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The official US election results published by the Associated Press will use two different blockchains to prove that the results at any given time are official.
AFP via Getty Images
For the first time ever, the official US presidential election results will be published on the Ethereum and EOS blockchains by the Associated Press.
In addition to publishing the results, however, the AP uses blockchains behind the scenes in their application programming interface (API), which means that anyone tapping into the official AP results can verify accuracy using blockchain data.
As Facebook, Twitter and others have taken advanced steps to dismiss false claims about the results earlier in the day that could affect subsequent voters, using the unalterable blockchain to mark the results could pave the way for how future elections will be handled.
“The AP is the gold standard in counting votes and declaring election winners,” Dwayne Desaulniers, AP data licensing director, said in a statement. The PA has held US elections since 1848.
On the surface, the API is just like any other software interface, where a company gives access to its data to a paying customer or the general public.
First, software developers at various news and research sites create their own mobile app to view results or identify their existing app as a data store. Then, during the election, the app polls the API at regular intervals, looking for information such as the results of state and national competitions, including vote counts, delegate counts, and whether or minus a race.
Additionally, the Associated Press voting data will be published on Everipedia, a blockchain-based competitor of Wikipedia that uses software called an “oracle” to ensure that data coming from outside the blockchain is accurate. Everipedia built its oracle using Chainlink, an open source software that uses the $ 4 billion link cryptocurrency as part of its consensus building process.
Once the data is verified as authentic, it will be published on the public blockchains of Ethereum and EOS, which in addition to tracking their native cryptocurrencies (ether and EOS, respectively), can be used to track any other data in exchange for a small fee. , called “gas”. Unlike bitcoin, which is largely limited to cryptocurrency tracking, ethereum and EOS have entire computer languages that can be used to write applications that function like a website, but without centralized servers.
“Making this powerful technology more accessible is the key to realizing its full potential,” said Daniel Kochis, Chainlink’s business development manager, in a statement. “And publishing the AP election appeals on the blockchain for the first time is a big milestone in that journey.”
While blockchain technology has been used to track actual votes in smaller elections and has proved somewhat promising, the use of AP to track results is the most extensive use of technology in elections to date.
Obviously, while using the blockchain to prove that the AP election contests are official is a potential solution to fraudulent claims designed to influence unspoken votes, the data is as strong as the voting process itself.
Other more elaborate blockchain solutions in the works, including Voatz, Votem, and Agora Vote, purport to solve the problems of proving one’s identity remotely (a possible perk for voting during a pandemic) and providing proof that one’s vote was accurately counted. Both could still end up being issues that have yet to be resolved in this year’s election.
