Blockchain And The Future of Voting
Blockchain is gradually gaining traction as a technology. Although various peer-to-peer apps for file sharing, music streaming, and other services have existed for a long time, the concept that these networks may offer their security and resources has only been around since 2008. In the ten years since its conception, Blockchain has been chiefly associated with the success of bitcoin, the technology that gave birth to it.
However, it has swiftly established itself as a solo star in recent years. As the world’s favorite cryptocurrency rose in popularity, so did knowledge of the strange and unusual technology that underpins it. Developers who have realized the usefulness of Blockchain are now rushing to come up with new applications and put their ideas into action.
Need of Blockchain
Many people believe that the fundamental benefit of Blockchain is its capacity to improve existing systems. However, astute observers noticed bitcoin’s promise since it offered a more secure and transparent payment processing and banking solution than existing options.
Blockchain has revolutionized various sectors in recent years, including cloud storage, smart contracts, crowdfunding, and even healthcare. However, the voting system is one of the most important sectors that Blockchain’s decentralized muscle can address.
How is Blockchain helpful in the voting system?
A blockchain is a digital ledger in its most basic form. The technology uses the peers- or nodes- on its network to validate, process, and record all transactions across the system. This ledger is never saved; instead, it resides on a “chain” backed by millions of nodes simultaneously. Thanks to encryption and decentralization, the Blockchain’s transaction database is incorruptible, and each record is easily verified. In addition, because the network does not exist in a single location, it cannot be shut down or affected by a single entity.
Blockchain may be used for data transfer, not only financial transactions. Because a vote is a little bit of high-value data, this system infrastructure is highly beneficial for voting. Modern voting methods are primarily trapped in the nineteenth century due to necessity. People who wish to vote must leave their houses and submit paper votes to a local government. Why not make this a web-based process? Some have attempted, but the findings have proven impossible to trust due to substantial security holes.
The various issues uncovered in these early attempts at online voting can be solved using Blockchain. Because any hacker with access to the terminal will not be able to impact other nodes, a blockchain-based voting program does not worry about the security of its Internet connection. Voters can cast their ballots without disclosing their identities or political views to the general public. Officials can tally votes with confidence since each ID can be linked to a single vote, no fakes can be made, and tampering is impossible.
Benefits of integrating Blockchain into the voting process
Immutability
Many experts believe that Blockchain Technology can help with online voting since the design provides an irreversible system. However, security and privacy are two critical components of online voting systems that bear the brunt of public expectations. The Bitcoin Blockchain, which is said to be the first widely known version of the technology, has never been tampered with.
A 51% attack becomes more complex and resourceful (and nonsensical) as the node chain grows longer. Blockchain can witness the elections and operate as a trusted agent because of its intimidating, god-like, and law-abiding image.
Transparency
A Blockchain voting software would, by definition, provide transparency in terms of certifying the integrity of the voting trail. Entries would be time-stamped and encrypted before being safeguarded with private keys in a blockchain-based e-voting system. While this may seem futuristic to baby boomers and Gen-X, the fact is that millennials and Gen-Z will control the forthcoming elections.
Confidentiality
The reliance on a centralized authority to safeguard cyberspace is immediately eliminated in a Blockchain e-voting system since the nodes are scattered randomly. Not to mention the additional levels of anonymity that the peer-to-peer network provides to the overall system. Electronic voting utilizing Blockchain might bring standard identifying techniques for individuals to protect the integrity of the election, such as 2-factor authentication.
Final words
Without a doubt, computerized and digital voting is the way of the future. And, Blockchain has the potential to improve a country’s voting methods significantly.
