The Election is Over. The Winner is Mobile Voting.
By: Anthony Fireman
Tags: Voting, Technology, Election 2020, Politics, America

Mobile Voting

The Election is Over. The Winner is Mobile Voting.

A company in Boston is taking elections to a whole other level to uphold our democracy.

Photo by Maxim Ilyahov on Unsplash

It’s time to vote by mobile device.

In 2020 the election was (and still is) chaotic and uncertain due to the largest voter roll in history. So much so, that even the loser’s popular vote total(Trump more than likely) will break the record with almost 70 million votes. At the time of this writing, results remain outstanding Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada.

The anxiety across the country is palpable as it should be. This election is the most critical we’ve seen in our 240 year history. The outcome will determine the country’s path for decades to come.

Issues like the pandemic, the economy, and climate change, not to mention trade, foreign policy, and immigration will either be pressed further shaking up global norms or radically altered by a new party.

Needless to say, patience is a bitch. So, it’s time for the efficiency, security, and accessibility mobile voting provides.

Democracy by Device

This is where a small start-up out of Boston, MA, Voatz, Inc. comes in. Voatz delivers mobile voting solutions on either personal smart devices and web-based computers at the polls. No more long wait lines, manual counts, voter intimidation, or sewn confusion about whose won what where.

Built-In Boston’s Quinten Dol interviewed Voatz’s CEO, Nimit Sawhney where Sawhney said his company has invested heavily so voters can expect counts to be accurate, auditable, not to mention secure while maintaining voter anonymity and the country’s democracy.

Disenfranchised voters who are either disabled, in the military, or live overseas can download an app and choose who they want in congress, the white house, or any other office. Only 7 percent of 3 million overseas citizens vote; studies show this rate would increase to 37 percent.” — Nimit Sawhney, CEO of Voatz, inc.

Think about that and what casting a ballot via smart device or laptop could mean, not only for the military and overseas voters, but also for minorities and the disenfranchised who feel vulnerable standing in line for hours to exercise their most fundamental right as citizens. This includes Native Americans who have massive obstacles getting to a polling location.

Photo by Jessica Radanavong on Unsplash

Voatz’s digital platform is the only one to meet four key criteria required for the vote — security, confirming voter identity, accessibility, and audits too(definitely not Twitter or Facebook). While Voatz uses end-to-end encryption for security, a digital security chamber called block-chain technology secures votes on multiple restricted-access, geographically-distributed servers that eliminate potential tampering with ballot counts.

Also, Voatz enacts biometric verification, or face recognition technology, to verify you are who you say you are. That data is then paired it to your phone’s security PIN maintaining voter privacy. To be clear, Voatz claims your information is never stored or shared.

As of today, Voatz’s technology helped overseas voters in over 30 countries in both Democratic and Republican elections. Locations include Denver, Co, Delaware, West Virginia, New Jersey, Utah County, UT, Umatilla County, OR, Jackson County, OR, King County, WA, to mention a few. Contests were not for president, but local run-offs, special elections, and hyper-local contests.

Mobile is “the Moment” We Need to Meet

An outpouring of volunteers stepped it up at the polls during this election and the stories are inspiring.

A close friend volunteered in Oceanside, CA at the Roosevelt Middle a School — a super polling center which serves many districts. He helped an officer’s handicapped mother cast her ballot. He assisted a blind teen who was voting for the very first time (The kid thanked the the poll workers with cookies). And after the polls closed, he stayed late into the early morning hours to count the votes.

That said, mobile voting will have its own story to tell, the most important of which is how a more complete electorate including the disabled, military, native populations, and Americans stationed around the world brought our nation one step closer to a Perfect Union.

Check out these interesting reads by Anthony Fireman:

Why You Should Quit Twitter (published in Curious)*

How I Motivate My Kids to Exercise(published in Illumination)*

Trump Should’ve Been Muzzled. Unfortunately, Wallace is A Pro

*This article was curated across Medium