I recently voted in a local election. I went up to the booth with the friendly retirees, told them my name and showed my ID. They had me sign on their list and directed me to a curtained electronic board. I made my selections and pressed the “Vote” button. All the lights on the machine turned off and it gave a satisfying sound signifying that my vote was cast. I have absolutely no idea if it was or if it was all just for show. I cannot go online to see if my vote counted or what my vote was. I got a sticker. There is absolutely no verification process for elections in my area. And that’s a problem.

The truth is our elections across the US are a hot mess and I have absolutely no faith in the system. And I’m not alone. Last year a poll showed that only 20 percent of the population were “very confident about the system” down from 37 percent the previous year.

Existing voting systems do leave plenty of room for suspicion: voter impersonation is theoretically possible; mail-in votes can be altered or stolen; election officials might count inaccurately; and nearly every electronic voting machine has proved hackable. Not surprisingly, a Gallup poll published prior to the 2016 election found a third of Americans doubted votes would be tallied properly.

And there are more than enough morally compromised power-hungry people to take advantage of the weaknesses in the system through that fraud.

If we are to have any semblance of a secure election process, we must implement a blockchain-based system. Trying to balance privacy with election integrity is difficult, but it can be done with the technology we have right now and there are even systems running right now that utilize some of these features.

What is the Blockchain?

First off, what is the blockchain?

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger technology that allows information and transactions to be recorded securely, transparently, and in a way that makes them extremely difficult to alter.

A blockchain consists of a continuously growing series of blocks, each containing a collection of verified transactions. Each block is cryptographically linked to the previous one, creating a permanent chronological record. Once information has been recorded and confirmed, changing it would require overcoming the cryptographic protections and consensus mechanisms of the network.

Unlike traditional centralized databases, which are maintained by a single organization or authority, a decentralized blockchain is maintained by a distributed network of computers, known as nodes. These nodes independently validate transactions and maintain matching copies of the ledger.

This structure offers several important advantages:

• Transparency: Transactions can be independently examined and audited.
• Security: Cryptographic protections make unauthorized alterations extremely difficult.
• Immutability: Once confirmed, records cannot easily be changed or deleted without detection.
• Decentralization: No single organization needs to have exclusive control over the ledger.
• Verifiability: Independent parties can confirm that recorded transactions are legitimate and that the ledger has not been altered.

These characteristics make blockchain a promising foundation for a more secure, transparent, and independently verifiable election system.

The proposed system would use blockchain technology to record and verify votes while protecting voter privacy. Importantly, it could be implemented using the existing voter registration system. Improvements to registration and identification, including biometric verification, would be optional enhancements rather than prerequisites.

Voting: Recording Every Ballot on the Blockchain

The foundation of the proposed system would be a blockchain-based voting platform.

Elections could take place over a single day or several days, with voters casting their ballots either at designated polling locations or, where appropriate security measures permit, remotely through a secure application or website.

When a voter casts a ballot, the selections would be cryptographically secured and recorded as a transaction on the blockchain.

Each ballot would receive a unique cryptographic identifier, allowing it to be independently verified without revealing the identity of the person who cast it or connecting that person to his or her selections.

The system would use end-to-end verifiable encryption, similar in concept to the approach developed by the U.S. Vote Foundation’s E2E-VIV project. This would allow voters and independent auditors to verify that ballots were properly recorded and counted without exposing the contents of individual ballots to unauthorized parties.

The blockchain would serve as a permanent, independently auditable record of the election.

Voter Identification and Verification

Before a ballot can be accepted, the system must establish that the person casting it is an eligible registered voter and that the voter has not already voted in that election.

This verification could be accomplished using the existing voter registration system.

Once a voter is authenticated, the system would issue a secure, anonymous voting credential. This credential would establish the voter’s eligibility without linking his or her identity to the actual ballot.

The system would then confirm that the credential has not already been used before accepting the vote.

This distinction is essential: the system must verify who is eligible to vote without recording who voted for whom. Voter identity records and ballot records would therefore be maintained separately, with cryptographic safeguards preventing them from being connected.

Optional Upgrade: Biometric Identification

Although the existing registration and identification systems could be retained, election security could be further strengthened by introducing biometric verification.

Under this optional approach, voters could register fingerprints or facial recognition data with election authorities. When voting, they would use this biometric information to verify their identity.

Biometric verification would provide an additional layer of protection against impersonation, duplicate registrations, and unauthorized voting.

Sensitive biometric information should be stored in a highly secure, separately protected identity system rather than directly on the public blockchain. The blockchain could record cryptographic proofs of verification without exposing the underlying biometric information.

A company called Voatz has already developed a mobile voting platform incorporating facial recognition and device-based authentication. Its approach illustrates how biometric identification and mobile technology can be incorporated into a voting application.

Biometric identification would be an additional security measure, not a requirement for implementing blockchain voting. States and election authorities could adopt it gradually or retain existing identification procedures.

Optional Upgrade: Modernizing Voter Registration

The blockchain voting system could be implemented without changing how Americans currently register to vote. Existing state and local voter registration databases could continue to determine voter eligibility.

However, the registration process itself could eventually be modernized to provide additional security and efficiency.

Under an upgraded system, each registered voter would receive a unique cryptographic identification credential, associated with his or her official voter registration record.

This credential would allow the system to verify voter eligibility and prevent duplicate voting without exposing personal information on the blockchain.

Registration could also incorporate biometric verification, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, to establish a more reliable connection between a registered voter and the person presenting himself or herself to vote.

The advantages of an upgraded registration system would include:

• More reliable verification of voter identity.
• Better protection against duplicate or fraudulent registrations.
• Faster verification when voters arrive to cast ballots.
• A secure, standardized means of confirming voter eligibility across jurisdictions.
• Reduced dependence on paper-based identification and recordkeeping.

These improvements could be introduced independently of the blockchain voting system. In other words, election authorities could first implement blockchain-based ballot recording using their existing registration infrastructure and then introduce improved registration and biometric identification as a subsequent phase.

4. Verification and Independent Auditing

One of the greatest advantages of blockchain voting would be the ability to independently verify the integrity of an election.

After a ballot is submitted, the voter would receive a unique confirmation code or cryptographic receipt. Using this receipt, the voter could return to a public election verification website and confirm that his or her ballot was successfully recorded.

The receipt would not reveal the voter’s selections to anyone else, nor would it provide a means of proving those selections to another person. This is important for preserving ballot secrecy and preventing vote buying or coercion.

At the same time, the blockchain would maintain a publicly accessible record of the election’s cryptographically secured ballots.

Independent auditors, election officials, political parties, journalists, and members of the public could examine the records and verify the aggregate results.

The system could allow anyone to independently confirm:

• The number of ballots recorded.
• That each accepted ballot was included in the final count.
• That no ballot was counted more than once.
• That the published results accurately reflect the recorded ballots.
• That no ballots were added, removed, or altered without detection.

Rather than relying exclusively on election officials or news organizations to report the results, the public would have access to an independently verifiable record of the election itself.

This would dramatically improve transparency and provide a powerful additional safeguard against election fraud, manipulation, and disputes over the results.

5. Implementation

The proposed system does not require an immediate overhaul of the entire American election infrastructure.

It could be implemented in stages:

Phase 1: Blockchain Voting

Introduce blockchain-based ballot recording and cryptographic verification while retaining existing voter registration databases and identification procedures.

Phase 2: Improved Voter Identification

Introduce optional biometric identification and stronger digital authentication to further protect against voter impersonation and unauthorized voting.

Phase 3: Modernized Registration

Gradually transition to a more secure digital registration infrastructure using unique cryptographic voter credentials, while maintaining appropriate state and federal oversight.

This approach would allow election authorities to begin benefiting from blockchain technology without requiring every state to immediately replace its existing registration and identification systems.

Conclusion

A democratic election depends on public confidence that every eligible vote is counted accurately and that no illegitimate votes are included.

Blockchain technology offers an opportunity to strengthen that confidence by creating a permanent, transparent, and independently verifiable record of every ballot cast.

By combining cryptographic security, independent verification, and modern identification technology, elections could become significantly more resistant to fraud, manipulation, and administrative error.

Most importantly, the public would no longer have to rely solely on assurances from election officials, political parties, or media organizations. Voters and independent observers could verify the integrity of the election themselves.

The goal is simple: Every eligible voter gets one vote, every legitimate vote gets counted, and anyone can independently verify the results.