- Donald Trump lost the vote in the recent US elections, something that has upset a lot of people
- People are calling the vote rigged and are looking for alternative methods for the next election
- A blockchain vote system would still leave half the country upset with the outcome as their favorite candidate didn’t win
The recent US election has caused a huge stir all over social media. Trump himself is claiming that the votes were rigged and stolen, leading many to question the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory. People are calling for a new voting system to be implemented for the next election to prevent voter fraud, but will anything ever change?
Many people are saying that blockchain should step up to the plate, but will blockchain solve the issues that America is currently facing with its electoral system? Let’s explore!
It’s a Nice Idea
Blockchain voting systems have been around for some time, and they’ve seen varying degrees of success. But, would a mass rollout of this technology be possible and would it work? In all honesty, the same issues that currently exist would surface once more. If a centralized entity controls the network, then votes could be altered in real-time, meaning you could cast a vote for one party and it goes to another before you even notice.
On the other hand, if it’s decentralized and the public host their own nodes to validate the votes, you run the risk of malicious parties 51% attacking the network and changing votes. Neither outcome really resolves the issue that the recent elections suffered from.
There’s a Record, at Least
The one saving grace for a blockchain voting system is that you can verify your vote after you cast it. This means that if your vote was tampered with, you’ll be able to see it and report it. However, voters could abuse this and claim they didn’t make the vote they did, if they change their mind after pressing the button. The record aspect could be huge and the ability to verify your vote wasn’t changed might create a peace of mind amongst voters the world over.
It’s Hard to Implement
Unfortunately, getting every American to download an app and use it in a specific way could be rather challenging. Not everyone is as technically minded, meaning that some would struggle to vote or not be able to due to a lack of skills. These people could go to a voting center and use a device there, but as we saw in the recent elections, these machines can face errors too. While there are a few perks of a blockchain voting system, the tech still has a way to go.
Sadly, blockchain won’t be able to settle the dispute between Trump and Biden, so we’ll all have to learn to accept the result and try to change the system for the next cycle.
