New York-based artist FAUST painted this mural in downtown Philly for the 2020 election.
"The biggest benefit of blockchain-based voting is that it offers a way to have a tamper-proof electronic vote counting and voter identification system that anyone can use, without needing to trust any single person, institution, or centralized service provider."
—Vitalik Buterin, Co-founder of Ethereum
Solving the US Presidential voting trust crisis
Two polls fascinatingly exhibit different shades of paranoia in the US—some would even say conspiracy. The first asked the polled what they thought was the percentage of unvaccinated people who contracted COVID ended up in the hospital. The answer is 1 percent, yet—and we are not picking sides here— 41 percent of the blue team thought the hospitalization rate was over 50 percent! Net-net, over 80 percent of those polled got the wrong answer, and 50 percent were wrong by 20x. There are only two reasons we could be that far off, 1) Large swaths of Americans were somehow brainwashed, or 2) schizophrenia is on the rise.
To flip the party table here, a Gallup poll that measured confidence in our elections—the subject of this thought piece—shows where the paranoia pendulum swings to on the red team. A whopping 60 percent of the red team does not have confidence in the US voting system, with the purple team (independents) logging in a 33 percent mistrust rate and the blue team at 15 percent. Net-net, of those polled, 37 percent mistrust our voting system. If 37 percent of your customers do not trust your company in Silicon Valley, you don’t have a business. For example, in 2021, Twitter’s trust rate with its members became so dismally low the company’s board had no choice but to sell out. Right before Jack handed the keys to Elon, 59 percent of Twitter members did not trust the company with their personal data, and only 28 percent of users said they would be disappointed if the company disappeared.
Election integrity: Most voters still suspect cheating
A new Rasmussen survey found that 55 percent of likely US voters believe cheating likely affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including 39 percent who think it's Very Likely. Conversely, 39 percent don't think cheating affected the 2020 election, including 28 percent who say it's Not At All Likely. This mistrust is not a new phenomenon; in one way or another, the US presidential elections were contested in 1824, 1876, 1912, 1960, 2000, and 2020. Protecting the integrity of elections remains a high priority for US voters. The right to a fair vote is democracy.
Rebuilding our voting systems on a trustless, permissioned blockchain must be done. Running the risk of setting off all sorts of conspiracy theory alarm bells, a proper and efficient voting system must tie into citizen authentication and verification. We also propose extending the future US citizenship/voting blockchain authentication system to filing taxes and registering for and receiving government benefits. We touched on some of these topics in our last post on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
But before you adorn your moose hats and start reciting scriptures from the Book of Revelations, we assure you we do not like the anti-Christ(s) either—wherever they might be lurking. We further do not believe in the Brave New World 2.0 dystopian fantasy of the Googlites that permeates certain corridors of Silicon Valley. We believe in living freely and letting others do so as well. Otherwise, everything else is nobody’s business.
By embracing new Web3 technologies and approaches, people can register as citizens, vote, and manage their government benefits without any single person or centralized agency having access to their records. For example, over 99 percent of taxpayers could process and validate their tax returns today on an AI-driven blockchain application and retain sole access to their tax data. After all, it’s our personal data, and as long as it is government validated, why should some bureaucrats put their eyes on or have access to this data?
Recent contested US Presidential elections
1960—John Kennedy (Democrat) vs. Richard Nixon (Republican). The 1960 US presidential election between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy was one of the closest in US history. The voter fraud and irregularities accusations primarily focused in Texas and Illinois, especially in Chicago. The Democratic machine in Chicago, led by Mayor Richard J. Daley, was accused of manipulating the vote count to help Kennedy secure victory in Illinois. Similarly, there were claims of voter fraud in Texas, where Kennedy’s running mate, Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, and his political minions suffered accusations of registering deceased people.
Senator Kennedy and Vice President Nixon displayed a love after their second presidential debate on October 7, 1960, rarely seen with modern politicians of opposing parties.
These two states were important because if Nixon had carried both, he would have earned 270 electoral votes, one more than the 269 needed to win the presidency. Kennedy ended up winning Illinois by less than 9,000 votes out of 4.75 million cast, a margin of 0.2%, and Texas, where he defeated Nixon by a 51% to 49% margin. Despite these controversies, Kennedy ultimately won the election with a narrow margin in both the popular vote and the electoral college. The Electoral College vote was 303 for Kennedy to 219 for Nixon.
2000—George W. Bush (Republican) vs. Al Gore (Democratic). The 2000 election was highly controversial over a few hundred votes, giving Bush a slim lead over Gore in Florida, a state whose primary winner would become President. The race's closeness triggered an automatic machine recount, after which Bush maintained a narrow lead.
Al Gore and George W. Bush meet to debate at the University of Massachusetts in Boston on October 3, 2000.
After initially conceding, Al Gore renigged, and lawsuits and recounts began in full force, with heated disputes over’ butterfly ballots’ and ‘hanging chads’ and which vote counted. After five agonizing weeks, in the landmark case of Bush v. Gore, the US Supreme Court stepped in with a 5-4 vote to stop the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court on the grounds it violated the constitutional principle that ‘all votes must be treated equally.’ Bush was declared the winner of Florida’s electoral votes, securing his victory in the Electoral College by a margin of 271 to 266. He became the first candidate in 112 years to win the presidency without winning the popular vote (he trailed Gore by more than 500,000 votes).
Voting Rights Are Human Rights mural in downtown Milwaukee painted in 2020 by Shepard Fairey, with the help of local artists. Mr. Fairey created Barack.
Voting Block USA
The purpose of this thought piece is to present an idea of developing and testing a Web3-style distributed voting application pilot—Voting Block USA—and holding our own US Presidential election in 2024.
Today’s voting systems have seen very little innovation in the 21st century, and those that want to vote must leave their homes and submit paper ballots to a local authority. The goal is to create a public blockchain-based voting system pilot with advanced cryptographic techniques to guarantee an online environment that is accessible 24/7 from anywhere in the world, that is tamper-free, immutable, private, and simple to use.
"Blockchain-based mobile voting would make our elections more secure and accessible. It will also broaden access to voting, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen democracy."
—Andrew Yang, Entrepreneur and 2020 Presidential Candidate
Read about Voting Block USA is a non-partisan, non-profit project dedicated to educating the public on how Web3 innovation (including blockchain, AI, crypto, and metaverse) can help create a more private, secure, and efficient public sector. Join with our pilot!
The primary federal agency responsible for administering and overseeing presidential elections is the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC provides guidance, resources, and information to states and local jurisdictions regarding voter registration, voting systems, and election security and plays a role in certifying voting systems and disseminating election-related information to the public. In FY 2023, the EAC had a $175 Million budget.
The overall administration of presidential elections involves significant involvement from individual states and their respective election authorities. Each state manages its election processes under its laws and regulations, including voter registration, ballot access, and vote counting.
Passing the time away in line at the San Francisco Passport Office.
The US Passport Agency, which is part of the US Department of State, oversees passport processing, just received a $163 million budget boost to revamp the online user experience and enable US citizens to renew their passports without having to go in-person and mail original documents. Imagine that!
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned using literacy tests to register and other protection measures. The bill passed 77-19 in the US Senate and 333-85 in the House of Representatives. President Johnson signed the Act into law on August 6, 1965, with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders present at the ceremony.
Granted, people still largely mistrust the idea of blockchain voting, reminiscent of our wariness of online commerce in the 1990s. People are always resistant and wary to change at first. This is why a pilot project for the 2024 Presidential elections is paramount. US citizens will live with that uneasy feeling until we show that a decentralized blockchain approach is the most trusted option.
Other than Andrew Yang in the 2020 election, not a single Presidential candidate has even brought-up blockchain voting, despite both parties’ major belly-aching over voting results in the last two elections. To make our voting system fair, this has to be a ‘Power to the People’ move ✊🏼. If played right, every candidate must take a position on VB USA and what they believe it takes to restore faith in our voting systems.
All the government agencies involved in US elections and US citizen ID are ripe to be reinvented by blockchain and related cryptographic discoveries, AI, and distributed storage. These are the roots of a new economy and world system that will replace the cloud computing paradigm and be infinitely more secure, efficient, and cost-effective. Introducing blockchain-based voting systems requires navigating complex legal and regulatory frameworks. The sooner we get on top of this initiative, the faster we can fulfill the intentions of the US Constitution and save our democracy.
Again, we appreciate all input and feedback, voting software and developer recommendations, and other ideas or things we should know to help get rolling. We can be reached at TheEditor@CryptoniteVentures.com
The Cryptonite Weekly Rap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our research, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Peace✌🏼
More brain matter
Previous blockchain-based voting pilots per chatGBT
These pilots aimed to test the feasibility, security, and potential benefits of using blockchain technology for voting.
Estonia: Estonia is known for its pioneering use of digital technologies in governance. The country has experimented with blockchain-based voting for several years. In 2014, they conducted a pilot project using blockchain to secure and verify aspects of their national elections.
West Virginia, USA: In 2018, West Virginia conducted a pilot project that allowed overseas military personnel to vote in a primary election using a mobile app called Voatz. The app utilized blockchain technology to enhance security and transparency in the voting process.
Russia: In 2019, the city of Moscow conducted a blockchain-based voting pilot for a local election. The system was used to record and verify the results of the election and was designed to enhance transparency.
South Korea: South Korea has also explored blockchain-based voting. In 2020, the city of Seoul conducted a pilot project using blockchain technology for online voting in a local citizens' budget proposal.
Japan: Japan has conducted blockchain voting trials as well. In 2020, Tsukuba City used a blockchain-based system for a trial vote on a social contribution project.
Brazil: The Brazilian city of Curitiba conducted a pilot project in 2020 to test a blockchain-based voting system for its participatory budgeting process.
Sierra Leone: In 2018, Sierra Leone became one of the first countries to use blockchain technology for a national election. The pilot aimed to improve transparency and reduce fraud in the voting process.
Philippines: The Philippine Red Cross conducted a blockchain-based voting pilot in 2019 to elect its board members. The project aimed to provide transparency and traceability in the voting process.
Russia: In 2021, Russia's ruling party, United Russia, reportedly tested a blockchain-based electronic voting system for its internal elections.
NFT as a vehicle 'pink slip'
Unlike BTC or ETH coins, every NFT certifies and authenticates the holder's rights to unique specified assets and assorted privileges. NFTs have been created around successful digital content, such as World of Women and Bored Ape and the animated characters in Stoner Cats or CryptoPunks. The NFT boom is now targeting real-world assets.
One of our favorite blockchain application examples is what is being built at the California DMV. In version 1.0, rather than having a paper ownership certificate, you must sign when you sell your car, your new pink slip will be an NFT token held in your DMV NFT wallet. When you sell your vehicle, you will send it to the buyer's DMV, and then re-registering under the new owner process will all happen automatically, with no need to fill out any paperwork or go to the DMV.
In future versions, your car NFT could track and record all owners, odometer readings on different dates, and maintenance records. In addition to making the registration process more manageable, you will see what you are getting when you consider buying a car.
The NFT-as-ownership token model is becoming more popular and applied to a rapidly expanding set of real-world asset categories, such as fine art (notorious for its fraud work), real estate interests (including fractionalization), and silver and gold coins.
Ja, allen US-Bürgern steht die Möglichkeit offen, anonym für den Kandidaten zu stimmen.
Bipartisanship, nicht wahr?