States are looking to New ways their Voters can use without In-Person Voting. Now we have Mail-In Voting, but there is another option being used by a few States: Denver, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia.
The Voting System is from a Company called VOATZ, and will be used in 2020 Elections.
Voatz is a Mobile Elections Platform that makes it possible to Vote from a Mobile Device by leveraging the Security built into the latest Versions of Smartphone Technology, and Blockchain. Since June 2016, more than 80,000 Votes have been cast on the Voatz Platform across more than 50 Elections, including 10 Governmental Election Pilots since March 2018 involving more than 700 Pilot Voters. Voatz has experience working with both Major Political Parties, Churches, Unions, Universities, Towns, Cities, Counties, and State Governments, all in the effort to make it Safe, Convenient, and Easy to Vote.
Voatz was started in 2015 by two Co-Founders after Winning a Hackathon at SXSW with an idea that would become the early seedlings of the Voatz Platform. With careers in Technology, Digital Security, and Mobile Payments, they started an Experiment to Combine the Latest Advancements in Smartphone Technology with Biometrics and Blockchain Technology in order to make Voting more Accessible and potentially evade Voter Coercion in certain Circumstances.
While there are different Definitions that may come to mind for “Internet Voting”, the Term typically refers to a Browser residing primarily on a Voter’s PC connected over the Internet to a Web Server. There are several key differences between Traditional Internet Voting and Voatz. First, only recently-manufactured Smartphone Models from Apple, Samsung, and Google, are supported with Voatz. These Devices are built with Security features, like Fingerprint and Facial Recognition, that Extend far beyond Standard Browsers running on a potentially-compromised PC for Voter Authentication. Second, Modern Smartphones provide Hardware-Based Security to Store Private Keys which, in turn, allow Highly Secure, Encrypted Transactions to be Conducted over the Public Internet. Third, Votes are Stored on a Permissioned Blockchain that will eventually be Controlled by various Stakeholders like: Secretary of States or a State Board of Elections, to ensure their Tamper Resistance.
The Voatz App is built with Security Measures embedded in Qualified Smartphones and employs Blockchain Technology to ensure that, once Submitted, Votes are Verified and Stored on multiple, Geographically Diverse Verifying Servers. In addition, Voatz generates a Voter-Verified Audit Trail with each Vote cast. Upon Casting a Vote, Voters also receive an Automatic, Digitally-Signed Receipt with their Selections in order to Review that their Vote was recorded properly. The Election Organizer also Receives an Anonymized Copy of the Digital Receipt, ensuring that a Post-Election Audit may be Conducted between the Paper Trail, the Anonymized Receipt, and the Blockchain Records.
On the Voatz app, Authentication is a Three-Step Process that uses the Smartphone’s Camera and its Biometric Feature, Fingerprint Recognition or Facial Recognition). The Process: (1) the Voter Scans their State Driver’s License, State ID, or Passport, (2) takes a Live Facial Snapshot, and (3) touches the Fingerprint Reader on the Smartphone, which ties the Voter’s Device to the Voter. Once the Voter is Authenticated, the App matches the Voter’s Image to the Facial Picture on their Passport, Driver’s License, or State ID, and Confirms the Voter’s Eligibility to Vote against the state’s Voter Registration Database. Voatz Partners with Election Officials’ to Access the State Voter Registration Databases, then Voatz ties the Voter’s Identity to the Voter’s Record to ensure they’re Registered before Enabling them to Access their Ballot.
The Voting Process begins when an Eligible Voter Receives a Ballot, usually at the Beginning of the Early Voting window. The Voter will Receive a Red Badge Notification from their Voatz App, indicating they now have the Option and Eligibility to Cast a Ballot(s) in an Ongoing Election. The Voter Opens the Voatz App and Unlocks it with their Fingerprint or Face-ID to begin Voting. Selections for Choices or Candidates and or Ballot Questions are made One Contest at a Time by Touching a Candidate’s Name. Voters are Prevented from Selecting More Choices than Allowed to Ensure that Only their Allotted Number of Votes Count. At any time before Submission, the Voter can Review their Choices and make Changes if Necessary. Once Finished, the Voter Submits their Ballot. Once Submitted, all Information is Anonymized, Routed via a “mixnet” and Posted to the Blockchain.
A Paper Ballot is Generated on Election Night for every Mobile Vote Recorded on the Blockchain and the Printed Ballots are Tallied using the Standard Counting Process at each Participating County. This also Facilitates a Post-Election Audit by comparing the Paper Ballots with the Anonymized Voter-Verified Digital Receipts generated at the Time of Vote Submission.
Once a Voter Submits a Ballot, a “pending” Message appears on their Smartphone. While the Ballot is in a Pending state, the Blockchain Verifying Servers are simultaneously and independently attempting to Verify the Ballot. Once One Blockchain Server performs a Verification the other Servers can instantly Confirm the Verification. After every Blockchain Server has Confirmed the Vote(s), every Copy of the Blockchain is Updated and a Confirmation Message is sent to the Voter’s Smartphone. If you try to Vote again, the Voatz App will Indicate that you’ve Already Voted.
MD: A possible step before Blockchain Verification could be to send a Copy of the Ballot Image to the Voter to Verify the choices on the Image to their Copy of their Vote. If Different they should be able to Cancel their Vote and Vote Again. This Protects the Voter if the Digitized Vote has Changed before Stored on the Blockchain Servers.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
