- The nation of Philippines is discussing using blockchain technology for elections.
- This would empower citizens to vote confidently due to anonymous and immutable votes.
- This process will also save the nation in terms of long-term funds.
The Philippines is looking to make history by opening conversation about using blockchain technology in its automated election process. This would be a huge move for both the country and blockchain technology if it goes forward.
In detail, the use of blockchain in automated elections was discussed by experts who addressed concerns raised by COMELEC. BayaniChain proposed the Tokenized Electoral Framework Protocol, which involves sending data through local, municipal, provincial, and national nodes with third-party validators.
The blockchain process will be in the background, making it accessible for all generations. The plan is to have a hybrid blockchain model that can keep private information yet be audited by posting two different transactions to a public and private ledger.
The use of a public and private blockchain is necessary due to scalability issues. Despite the advantages of using blockchain, there are concerns about bad actors manipulating the system, but the blockchain makes it almost impossible to satisfy their personal gains.
The advantages of going with blockchain-based elections are plenty. To highlight, it will guarantee immutable votes. This means no vote can be manipulated and the choice of the citizens will go through as they intended.
In addition, blockchain technology offers security, accountability, and anonymity. This will bolster the voters’ right to keep their choices private, which in turn, gives them more courage and confidence to embrace the new system.
Finally, adopting the blockchain-based electoral system will reduce costs for the nation. This will mean precious funds can be used elsewhere to improve the lives of the citizens. The adoption and accessibility of this innovation were also discussed, with the use of blockchain being merely in the background process of the elections.
The Philippines has made many significant strides to incorporate blockchain technology before. Perhaps this conversation will encourage other nations to consider blockchain-based automated elections as well.
