taken office, but people are already calling for further anti-corruption measures and he is under urgent pressure to reform his political and institutional systems.

Adriana Beltrán senior manager at the Washington Office on Latin America, said:

“Central American countries lack accountability mechanisms and are mired in corruption. The lesson is clear, and it’s time to act. Not only can the people of this region see a better future, but they can see it come peacefully.”

Due to the growing protests and anger in Guatemala, the United Nations formed a commission, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), to help Guatemalans vote in a fair election.
Beltrán said:

"In its eight years, the commission has published 200 investigations, including more than 30 criminal organizations and hundreds of government officials. One of its achievements has been the indictment of the former president, several ministers and other high-ranking government officials, and the removal of several government officials for collusion with criminal and corrupt organizations."

In many cases, a decentralized and transparent record-keeping system based on blockchain can expose the shadowy forces behind electoral fraud, so international mediation organizations such as the United Nations or CICIG will not be needed.

But technology is only part of the equation and is far from perfect. As Kirby explains:

“Some tricky technical work needs to happen to make this happen: 1) We need a trusted decentralized data network. 2) We need an automated certification system that allows everyone to verify their right to vote and cast their vote. 3) Finally, we need to build a tracking system using an immutable method so that there is no way to challenge the results in the future.”

Factom does not plan to build such decentralized voting and election systems alone. The company is planning to partner with organizations that need these systems.

Kirby added:

“Factom provides the infrastructure that allows smart people to build these systems. We’re happy to be part of the conversation towards transparency and honesty.”

Original article: http://bravenewcoin.com/news/factom-dreams-of-a-new-generation-of-blockchain-based-voting-systems/
By Joseph Young
Translator: gsj
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Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/factom-blockchain-vote)