I still question the legitimacy of voting in a system that is not voluntary. In other words, just because a bunch of people vote for a thing, that does not mean the outcome of that vote is legitimate.
I think blockchain technology could greatly increase participation, but not necessarily voter turnout. I think blockchain technology would give people more incentive to participate in elections from their houses than them showing up at a voting booth.
Personally, I think it is not necessary for increasing voter turnout and participation. If the two major parties in the US actually offered decent candidates, then voter participation and turnout would go up. It will also go up if more than the two major parties were allowed to debate on a stage that is broadcasted across the country; it's kind of suppressing the other parties (Libertarian, Green, etc.) and not letting them actually hit big topics and reach big crowds.
@davidpakman I believe in the long run it could potentially do so. Some common excuses I hear from people who don't vote are "my vote wont make a difference anyway" or "the system is rigged". If the voting system integrated a blockchain it could restore some faith in the voting system in regards to manipulation/hacking. You cant alter what is on a blockchain as it is immutable, and it could potentially be very powerful if used in the voting system.
Although, I do imagine that there are certain governmental factions that will be incredibly invested in ensuring transparency (obviously not exposing individuals and their votes) and availability/accessibility does not come to the voting system. Not while there are rules that can be bent - and not broken - to ensure outcomes can be encouraged in a given direction. Far too much at stake for these individuals in terms of money and influence.
Not that I'm saying I wouldn't want it to happen. It'd be an interesting world if voting got brought up to date.
What's your opinion on distributed verification of blocks? I can see arguments on both sides. If we assume that a vote is a private-key signed 'transaction' then atomically they ought to be pretty secure. In that regard I think that individuals would be unable to create fake votes and so the main concern for a fake-vote attack would be a major organization. I think the best defense against that would then be to allow citizens (verified by another private-key signed login and a government repository of public keys) to verify the blocks in addition to the base government block verification infrastructure. Maybe there could be some kind of tax credit offered to the people who do that.
I think it may if people believed it would curb fake votes. however,
Why is there so low a turnout or participation?
How can it be increased?
I believe there is loss of faith in the system. People are beginning at last to realise that it does not matter who is voted in, they still get screwed. Apathy, I think is the key. The electorate is so discouraged and wearied by everything about politics, that they just think 'what's the point?'.
If you want people to vote, someone has to create a new party that is true to it's word and believes in values the common man believes in. Run the country responsibly and for the people.
It's important to note that there's not a fake voter problem in the United States.
Most cases of voter fraud in the past years have been republicans that claimed they were trying to prove how easy voter fraud was. Since they got caught it's obviously not that easy.
I do agree with you that the two party system is dwindling voter turn-out. If we could have some sort of run-off voting system then that would be optimal.
I still question the legitimacy of voting in a system that is not voluntary. In other words, just because a bunch of people vote for a thing, that does not mean the outcome of that vote is legitimate.
But the mass is voting for it
I think blockchain technology could greatly increase participation, but not necessarily voter turnout. I think blockchain technology would give people more incentive to participate in elections from their houses than them showing up at a voting booth.
Personally, I think it is not necessary for increasing voter turnout and participation. If the two major parties in the US actually offered decent candidates, then voter participation and turnout would go up. It will also go up if more than the two major parties were allowed to debate on a stage that is broadcasted across the country; it's kind of suppressing the other parties (Libertarian, Green, etc.) and not letting them actually hit big topics and reach big crowds.
@davidpakman I believe in the long run it could potentially do so. Some common excuses I hear from people who don't vote are "my vote wont make a difference anyway" or "the system is rigged". If the voting system integrated a blockchain it could restore some faith in the voting system in regards to manipulation/hacking. You cant alter what is on a blockchain as it is immutable, and it could potentially be very powerful if used in the voting system.
Although, I do imagine that there are certain governmental factions that will be incredibly invested in ensuring transparency (obviously not exposing individuals and their votes) and availability/accessibility does not come to the voting system. Not while there are rules that can be bent - and not broken - to ensure outcomes can be encouraged in a given direction. Far too much at stake for these individuals in terms of money and influence.
Not that I'm saying I wouldn't want it to happen. It'd be an interesting world if voting got brought up to date.
What's your opinion on distributed verification of blocks? I can see arguments on both sides. If we assume that a vote is a private-key signed 'transaction' then atomically they ought to be pretty secure. In that regard I think that individuals would be unable to create fake votes and so the main concern for a fake-vote attack would be a major organization. I think the best defense against that would then be to allow citizens (verified by another private-key signed login and a government repository of public keys) to verify the blocks in addition to the base government block verification infrastructure. Maybe there could be some kind of tax credit offered to the people who do that.
We offer a suite of blockchain based governance/resource distribution services that we believe will one day replace the archaic governance models currently used. Check it out at https://steemit.com/earthnation/@earthnation/how-to-upgrade-your-community-business-team-project-cause-to-the-next-level-with-decentralized-autonomous-organizational
Blockchain tech could offer an unparalleled amount of transparency in voting, that could lead to either;
or
That is assuming that we ever get to the point that we implement it in a reasonable way.
that's interesting! good ideas, thanks for posting them
We could have votecoin? With a wallet assigned at birth like a SSN?
The person with the most votecoins at the end of each block gets the position?
2018's gonna be a crazy year.
Check out Horizon State! Blockchain voting for entire countries!
haven't heard of that, will check it out!
may be beneficial
great idea
I dont know how, i new here and still learn about this. Great post and have a nice day
I think it may if people believed it would curb fake votes. however,
Why is there so low a turnout or participation?
How can it be increased?
I believe there is loss of faith in the system. People are beginning at last to realise that it does not matter who is voted in, they still get screwed. Apathy, I think is the key. The electorate is so discouraged and wearied by everything about politics, that they just think 'what's the point?'.
If you want people to vote, someone has to create a new party that is true to it's word and believes in values the common man believes in. Run the country responsibly and for the people.
It's important to note that there's not a fake voter problem in the United States.
Most cases of voter fraud in the past years have been republicans that claimed they were trying to prove how easy voter fraud was. Since they got caught it's obviously not that easy.
I do agree with you that the two party system is dwindling voter turn-out. If we could have some sort of run-off voting system then that would be optimal.