Voatz surges past 100 elections with biometrics securing remote voting

Mobile voting options continue to grow, with blockchain and biometrics-based elections platform Voatz announcing the successful completion of its 2022 election cycle in the United States and Canada. According to a company news release, the campaign in multiple jurisdictions saw nearly half a million people eligible to use Voatz’ platform, which incorporates blockchain-based infrastructure and biometrics to “increase access, auditability and security,” in service of “delivering successful elections in high threat environments.”

A company representative notes how the company’s technology could play a significant role in rebuilding trust and making the electoral process safer and accessible for all, and asserts there are ample opportunities for mobile voting and remote identity verification to continue to evolve. Voatz rallied investors around a funding goal of $10 million last year, with an aim to expanding adoption of mobile voting with blockchain and biometrics.

In September of 2022, Voatz marked its 100th election by entering the Ontario market for municipal elections across several jurisdictions. As of November 2022, the company has successfully completed 115 elections, with more than 2 million voters eligible to use the service. In 2021, Voatz won recognition from the World Changing Ideas Awards and the Webby Awards, who credited the company’s efforts to disenfranchised voters or those previously unable to participate in elections.

Initially intended for use by military personnel overseas, Voatz has expanded its scope to allow disabled voters and others in need of accessible voting solutions to securely cast ballots from their phones through the use of blockchain and facial recognition technology.

The company has not been without its critics. In 2020, Trail of Bots conducted a “white box” security assessment that resulted in 79 findings marking flags in the code, a third of which were classified as high severity. This report followed allegations from a group of engineers at MIT that Voatz’ blockchain voting app had “vulnerabilities that allow different kinds of adversaries to alter, stop, or expose a user’s vote.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  blockchain  |  elections  |  mobile app  |  smartphones  |  Voatz