Zug, a city in Switzerland and a proactive supporter of blockchain technology will soon be launching the first voting pilot to base both its residents’ identities and polling system. The system will be operated by blockchain technology.
This pilot for e-voting is expected to be launched any day between 25th June and 1st July. It was developed with a view to making the city more compliant with blockchain technology-based applications. A digital identity trial is currently running, according to an announcement made by the local government recently.
In July last year, Zug authorities announced their plans to launch uPort, an application that’s Ethereum-based for digitizing information pertaining to the identities of the city’s local residents. In November 2017, the pilot phase was started with over 200 residents signing up for this new service.
Benefits of uPort
Once Zug citizens have been allotted their digital identities, they will have the liberty of casting their votes in this one-off blockchain pilot for polling. Local authorities indicated that the exercise is more of a “consultative test” and its results shall not be enforceable or binding.
The trial’s primary goal is to review the polling system’s security aspects and to examine if the platform is capable of achieving testability, immutability, traceability, and the privacy and confidentiality of voters.
This pioneering step of using blockchain technology for voting systems is being taken to eliminate election fraud and other unethical practices and for providing immutable records. The step has been welcomed by all government authorities as well as financial professionals.
Blockchain Marches On
In November 2017, Nasdaq had announced that it was in the process of developing a fully electronic system for shareholder voting for the capital markets of South Africa.
This, too, would be fully blockchain-based, Nasdaq announced. Santander also used this technology to record its shareholder voting during the annual general meeting in May. The move is being viewed as a pioneering step.
The Russian government has also announced that it will use a voting platform that’s blockchain-based. This Digital Home service will allow Moscow residents living in multi-storeyed apartments to vote electronically and communicate on matters pertaining to management and maintenance of their buildings.
Not to be outdone, West Virginia state in the US has also launched its voting pilot for absentee voters serving in the US armed forces. They will now be able to vote through a mobile app that’s powered by blockchain technology.
