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Election integrity was a contentious issue before the 2024 presidential race, but it shouldn’t have been. With the U.S. presidential election behind us, now is a good time to reflect on the systems we use to vote across the country to minimize any future skepticism about the integrity of the election, whether it comes from the right or the LEFT.
According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans saying they have “no confidence at all” in the accuracy of voting and counting in presidential elections has increased from 6% in 2004 to 19% today. This is largely because Republican confidence in presidential elections has fallen 16 points since 2020, while Democratic confidence in the same elections has remained high, with about 84% feeling “very/somewhat confident.” “.
Let’s put aside for a moment the reasons for this disparity between the parties. The fact that 19% of American voters have no confidence in the way voting is conducted in a presidential election is a real problem. Whether it’s people voting multiple times by mail, election machines vulnerable to hackers (see the HBO documentary Kill Chain), dead people voting, or simple voter intimidation tactics, there are a number of attack vectors that can be exploited. in the current system, regardless of party affiliation.
In other parts of the world, such as Taiwan, voting takes place on the same day, with paper ballots immediately counted by hand and in public view, so results can be tabulated within six hours. Meanwhile, in the United States, we have become accustomed to the idea that states like Georgia or Pennsylvania take days to tabulate votes. We hope that our elections will be decisive for us to move forward with our lives, but sometimes they come down to tens of thousands of votes in key states (like in 2020). If Taiwan can consistently determine who won an election in less than a day, why can’t we?
Blockchain is the solution
Many on the right have called for a return to paper ballots, limited absentee/mail voting, and nationwide voter ID. Democrats largely oppose it. But what if there was a way to improve election integrity using a less polarizing method, like a verified blockchain with zero-knowledge proofs? What would this look like in practice?
If you were to deploy a voting contract on-chain, the validity of transactions made on that contract would first have to be agreed upon by everyone involved in validating the blockchain. This wouldn’t just be a group of election workers and election officials; it would have to be all the validators.
What would this achieve? Theoretically, with a verifiable blockchain voting system, you would be able to set it up so that people can vote remotely using a mobile device or PC. In states with voter ID, you can essentially get “proof of identity” by linking your vote to your identity, which could be verified with something similar to Worldcoin’s biometric iris scanner. In states without voter ID, this proof of character would still prove that you are the person you say you are and that you are in fact sitting at your computer at the time.
Once these guardrails were established, you could log in to vote, and you would only be allowed to vote once because it is tied to your specific identity. Anyone could vote from the comfort and safety of their home without experiencing potential intimidation at a polling place. And on the zero-knowledge side, it would be possible to exploit ZK evidence to see that a particular individual voted – but not who/what they voted for. Zero-knowledge cryptography allows you to prove that something is true without revealing the underlying data involved. This could be a key ingredient in the development of an airtight blockchain-based electoral system.
With a voting system like this, the risk of fraud would be minimized because postal and absentee voting would all take place electronically, linked to real people. It would also make voting much easier, which could have a huge impact on overall turnout. No need to wait in line and take hours out of your work day. Additionally, U.S. citizens in other countries who would normally vote by mail could simply log into the app and vote remotely.
Democrats tend to oppose voter ID in elections, but a blockchain-verified system like this is arguably much more democratic and accessible to voters in a variety of situations that prevent them from voting in person. What about people who have children, don’t have a car, and are limited in their ability to travel? And what about areas where the polling location is far from public transportation?
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has scanned and recorded 42 million vehicle titles on-chain this year, making it possible to transfer titles in minutes where previously it took weeks. Vehicle owners will be able to manage their titles digitally using a verifiable ID and a mobile app similar to a crypto wallet. If we can trust blockchain technology to manage our vehicle ownership records, why not our votes?
A way forward
In a near future where zero-knowledge proofs are ubiquitous and everything is done on-chain, it is reasonable to hope that our voting systems would also be modernized in this way. Even at a glance, it would be a more democratic system that would provide access to eligible voters, regardless of their current location, health, family status, work obligations, or distance from a voting location . Participation would skyrocket.
Elections and voting systems can be dramatically improved with today’s technology. We can do this in an egalitarian, bipartisan way. Let’s act to build more confidence in our elections; the American people deserve nothing less.
