My notion of “mail voting” would look nothing like what the democrats want, but most people would agree that the capability exists to conduct tranactions privately and securely. No one pays my VISA bill for example, and aside from abuses and exceptions, for the most part tax collection and social security have been administered with privacy and security by the federal gov’t. Most issues are a result of fraud or lack of updated information (like when dead people receive benefits). I think those concerns can be minimized with blockchain technology.
I won’t even try to offer more of an explanation than to say that blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing. Note that none of these things can be said for regular postal mail or any of the above examples I cited. So I think that blockchain technology could be used to create a new highly secure and unalterable voting system that is better than even the best examples we use with reasonable confidence today.
Each legitimate (i.e. registered and verified) voter would receive a digital token that they would “spend” just as digital currency is spent. It’s like having a dollar and putting it into a vending machine - once the transaction is complete it can’t be undone. A key difference is that the transaction would instantly be distributed to thousands or millions of other sites, so that attempting to alter one would immediately result in errors everywhere. That’s why blockchain is said to have a high degree of transparency - no single entity owns the database, it exists simultaneously in many locations, and that makes fraud virtually impossible.
This has been proposed and is being worked on, but obviously it won’t be in place by November: https://www.thebalance.com/how-the-blockchain-will-change-how-we-vote-4012008
Obviously, democrats want no part of this and it will not go anywhere unless Trump can win and continue to reform institutions and restore confidence in government. I know 90% of FReepers think this is stupid, won’t work, blah blah but since you were kind enough to ask I wanted to lay it out in brief. I am convinced it CAN be done, the question is “Do we want it to be done badly enough?”. Because the truth is, without it, elections are not going to get better under democrat rule and they will only support things that make it easier to cheat. So here’s the test: let President Trump propose a national blockchain-based voting system and see who opposes it. That will tell you right there whether it’s a good idea or not.
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That is quite interesting and I appreciate you taking the time to explain it.
I’ll read your links to gain a better understanding.
I’d guess most people say no way cuz we think in terms of a paper ballot being dropped in a mail box! Can’t imagine supporting that system.
If I were to win a million dollars on a lottery ticket, I’d never trust the post office to get it were it needs to go for me to collect. I’d drive it to wherever and hand it in.
Thanks again