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South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Electoral Commission (NEC) have announced plans to establish a blockchain-based voting system.
If the results are successful, the system will be considered for online elections, according to the NEC.
Although the online vote was used in the country, the first time in 2013, the use among citizens was limited, to about 5.664 million people in total, due to security issues. The country has just over 50 million people, of whom 42.5 million are registered voters, with an average attendance of 64.3%.
ZDNet he said the government expects blockchain to help with voter authentication and savings on results, where greater transparency and security could allay fears of fraud and hacking. The election results, in which the votes must be entered by mobile devices and personal computers, will be viewable because the data is included in the blockchain.
The initial tests will begin in December, with surveys conducted by the Blockchain Society of Seoul National University and the Korea Internet & Security Agency. The NEC said that in addition to the blockchain, it was also applying artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) to the voting system.
The use of the blockchain for surveys in South Korea is not entirely new. Last year, the Gyeonggi-do province used Blocko's Coino platform to decide on the approval of 527 community projects. This involved the votes of 9,000 residents.
In Japan, the city of Tsukuba made use of blockchains for choices on local "social contribution programs". Although there have been reports of some difficulties for some voters, the test has been declared a success.
Zug, the "crypto valley" of Switzerland, conducted the municipal vote via blockchain, even though this involved only 72 citizens. The city government intends to expand the use of the blockchain to become part of its digital ID system.
In the United States, there have been several initiatives involving the technology of the ledger distributed for voting. In West Virginia, its first use was limited to allowing foreign members of the army to vote, with a & rs; mobile app. In Maine, proposals for the use of blockchain in municipal elections were considered.
